Originally Posted by
Check Airman
I do that in an Airbus all the time. There’s no need for me to ask the PM for a heading. I have a rough idea of where I need to go.
What’s wrong with reaching for the thrust levers below 10k?
What’s the rush though?
I appreciate that on a lateral movement, flying the FDs isn’t critical, I just don’t see what the rush is. If the airspace is that busy that you turning 2 seconds earlier is going to make ALL the difference, ATC wouldn’t put you there in the first place. Vertical separation is slightly more critical, although neither is really a situation where you should be routinely disregarding the FD pitch bar as it
will catch you out one day. It also fuels practical drift and other may not be so competent.
The benefit of ‘doing it properly like Airbus asked’ is that the PM identifies the fix before you confirming it. It traps a potential error when rushing wasn’t necessary. If ATC want you to turn in a hurry, they’ll issue a heading instruction which is easily achieved via the FCU in as little as a second.
Once a year, when you get ‘turn left heading xxx IMMEDIATELY, go nuts!