Glass cockpit..

[light chop]

HI all

I'm gonna start a A-320 in january ...work for an south eastern african company..
I'd appreciate some advise on what way of thinking should I study this course...I mean I only know conventional instruments and I know how the relation between the crew and george (the AP) has to be well cross-checked..

Thanks.

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[This message has been edited by light chop (edited 02 December 2000).]

[static]

Maintain a healthy distrust in the NAV display. The FMC position is not always correct, especially when flying in area`s without reliable navaids to give updates to the FMC. Like in Africa.
Maintain your skills in conventional navigation.

[light chop]

I take it , merci beaucoup..

should I think the Inertial Nav Sys. is not reliable enough??

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[static]

inertial nav is not nearly accurate enough on its own. It needs regular updates, either from gps or dme.
Typical drift (even acceptable according to the manuals) is 2 + 2H in NM. In which H stands for hours since last allignment.
So this gives you a possible fault in your position of 4 NM after 1 hour flying. (assuming there are no updates available)

Don`t get me wrong, glass cockpits are great to work with, but use caution. Not everything you see is real.

[mustafagander]

Gday Light Chop,
IMHO the main thing to remember on the Nav Display is that a lot of the data displayed is VIRTUAL - not necessarily real. The "magenta line" is very seductive, but not always a true picture.
You MUST absolutely know what on your display is real - VOR/ADF needles, DME etc - and what is virtual - FMC generated.
Of course if you have GPS updating then the whole picture is always close to reality.
The other serious issue is to know what the A/P is trying to do, not what it's programmed to do. ALWAYS watch your flight mode annunciators and know what they really mean.
Enjoy the glass. Most of us would hate to have to go back to the old classic style of cockpit displays. :)

[Flap 5]

Except that you will find that it is a green line (magenta is Boeing). The A320 is an excellent aircraft with two independent very good FMGS's and three IRS's (unlike the 737 which has just one FMS and two IRS's).

[Few Cloudy]

Depending on the fit...........

[Flap 5]

Few Cloudy

I know you are a 737 driver. For sure it depends on the fit with the 737 because Boeing sell it with just the basic fit - even the coat hangers in the cockpit are extra!

Airbus are different however - they are all the same fit with 2 independent FMGS's and 3 IRS's as standard.