When did airlines cease doing training circuits?
 

The VC10 thread got me wondering.... When did airlines stop doing circuit training in the actual aircraft, relying totally on sims?

I do remember many years ago (at least 15, maybe more) a large Airbus (A300?) doing numerous circuits at Manchester all of one Saturday afternoon. The controller was sending them alternatively right hand then left hand, to share the noise around for those on the ground!

For most airlines it was in the mid 90's. To avoid base training (circuits) the airline, and specific fleet, as well as the simulator needs to be ZFT (Zero Flight Time) approved. The trainee must also have a minimum level of experience, and the instructor must have ZFT training.
I was involved in getting CAA ZFT approval for the BA 747 "classic" fleet in 1995. We had to be observed by CAA inspectors both on the sim and on the line. It was a steep leaning curve but eventually it worked well (although not so much fun for the trainers).
When I left BA in 2002 and went to work for a cargo airline, that airline did not have ZFT approval so once again I had the pleasure of bashing the circuit.
Even airlines such as BA will have to carry out base training if they recruit pilots without the minimum ZFT requirements (from memory....1500 hours??).
Base training was probably the most fun that a trainer could have, although it's expensive, and environmentally unfriendly.

Can't exactly remember how long ago but a cargo airline was doing base training at Almeria using B727s. Sat on the 1st floor open air terrace sharing a bottle of wine watching touch and go, missed approaches to the dead side and full stop landings with taxi and go again for about 90 minutes. The noise hacked a lot of punters off but I loved it. :)

The A.300 you may be thinking of was on Saturday 14th December 1985.

It was in fact KLM A.310 PH-AGD and it performed no less than 22 ILS approaches during 1620 and 1805 that day.

It has not ceased entirely - this year Ryanair, easyJet, Monarch, Thomson, KLM, RAF, Loganair etc have all base trained at Prestwick

Base training , (ie circuits) is still absolutely normal for most airlines. Chap I know reckons he did about 80 ccts in the A320 series last year. I'd have been dizzy.

If the pilot under training does not have the required experience then base training is still required Therefore the 200 hour cadets joining BA, Ryanair, EasyJet etc will not be ZFT qualified.

Copied from an old PPRuNe post;

Yes! That was definitely it! I was pretty sure it was KLM but not sure enough to post that. 1985... crikey, a bit more than 15 years ago, though. Getting on for twice that. Time flies when you're having fun!

More recently British Airways were circuit bashing at Manston in the A380

Ryanair used to do them at Castle Don. in recent years.

Teesside used to be a favourite, and this traffic would be welcomed and valued by them now if it was still available.

No extended downwind legs needed these days to sequence with other traffic, just the risk of tumbleweed FOD...

In the early 70's I saw Vanguards, newly acquired by Merpati doing circuits with at least one prop feathered.

Also saw Viscounts in Austrian livery with two feathered, which seems brave, with hindsight. Even as a kid, it impressed as something that seemed a bit daring.

My first jet flight was a familiarisation trip on a BOAC 707 bashing the circuit at Bedford, of all places.

Bedford
 

I believe Bedford was often used for airline training. Nice long runway, convenient location, outside controlled airspace and not too busy.

Also used for training by the RAF. I recall doing practice ILS approaches and circuits in the early '70s in a Vickers Varsity, of all things!

I once signed off six new pilots in one day. Each one needed six landings and a go-around so I did 42 circuits that day. The first beer didn't even touch the sides!

Well, Bedford was the base for the Blind Landing Experimental Unit and the Varsity was used for the first tests of automatic landing there in the late 50s/early 60s. So Bedford had a long history of Varsitys doing ILS approaches.

I'm fairly sure that "Castle Don" is still used for circuits by RyanAir aircraft (unless they've stopped in the last few weeks, last time I was passing by).

Agree about observation of RYR doing circuits @ EMA. Seen to do touch/go form Motorway and also while while dropping son off at Download festival.

Airbanda,

Let me check I got that right. Are you saying M O'L diverted a Ryanair a/c to do a touch-and-go on the motorway, in order to drop his son off near the Download festival?

Safe to say that the pilots will be paying for those circuits. So they're still revenue flights!

There's a song about that :uhoh:

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