….Jackson says experience in flying light planes or in the air force is superior to simulator training. "Those skills are still needed no matter how automated planes are."
Agreed Mr Jackson, but pilots also need training in support of skill retention. When I did my A320 endo, (as a first jet type) we covered flying with automation in the first instance, then built upon this as a foundation. Sure we flew some parts in alternate law and direct law (reduced levels of automation and protection) but only in the context of the checklist/ECAM...that is...when the system told you to do so. I cannot recall learning to fly the A320 sim using power and attitude alone as a comfortable fallback option.
In hindsight my view is that this approach to training also contributes to latent resistance to take manual control of the aircraft unless told to do so by the system …. too much emphasis on automation training from the start, and not nearly enough on turning it into a normal airplane to use one’s skills. Of course this is how airbus engineers designed the system, but it seems instils too much trust in the engineering and autoflight systems, and not enough in the pilots skills. It is all very easy to let the airbus system tell you what to do or believe it will do as it is told, possibly to your detriment.
I would have learned better by building on no-automation in the first instance, then overlaying the automation later. (More expensive too of course!) I would have better learned habits to detect the subtle cues that bus automation tends to blur, like a lack of tactile feedback to the pilot by not having thrust levers moving during power changes. In my organisation some thoughtful and experienced captains flying the line encourage occasionally disconnecting autothrust/FD at suitable times to address this.….thank goodness.
RM