Here's a thing for some of you... fresh off the Sim !
Hand flying a B732 -9A and very primitive a/p...
Hi All,
After coming out of a 732 Level B, 3 Axis Sim (and I'm no pilot, just an FS2002 Simmer)... My conclusion are as follows:
MS FS2002 is NOT representative of real handling of aircraft. Although it gives you a hell of a lot of head start comparing with someone with no/few exposures to front seat flying, hand flying is a whole different ball game.
One thing I find difficult initially, is getting used to scanning instruments on FS (on a screen, hence not a lot of distance to cover while scanning instruments and looking outside). This was critical during when hand flying for landing.
The next thing is trying to get used to the flight control forces involved. One thing about FS2002 is that even under the most realistic setting, the flight controls are very forgiving. The full sim isn't forgiving. Roll maybe easy to play with (too easy), yaw is difficult because you're using it during the most critical phase.... landing... and the someone needs to get used to in order not to make themselves sick is pitch. Finding the right trim setting needs attention.
After reading what Jetguy and Skipper said about pitch and pilot induced , I thought, they maybe right, but I was confident that I could attain smooth controls... during my first take off and landing on the 732 Sim, I struggled to control pitch, roll was easy, and rudder was hard to control but not beyond hope. Pitch was at times, beyond hope.
I did manage to land the 732 safely the first time but it was one hell of a struggle. The fact that I did not decide to go around was short of a miracle. The second cycle was worse. It wasn't until they told me what I did wrong that I got a smooth flight... take off, cruise and landing...
After a few goes , during a cycle, managed to do handle engine fire, failure in hyd sys A and B, and landed the plane in mild turbulence. This is not unlikely in a "walk into a cockpit to find dead pilots" scenario... But without the previous goes, I would have crashed... albeit within the airport grounds where emergency services would be on standby...
So there goes my opinion on this matter. Hand landing a 732 for a non pilot is hard... very hard... For simmers, they have a better chance if they respect the forces involved, though expect very very heavy damage if you don't think ahead. Prop pilots could do it if they think jet speeds and think even further ahead and remember the pitch sensitivity.
Remember, the words used here is COULD and CHANCE... But as far as I am concerned, it was one hell of a night ! Thanks to the airline who'd wanted to prove this point, gave me the chance and wished to be undisclosed.