Originally Posted by
keithl
The expertise of many of the contributors is, as I see it, part of the problem. They are company test pilots, CTCs, senior people. The technophiles love the automation and want to use it to the full. They just KNOW that all the protections are built in and can be relied on. The trouble is, the "average line pilots" I see every day find it simpler to fly around on HDG and ALT. That's why I fully agree with HC's wish list. But in it's absence, the "dumbing down" that JD referred to is what is actually necessary to keep pilots confident (and that's important, right?) that they are in control and know what's going on.
You are right, the participants on here are knowledgeable about the detail of how it all behaves. That is because they have bothered to find out about it, not because they were born with the knowledge!
I just don't see how "dumbing down" could work. OK it will work for 99% of the time but then, inevitably, circumstances will conspire to cause some automation behaviour to pop up that was hitherto "unknown" due to the dumbing down. Then we have the makings of an accident.
I'm sorry but I really don't see any alternative to pilots being fully aware of all the behaviours that are lurking there and could surface. If they can't hack it they shouldn't be flying these types of helicopters, although in my experience the chances are they could hack it if they just put a bit of time and effort into learning about it and thinking about it during the 6 month gaps between training sessions. I generally found that the folk who really couldn't hack it, couldn't hack manual flying either!
These days pilots get plenty of days off, but there is the rub: With the equal time roster each day on is a pretty long day usually, so no inclination to do any studying after a long double flight. But a day off is a day off and "why should I have to do homework on my days off?". Consequently I do think that the equal time roster, much as I liked it when I was working, is conspiring against pilots attaining and retaining good knowledge of their complex aircraft.