Mismanagement of automation

[Geoffersincornwall]

Fly through

I'm not going to enter a battle with my colleague because I have only my experiences to go on. I was the very first SFI to be trained by AW and had the benefit of being taught by the then CSFI. I teach as I was taught and do not teach the 'fly through' technique, in fact I try to stamp it out and teach as I was taught. This business of 'fly through' has gained added resonance (in my opinion) as a result of the debate about the mismanagement of automation. As I said in an earlier post I sat and watched last week whilst a recurrent training 'student' took off against the spring and then engaged the ALT A, the IAS, the NAV and let go of the cyclic. The nose pitched up, the airspeed dropped enough for the FD modes to drop out and we very nearly bought the farm. I'm sure you are all aware of the 'design for success' concept rather than accepting a 'latent error' in the shape of an inappropriate technique. If we teach the right way at the beginning of the course there is a good chance they won't need the 'fly through at all but as I say, I am no expert, I just have some experience. An expert is someone who knows everything and only my wife knows everything (and maybe my mother).

As always rules are for the obedience of fools (newbies in this case) and the guidance of wise men (experienced 139 folk). I will not argue that point. I also, for the record, teach that upon entering IMC you come off the FTR and use the beeper. I find that the who are weak in IMC ops often try to engage AP modes with the FTR depressed resulting in an unintentional roll input (and sometimes a pitch one too) that gets scarily out of hand. I've even seen pilots getting close to inverted in the few seconds to took to understand their error.

Please don't refer to the use of the FTR as a 'floppy stick' technique. As soon as you remove your hand the stick will remain in that position unlike a true floppy stick a la B206 for example. SAS remains to make the use of FTR whilst manoeuvring an entirely pleasant experience, more so in the real aircraft than the sim. You should give it a go instead of thrashing the trim system to death by using fly through for the only way to return the aircraft to the trimmed state is then to use the FTR. As I say, not the way the aircraft was designed to be used.


G.