flyingnewbie10;
Hm, I think panman is only trying to help sir and I thought the advice worthwhile.
That said, the autothrust "regime" for the Airbus A320/A340 series is best conveyed in TLA or thrust-lever angle, with reference to the 3 detents that the levers can be placed in for automatic functions.
The Autothrust range is from 0 degrees to 25 degrees or "IDLE" to "MAX CLB" (Climb Detent". With the TL's in the CLB detent, the FADEC has full thrust authority depending upon the requirements of the autoflight-autothrust system, which has a number of sub-modes and regimes.
Once moved rearward from the CLB detent (< 25deg), with the autothrust system engaged (and not merely "ARMED"), the physical position of the thrust levers will limit the maximum authority of the FADEC to the thrust setting represented by that thrust lever position. That limitation is shown on the engine EPR or N1 guage (depending upon engine installation) by white circles - AB pilots call them "donuts" usually. In normal ops, the biggest training item (outside of abnormal ops) is to ensure pilots new to the AB "match" the donuts with the actual thrust (N1 or EPR) setting if that thrust setting is below the donuts (thrust levers higher than the present thrust being developed). Otherwise, upon disconnection of the autothrust system, the FADECs will command an immediate increase in power up to the position of the donuts...matching the two makes for a smooth disconnection.
The regime above the thrust lever CLB detent is the "Flex/MCT" detent. In this regime the autothrust is not engaged (even though it may be armed). It is a straight MCT selection for all regimes of flight except takeoff. On takeoff, the detent sets thrust according to the Flex thrust setting as entered in the FMGC during cockpit preparation.
The MCT detent is at 35 degrees TLA and can be used at any time without restriction and is sometimes used to momentarily add thrust mainly on final, should the crew believe that the energy level of the aircraft is "sagging" a bit - Airbus flies the A320 very close to "Vls" also known as 'the hook' due to it's appearance on the PFD, and sometimes a bit of extra speed (3 - 5 kts)makes for comfort.
The TOGA - Takeoff/Go-around detent is at 45 degrees and is the go-around thrust setting. It is also beyond the autothrust regime. It is used mostly for go-arounds as the setting of TOGA thrust also re-strings the FMC approach runway and final routing usually from the CF, for another approach. In defined conditions (windshear, flex temp lower than OAT), the TOGA position is used for takeoff.
The IDLE regime is at 0 degrees. The a/t system is disengaged at 0deg. The reverse regime is < 0deg to minus-20 degrees. It does not have a detent at the end of the regime (full reverse) for obvious reasons.
In the ground-mode, with thrust levers above about 22deg, autobrakes and therefore spoilers are not available. This stated, there are system complexities and historical observations regarding this which are available within this thread which are worth seeking out and reading.
The report of the A320 accident at Taiwan in October 2004 is well worth reading for an explanation of the autothrust system. That report is available at,
http://www.asc.gov.tw/acd_files/189-c1contupload.pdf, posted earlier in this thread.