Glass Cockpit introduction in type ratings.
Imagine your student has never flown a glass cockpit aircraft and also this is his first experience in a full flight simulator after completing CBT. He lines up for take off and actuates the TOGA button. After that,things happen fast for someone who has just graduated with a CPL and is now undergoing a type rating on a 737/A320 or similar. Maybe the last few months have been on a Duchess or Seminole and now he has a job as an airline first officer if he can just pass this type rating course .
From the simulator instructor point of view,the question arises of how to best introduce glass cockpit flying with all its bells, whistles and automatics and not forgetting the seductive and ever so compelling flight director. Fly the bloody flight director, is an oft-heard mantra in the simulator.
One instructor may favour starting from scratch by saying this is a twin engine jet with two throttles and wing mounted under-slung engines. It has a powerful stabiliser trim system and the flaps extend slowly at first. It goes like the clappers so you need to be ahead of it. Never operated a jet engine before? Well let's learn how to fly the aeroplane properly by hand before we start on using the automatics.
Perhaps the student should make his first few take off's without a flight director and autothrottle and learn basic flying manoeuvres such attitude flying, while climbing, descending, and straight and level, all at varying airspeeds to get used to the pitch changes with power changes. Soon after we can fly circuits and landings and a few ILS - all without automatics. Perhaps a brief introduction to asymmetric handling.
And then by session two or three the big day arrives when the automatics are introduced one by one. Our student has now learned to crawl before he learns to walk. And if he makes an initial mess of the automatics at least he will have already mastered the basic handling skills to seamlessly resort to manual flight until the problem is sorted.
Another sim instructor may not be keen on that method of training a new airline pilot. He might prefer to throw the student into the deep end, with an eye on the costs involved with a simulator syllabus where the aim is to graduate with a type rating and be fully right up with operating the automatics. After all, the rest of his life will probably be on automatics and good automatics skills will generally keep you out of trouble in the first place. Therefore, the argument goes, hit the student with the importance of button pressing skills, right from his first simulator session. Leave the hand flying to minimum legislative requirements.
Where the company type rating syllabus is strictly regulated to the teaching of automatics from the first simulator session, then an instructor has little choice. On the other hand,,some operators allow a certain amount of leeway on training technique, as long as the student completes the type rating within a set number of sessions.
From the students point of view, which would you prefer. A session or two of basic jet handling with no automatic features until proficient? Or straight into the autothrottles, flight directors, autopilot, autobrakes and map mode?
And finally, in your opinion, which technique offers the greatest confidence builder in the student?
Last edited by Tee Emm; 19th Dec 2010 at 03:00.