I know a bit of thread creep..... however
In reply to previous posts by Air Rabbit, we obviously have some differences in how we approach flying the aircraft. But Im not sure this will affect my future in my company. You are obviously a very intelligent person a probably held in very high regard in your organisation, I suspect you didn't mean to take a cheap shot but that is definately how it was received.
Regarding my way of flying the aircraft......
If you read my post, all I was suggesting was to have a target figure "somewhere to hang your hat" as we say in the UK. You must do the same, I find it terribly difficult to believe that you fly solely by feel. I guess your a sim instructor. How do you teach initial courses? Do you tell them reasonable EPR settings for phases of flight or just let them get on with it? When I did my initial course we were given pitch/power setting to learn. In my airline (and throughout others in the UK) this is the way we are taught. When coming down finals on 1 engine with a bomb threat, on oxygen, pilot incapacitation etc, knowing reference EPR's is invaluable. Granted they are only reference! I might need more or less power depending on thousands of variables but the point is I have a something to aim at!!!
In fact I work for a large UK charter, 50 or so aircraft. I fly the 75, 762 and 763. I have took off at weights ranging from 65T up to 183T and of course landed at vastly differing weights. It is a recognised technique to land by numbers!! In fact for guys like myself who jump between 3 the types almost daily, it is encouraged by the training department (rightly or wrongly) to land by numbers using the rad alt to prompt for the correct flare height. I suspect you think that this is mechanical (and I agree) but what it achieves is accurate and above all safe landings
Successful pilots do not “input an action, wait for the result and then act on it.” They process the environment, decide what is necessary, and make appropriate control applications. The critical difference, is that successful pilots will continue to process the environment as the control applications are made and determine if the airplane is responding as anticipated and is moving in the correct manner to achieve the desired results. More often than not, these successful pilots will have to make adjustments (probably a whole series of adjustments) throughout the maneuver to achieve (and then maintain) the desired condition of the airplane.
I agree totally, I think you just put it more elequently than I.
In conclusion (and back to the tread) I can't see any problem in knowing some settings for the sim, it shows that the candidate has bothered to go out and prepare. I also still use reference EPR's on the line (and even more so in the sim) they are a great way of relieving workload when you probably need it for something else. The fact is that in the UK hand flying techniques are taken for granted at command assesments, I fly with some skippers who are obviously less capable in the polling around the sky department than others but they excell on the management/people side. Unfortunately that is just simply more important in the modern jet. Heh, but thats another thread......