Autothrottle Question

[Easy226]

Hi everyone, the other day i was reading an article on what type of questions will be put upon you at an airline interview. One of the questions asked was: 'how can you tell, from the ground, weather the plane has autothrottle in use?'
I was wondering what the answer was for this as most jet/turboprop engines sound similar to each other.
Many Thanks
Dan

[Dogma]

I cannot believe this is a question. Some of these companies should pull their heads out of their a**!

Looking at the way I manage thrust lever position vs. the way the auto throttle does; I would imagine that the answer is that the autothrot' tends to "chase" the commanded airspeed.

Where as I would set a specific N1 relating to the weight, etc. and generally let the a/c ride out slight fluctuations in airspeed. Thus listening to the approaching aircraft, one might note greater audible variations of thrust when a pilot is employing the auto throttle.

P.S. This may NOT be right and applys mainly to heavy cat' jets. Any company asking this type of question should probably be avoided.

[Dogma]

Hope this goes some way to answering your question.

Good luck!

[Easy226]

Thanks a lot for the replies everyone, interesting reading. I was expecting there to be a more noticable and specific feature to listen out to!! Its a fairly vague question to be asked, but at least I know what to say if I make it to an interview now and i'm asked that question!
Many Thanks
Dan;)

[Notso Fantastic]

Are you sure you've got that question right? It's rubbish. After 36 years flying, I still wouldn't have a clue if I watched an aeroplane on the approach whether the A/T was engaged or not, and I defy anybody else to know! Maybe it's one of those questions with no answer and they want to see how you squirm!

[Easy226]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I found the paragraph in which this question was mentioned in the 'wannabees' section of this web-site. I don't know if I have phrased my initial post correctly, but here is the actual source:

'Third and final round is at *** at Stansted and you are met by Capt. *** and a beancounter from Air ***. The interview is led by *** and he chops and changes between technical questions about aircraft (If you were listening to an aircraft on finals, how would you know if it had auto-throttles?)'

Many Thanks
Dan

[Notso Fantastic]

It's a spoof question! Autothrottles are no more active than me when I fly manual throttles! Who are these idiots who sit and dream up such nonsense?