Yeah,well got 2 3/4 jours in the 777 sim last night.Was absolutely fantastic.
Took off from Gatwick,did a circuit and landed (thankfully nobody saw it
,came in a tweeny bit fast and shallow,some would argue i should have used more flap...)
Then went to the USA and me and the engineer went through ILS approaches and it was simply amazing,went to JFK,we programmed the autopilot to intercept the glide slope,and sure enough,went down spot on and hit the runway beautifally!!
Doing it manually is quite hard but I managed to pull it off second try,just a case of balancing the throttle,making small movements of the yoke,not chasing the needles and doing a quick scan every 5-6 seconds.Must add the 777 is very good in terms of height perspective on landing,when I jumpseated on a A340 it felt like the plane was on stilts when we touched down (Chicago).
Simulators are amazing,the daytime graphics aren`t impressive at all,but the night time ones are great,the twinkling effect of the distant lights is so real,and the sounds...I want them so badly in my C150!!,and I also liked the little random bumps when taxying along to 26L..nice little touch.And the take off "lerch"..the feeling you get when full power is applied and on take off run,feels like the plane is running along with its nose up,is well mimiced too.
You know that siren when you leave the parking brake on and advance the throttles too far,that sounds great.
Engine sounds are pretty slick aswell.
Although I was no maverick,I didn`t honestly find it difficult to control,things go a bit weird when you do a steep bank on base and you see your airspeed bleed off and think sh!t.The last hour it felt really natural,you just think ahead of yourself all the time.
Hardly need to say this but the motion really does make you feel like your really there,keeps you awake when as I said earlier you keel right over on base and you feel yourself skidding and slowing at the same time..then I discovered the rudder pedals
And as the engineer had plenty of practice,he showed me a crab landing,coming in at 45 degrees to the runway,but keeping it straight if you know what I mean,and when you hit the deck,the swing and kickback from the motion is funny aswell.
Anyway,back to the boring world..anyone who thinks the airliners are robotic and the pilot has nothing to do,and a limited role,you are so wrong.
If any wannabe ever gets a chance,give it a go,will love it!
Now who operates B777-300s???..must prepare my CV
