The idea of a computer Status page might be useful, but could risk adding further confusion when basic flying skills were all that were needed.
See post #1119 on page 56, which although I had the added (self induced) complication of a suspected V Alpha prot event, really showed me how AF447 could have occurred, and in particular that the "STALL STALL" was continually sounding, but I did not hear it.
I really think we should all be allowed to regularly practice far more basic flying and basic instrument failures in every one of our regular 6 monthly SIMs.
For example
- Partial panel work, e.g. loss of two ASI, or V/S, or ALT, or ATT, and flying by reference to what you have left.
- Unusual attitude recovery.
- Unreliable airspeed but not necessarily a madly varying speed tape, instead more subtle failures.
- High altitude handling, including stalls and TCAS RAs.
- Engine failures not only at V1, but in the intermediate climb, cruise, approach, or Go-around.
- Memory drills.
- More Go-arounds and windshear events.
- Flying by sole reference to pitch and power.
We are always briefed to use the automatics, and a large amount of SIM time is taken up with learning all the automatic modes and functions. But we should NOT allow ourselves to get so rusty that we don't actually dare take the automatics out and fly manually when they are not providing the solution.
Busy line flying often means that we don't have the chance or don't want to risk screwing up an approach by flying fully manually, (AP and A/THR off), but if the CAA mandated three fully manual approaches every six months - as they used to for autolands - it could provide just enough of a jump-start start for the collective pilot confidence and skills to return.