PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - greendot to vref+80
View Single Post
Old 3rd July 2007 | 13:28
  #4 (permalink)  
Dan Winterland
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,777
Likes: 9
From: Blighty
I went the other way round, 744 to A320 (with a bit of 747 classic thrown in the middle for good measure). There is a bit of black vs white, but things are essentially the same. Bearing in mind my Boeing experience was the 744 which always felt that it was glass grafted onto a classic airframe as opposed to the 777 which was designed as a glass aircraft from the start, this is my take on what I expect you will find.

You will miss the space of the 330. The control column is useless for 97% of the flight and it gets in the way of essentials such as eating and reading the newspaper.

The ACP is called the MCP. At first it looks like an ergonomic disaster for which the design was started at 3pm on a Friday, but you will get to like it. The FLCH (flight level change) button is brilliant, (dial in a new Alt, press the button, sit back and watch) but there is a button marked THR. I knew people with 10,000hrs on the 744 who still didn't know what it was for!

Rather than the FPLAN button, you hav the NAV funtions split up into LNAV and VNAV. They work fine, but you have to refer to two pages for the complete picture. And WRTo vertical functions, there are loads more FMAs. You spend ages learning them and the difference between VNAV and VNAV PATH for example seem slight, but can be significant. (Apparently, Boeing have patented the term VNAV so no other manufacturere can use it!)

The green line on the NAV display is now magenta.

The flight deck is done out in gentle shades of brown - which is more relaxing apparently!

The MCDU screen is just green. No more colour!

NPAs will be more difficult. Watching the Airbus fly a NPA in FINAL APP was a thing of beauty (if you like that sort of thing!). you don't have that ability in the Boeing. You can fly the LNAV part in NAV, but the vertical profile has to be done with V/S.

That's all I can think of right now. Have to go to the pub!

Have fun.
Dan Winterland is offline  
Reply