Originally Posted by
giggitygiggity
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!
There's no rush, but why wait for the FD unnecessarily? The fix we're usually told to fly to is usually on page 2 or 3. The PF will be zoomed out on the ND, and starts the turn to the fix. Obviously before inserting the direct, the PF will verify the course on the ND, per SOP.
How about another scenario? You're in the climb, and just as ALT* engages, ATC gives a further climb and a direct. The PM reads it back, gets into the FMS to attend to the direct clearance, meanwhile the FD bar is now commanding a pitch for level flight. What would your reaction be?