I've been reading through this thread with interest and amazement.
I'm absolutely flabagasted by some of the comments I have come across:
As far as being able to grab the jet from the autopilot in IMC when everything is going pear shaped? I don't think so.
What???? Are you serious? I'm sorry, but if you can't do that (anymore) you do not belong in a cockpit (anymore). An other “AF447” waiting to happen?
Now days I am struggling to do a basic maneuver. I still do them from time to time, but only when well briefed with weather and traffic conditions permitting.
What? Struggling to do a basic maneuver? What do you mean? Are you struggling to fly a manual raw data ILS approach in bening weather? If the answer is yes... you do not belong in that cockpit!
Gone are the days of immediately reverting to hand flying when the automatics are not behaving as expected, or at least they should be gone. ......Additionally, in most modern jets, any hand flying intervention should normally be limited to establishing stable flight and re-engaging the automatics
The word "should" is the previous sentence makes me worry a lot! I say: if you ever find yourself in a situation where you think “what's it doing now”, there's absolutely nothing wrong with switching all automatics off and manually fly the plane the way you want it to. I would go even further: every airline pilot should be able to do just that before he's released on line!
Again, the days of disconnecting and pointing at the runway are gone. At the very least you have to call for the appropriate mode so that you have flight director guidance.
If you really need that flight director, once again you do not belong in that cockpit!
Any in flight occurence that requires an autopilot disconnect is most likely going to pop up on the FDR. When/if it does the Captain will be sent a please explain. If he has continued flight without appropriate flight director guidance it is unlikely that he is going to be patted on the back and have his exemplary flying skill praised. More likely he is going to be sent to the sim for some more training on how to manage the automatics.
Please let me know what company you fly for. Given a choice I would rather avoid such a company!
There is really no excuse for Airlines who forbid their pilots to keep their raw data handflying skills up to date.
Last year I started a thread in the tech log about
“Your airlines' policy about the use of automation during flight?” I invite you to read it.
Will there be crashes as a result; you bet, but there will be a lot less than if you allowed these low hour pilots to hand fly jet aircraft around.
The low-timers are not the problem, but the training departments are! In my company it's done like this: Starting in the type-rating sim sessions the F/O's in training are learned to fly the Airbus manually (A/P, F/D & A/THR off) on many occasions whenever the exercise permits it. (And, for training, having one engine out is NOT a good reason to keep the A/P on.
) Then, during base training they'll fly a few touch and go's, again without the automatics. Later on, during the initial line training, they will be asked to fly manual raw data approaches, whenever the conditions permit it.
Believe me, once they're fully released on line they'll handfly the A320 pretty well, or ... they won't be released on line.
Unlike many others my company encourages pilots to keep their handflying skills up to date. Most of the time, I don't have to suggest my F/O's to turn the automatics off. they will have asked me before if they can. More often it happens, especially with the newly released kids, that I have to suggest them that it would be wise to fly with the automatics on when the atis warns us about low clouds and moderate visibility or when flying into a busy airport we are not familiar with! It's not they are not smart enough to know that, it's just that they were so used to raw data flying during their training, that using the automatics for approach had become the exception, rather then the rule.
I'll admit that sometimes those new F/O's are not so great in using the automatics. For instance, the first time they have to intercept a G/S from above with the A/P, they will often have a problem. Not amazing, they've trained it once in the sim and then they were expecting it! So confronted to this situation these guys (and girls) will disconnect the A/P when it captures the initial approach alt before the G/S iso using the Airbus procedure for this. (dialling the altitude up and using V/S to get to the G/S.) Oh well, manually intercepting the slope and then re-engaging the A/P gets the job done just as well and it gives me something to talk about during a friendly post-flight debrief.
If anything, I have witnessed the total opposite.
"Nah mate, I don't build FMC circuits, I just turn all that off and fly it like a man." When I hear those words, I sit up in my seat and review unusual attitude recovery in my mind! Have witnessed plenty of white knuckled, shiny lever, wrestling matches and usually at the end of a big day!
Why make it tough?
Pick your fights, good weather, light traffic, FO with ample brainspace..... click click.
In our company nobody will build a FMC visual circuit!
Remember it's a
visual circuit. I will use the timing on downwind leg like Mr Airbus says in the FCOM on the rare occasion where I can start the downwind at 1500' AGL and the other times I'll use brains and common sense to adapt the visual pattern in function of height and speed. It doesn't take a cowboy (believe me, I'm not) to do that and it isn't rocket science either. It just takes some practice and common sense! Aren't visual patterns something you learned since your very first flight hours?
Come on fellows: stop looking for excuses thinking it's ok not to be proficient in raw data manual flight as an airline pilot flying one of the modern Airbus or Boeing devices. I'm sure you can fly that A380 manually with just raw data once you're on the intercept heading for the ILS in LHR or SIN when the weather is nice enough! Or are you flying for one of those companies stopping their pilots to stay proficient, then please try to get that that policy changed. You owe it to the passengers!
Happy landings!