A320 SOP

[Flyman35]

Hi,
after landing we used to put Radar off,Ignition off,flaps zero,TCAS on standby..etc but we just picked a habit of putting Flight directors off and Constraint off on the EFIS Option panel,is there anybody doing that or that is just a habit which is not experienced by any one?

[oicur12.again]

My outfit does the same but my previous Airbus outfits did not.

[safelife]

Unnecessary, just wears out the buttons.

[goeasy]

Yep. Complete waste of time/effort.

Our company does it. Not written in any procedure but everyone told to do it....

[Willie Nelson]

No Need. All that will be set as required during the pre flight set up for the next sector. Having said that if your offsider does it, I wouldn't loose too much sleep, I imagine around 20 percent of guys switch off FD's, etc after landing. The FCOM is pretty clear, it's also stated in the QRH however if you take the QRH too seriously you're not allowed to put your tray table away until you've got a line up clearance, etc...

[No Fly Zone]

Before that wonderful retirement day, and at least between same-day segments, as soon as we we sure we were staying on the ground, the RADAR went off. Everything else stayed ON or in STBY. Right or wrong, I do not know, but it was SOP. Before strangling the APU after the day's last segment - meaning a multi-hour/overnight sit, nearly all individual devices were set to OFF. Again, it was SOP for our AB fleet.

(If anyone cares, my last few years were on AB, I hated every minute I did it for the money. Does that make me a prostitute? AB does not build airplanes and teach pilots how to fly them. They build 'systems' and hope to hell that former pilots can learn to operate them. I know, the debate is endless. IMO the A320, A330 and A340 series are some of the worst 'airplanes' ever made. Well aware that some absolutely love them, I never did. I took the money and felt a professional obligation to master my machine - and I did. That does not mean that I enjoyed those years and I did not.

These days, a well-dressed, mid-60s Mooney pleases me frequently. Why? It is mostly about that two-handed, push-pull thing sort of centered between my legs and pedals with a purpose.;)

[Superpilot]

First two A320 operators had this SOP, last 2 haven't. On some older MSNs with FMGC v1, after landing the box crashes dumping whatever you had stored (waypoints, routes, secondary). Some believe switching off the FDs prevents this (less demand on the processors?). Switching off the FDs then progressed into switching off all lights on the EFIS panel and that's where we are today. It should not be an SOP anywhere IMHO.

[mcdude]

There is no Airbus SOP to turn off the FDs after landing although the FCTM does state "If not using FD orders, turn off the FD".

I recall that on the A330/A340 the FDs automatically disengage 30s after landing (when FMGEC "DONE" phase becomes active), however I never found a reason a why.

[mustangsally]

"I know, the debate is endless. IMO the A320, A330 and A340 series are some of the worst 'airplanes' ever made." No Fly Zone wrote this a couple of days ago. I agree and would add the 350 and 380 to the mix. I don't know of a training program that put any emphasis on stick and rudder or situational awareness. All the automation my be great and should be taught, but it all comes down to knowing how to fly with the computer turned off. Oh, I forgot, you cannot turn off the computer or it will not fly.


Maybe the best example is the 330 in the middle of the south Atlantic.


No Fly Zone, your Mooney is great, but I like my old Champ. Just enough power to get over the top and slow enough to still smell the roses.

[Cough]

There are older A320's still flying with original FMGC's which do require the F/D's to be cycled off/on after landing. This is probably the origin of the SOP's for some operators.

In newer A320's, the procedure is pointless...

[mcdude]

Thanks cough. Do you have a document reference where this is stated?