Originally Posted by
alexban
McAero,the transition from the 737 NG to the 787 will consist of 8 days of ground school,subject of FAA aprovall.And I would chose the 787 over the 380 anytime..
AB
Have you ever flown an Airbus Series 320 and later?
I flew B737-Classics (the REAL classic -200 series), the -300/-400 and then the B747-400 before converting to the A320 family and now back to the B747-400. My preferences are divided, the 737 (esp the -200 classic) for fun and learning the trade (no Map displays, shock horror
), B737-3/400 added glass but little else, the B747-400 is a pilots dream to handle for a 'conventional' aircraft and has awesome stats and performance whereas the A320 series is the best I have flown for multi-sector days in Shorthaul, the cockpit (Porsche-design?) is very good (bar the loud CC tone and some of the lighting) the table is neat and the sidestick totally natural (although the handling finesse suffers in gusty crosswinds, although still perfectly ok when used to it). Back now on the 747-400 and I see more of its downsides in the working environment.
I suspect the 777 is currently the best around (albeit that it still has a control column
), I suspect that the 787, 747-800 and A380 will all take the current best and improve further.
In my company, and I suspect many others, there are many more people with exposure to both technologies who can see the pros and cons more clearly than before.
In summary, the A320 is an 'easier' aircraft to fly, the non-normals require a greater discipline; the 737-2/3/4/5 harder to fly but more satisfying.