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Flight Directors off for stall practice in the simulator.

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Flight Directors off for stall practice in the simulator.

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Old 22nd Jun 2018, 15:29
  #41 (permalink)  
swh

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Originally Posted by IFLY_INDIGO
just like in TCAS RA, stall recovery has nothing to do with FDs. FDs must be switched off if you get into stall for more focused recovery.
The reason the FDs should be turned off is they are telling you and the aircraft how to fly what is set in the FCU. With a stall recovery or TCAS this may command the opposite thrust you require.

Turning FD off results in a speed mode independent of the FCU.
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Old 22nd Jun 2018, 18:16
  #42 (permalink)  
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Originally Posted by vilas
This can be a subject of a new thread. Stall is very much part of FCOM and QRH Abnormal Procedures. It is also a drill. Only difference is it is done by memory because life is too short. It is part of abnormal procedures in both the documents mentioned.
not in QRH anymore.. yes, it is in FCOM as a memory item.

I will also follow golden rule 'Use the appropriate level of automation at all times' and switch off FDs if they were on.
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Old 22nd Jun 2018, 19:57
  #43 (permalink)  
 
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This thread is ridiculous.

AIRCRAFT CONTROL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> fiddling with flight guidance

It takes ... what, about 4 seconds? to say "FLIGHT DIRECTORS OFF" and for PM to then do it.

That's about four seconds more than pushing the column forward to start reducing the AOA. <------ (Remember that whole 'how to unstall an aircraft 1.01' thing)

Are some of you muppets going to sit there frozen, unable to reduce AOA until the flight guidance is removed?

Hand your licence in.

Are any of your colleagues going to do that? FAIL THEM, or feckin SHOOT them.

I don't care which, but they are too retarded to fly an aircraft.
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Old 23rd Jun 2018, 06:18
  #44 (permalink)  
 
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I would have thought any pilot would be able to say "Flight Directors OFF" at the same time as he is pushing the stick forward.
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Old 23rd Jun 2018, 07:38
  #45 (permalink)  
 
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It's easy to ask for FDs off and turn them off in normal sunny daily operations. But when the workload is significantly more than usual, I saw guys pressing the ILS p/b instead of the FDs p/b or only pressing one of them when I asked for Fds off. Or sometimes a simple task of challenge and response during landing checklist can be challenging and slower than normal.

So now imagine during a stall... xD.

I'm with Vilas and Cpt Pit Bull on that one. The waste of time for asking for something non standard in an upset situation that even a delay of a fraction of a second can be fatal is not a good idea. The priority is always to FLY first.
And 'FLY' means for the PM: ''He must assist the PF and must actively monitor flight parameters and call out any excessive deviation. The PM's role of actively monitoring is very important'

In a stall monitoring is much more important than playing with the FCU.

80% of the aircraft accidents are due to poor monitoring according to Air France.
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Old 23rd Jun 2018, 09:47
  #46 (permalink)  
 
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INDIGO
It is simple in the SIM to just bring THR LVRs to idle and stall, push the stick forward and recover. For all you know the aircraft hadn't stalled because present simulators are not representative of deep stall and you are not allowed to practice deep stall. So if you did nothing else it wouldn't matter. In Perpignan and AF 447(although self created) the stab had auto trimmed way up and to unstall it required to manually trim forward otherwise recovery was not possible. In another you may require to retract speed brakes or make wings level. These are all critical actions and they need to be done by memory instantly and the PM has to ensure you do or he has to remind you or do them himself. If you forget to switch off FDs it is not disastrous like forgetting the other things. In a hurry in TCAS I have seen people switching on the LS button instead off switching off FDs. FD on or off shouldn't paralyze anyone. Golden rule 1 fly the aircraft. You can't fly a stalled aircraft unless you unstall it. So first unstall it. Then fly it back to the flight path. It seems that all memory items have been removed from the QRH. But stall recovery is discussed in the FCTM and it doesn't say anything about FDs.

Last edited by vilas; 23rd Jun 2018 at 11:24.
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Old 23rd Jun 2018, 13:48
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80% of the aircraft accidents are due to poor monitoring according to Air France
Of course, Air France would say that, wouldn't they? How about 80% of accidents are due to the PF's poor instrument flying ability?
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Old 23rd Jun 2018, 13:53
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If anyone wants detailed procedure following is from Airbus Safety First:
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Old 23rd Jun 2018, 13:56
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Sure. But the point is that even if it’s a clown as PF, as long as the PM is doing his job properly, things should not go out of control. Eg like when the PF is doing a raw data approach, the PM must call out any deviations. If he does it accurately the PF will be aware and correct his mistakes immediately and always be stabilized. If PF does not react, PM should take control. Same case shall apply in a stall situation.
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Old 23rd Jun 2018, 14:31
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It is simple in the SIM to just bring THR LVRs to idle and stall, push the stick forward and recover. For all you know the aircraft hadn't stalled because present simulators are not representative of deep stall and you are not allowed to practice deep stall. So if you did nothing else it wouldn't matter. In Perpignan and AF 447(although self created) the stab had auto trimmed way up and to unstall it required to manually trim forward otherwise recovery was not possible
Further to the subject of stall recovery, it is interesting to study the Turkish Airlines B737 crash at Amsterdam see: https://www.google.com.au/search?sou....0.GaJ3YewRW-M
Some operators, during type rating training where the syllabus requires approach to the stall recovery action, have replicated the events that led to that disaster. One of those events was the almost continuous back trimming of the stabiliser as the autopilot attempted to maintain the ILS glide slope after the thrust levers went to idle.

At stick shaker with an airspeed of (from memory) approximately Vref minus 25, the stab trim had wound back to about 12-14 degrees back trim instead of the usual seven degrees setting at landing configuration. In the simulator, when recovery at stick shaker is attempted in this situation, the pitch up at firewall thrust is really significant and can lead to a full power stall if not contained. This is because the forward elevator forces needed to contain the pitch up at full power, are so strong and need to be relieved by immediate forward stabiliser trim action which requires about 5-7 seconds of continuous nose down stabiliser trim. Care has to be taken not to over-trim of course; but five seconds of continuous forward trim should get you out of immediate trouble as by then the stab trim will be around 5-7 degrees as in a normal go-around situation.

. At the same time the pilot needs to carefully adjust the pitch angle to remain around 5-8 degrees nose up as a compromise between flying into the ground while trying to increase airspeed, and pitching too far up to prevent a secondary stall warning. Once Vref is reached, the flaps can be retracted to flap 15 as in a normal go-around and body angle adjusted as per normal go-around procedure. None of this assumes the aircraft is in a deep stall. if that happens at low altitude, all bets are off and the devil take the hindmost..
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Old 23rd Jun 2018, 16:22
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At stick shaker with an airspeed of (from memory) approximately Vref minus 25, the stab trim had wound back to about 12-14 degrees back trim
This is digression but since you mentioned I need to comment on these accidents. This Vref-25 in Turkish, Vref-27 in Indian Airlines, Vref-31in Asiana with two pilots sitting in front and in two of these during command checks, in absolutely fine weather is simply unacceptable standard of piloting. Automation dependency means inability to fly without automation not inability to monitor flight path on auto pilot. I don't think they had the required scan to apply the stall recovery procedure at low level.

Last edited by vilas; 24th Jun 2018 at 15:56.
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Old 24th Jun 2018, 17:00
  #52 (permalink)  
 
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There's no easy straightforward answer here.

On one hand, the primary task is to fly the plane and put the nose down with no delay and no interference.

On the other hand, given the strength with which the propensity to follow the FD is burned into our brains, its remaining visible is enough of an interference to the primary task, as to matter. From my observations, I can confidently guess that I use the FD by far the least out of my airline of 2000 pilots, and even for me, whenever it stays up because the other guy is too busy answering a radio call or whatever to change the dial the appropriate settings into the panel, it is extremely difficult to ignore it. Fighting the urge to follow it is a significatn distraction to the flying task.

Of course, one way to (at least partially) resolve this contradiction is for the PF to use his own mouth and the PM's hands to turn off the FD, leaving his own hands available to fly the plane. But then (if the story is told accurately) he runs into an idiot instructor who has taken it upon himself to reinforce automation dependency by forcing its use in inappropriate situations. It has literally become a taboo to not have the FD visible as its lack evokes a gut discomfort. It's somehow better for these people for it to be up and displaying a wrong command, than for it to be hidden.

For those strongly putting forth the notion that the FD is to be ignored, well... if wishes were horses then beggars could ride. We saw how that ended up with AF447 and the +8000 fpm FD that popped up in the midst of their startle and confusion.

For every child of the magenta that has flown a flyable airplane into a well publicized crash, there are hordes of ones latently plodding along without incident in normal operations, ready to make the same mistake when operations stop being normal. The mental conditions are there, just waiting for a trigger.

Last edited by Vessbot; 24th Jun 2018 at 17:19.
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Old 25th Jun 2018, 01:18
  #53 (permalink)  
 
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It is more exacting to write "stall off for Flight Director practice in the simulator"
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Old 25th Jun 2018, 05:58
  #54 (permalink)  
 
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Wow, a lot of discussion for a no-brainer imo. First fly.

stall (warning) --> nose down. Once the recovery is initiated, analyse your current state and continue the recovery (with or without F/D present).

Are you going to discuss as well if the airplane shouts "pull up, pull up"? Firewall and 20° up (on my aircraft), then think about the details.
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Old 25th Jun 2018, 15:56
  #55 (permalink)  
 
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We saw how that ended up with AF447 and the +8000 fpm FD that popped up in the midst of their startle and confusion.
I think you should leave AF447 out. It's a wrong example to quote. When audio is blaring stall, stall you don't follow FDs. AF447 crew never realized the stall.
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Old 25th Jun 2018, 16:55
  #56 (permalink)  
 
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My opinion (student pilot, currently PPL IR) is that the FDs should be used in order to improve accurracy.
I'm thinking I should bank 17° right and pitch 3.5° up, my FD tells me 18° right and 4° up, ok then, I'll follow it.
If it tells me 15° left, and if I'm sure of my 17° right, I will have no moral or ethics problem at all with shutting it off. Or even more shocking for my instructors, no problem at all flying opposite the FD. Even more so when the reason why the FD is not aligned with my idea is known. E.G I'm in heading or nav mode but I am willingly taking a turn for weather avoidance. In this case I know the FD directs me into an unwanted situation : **** it, I'll do what I know is better.

The fact that professional pilots would follow the FDs instruction without thinking twice, or even worse that instructors would train people to do so, frightens me.
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Old 25th Jun 2018, 18:24
  #57 (permalink)  
 
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Originally Posted by vilas
I think you should leave AF447 out. It's a wrong example to quote. When audio is blaring stall, stall you don't follow FDs. AF447 crew never realized the stall.
I'm not following your reasoning as to why the example doesn't apply. Are you saying "you don't follow FDs" as something you shouldn't do? If so, I agree. Are you saying it as something that doesn't happen at inappropriate times? Then I disagree. They may or may not have realized the stall, that's something we can only speculate on. That they did not act properly on it, we know for for certain.

Even if they did realize it, that in no way prevents them from reacting to it the wrong way in the face of overwhelming urges (1. if in trouble, pull up, and 2. follow the FD)

If they did not, surely the FD commanding +8000 fpm would have acted as a contributor to their false information that is the basis of their failure to recognize it.
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Old 26th Jun 2018, 05:04
  #58 (permalink)  
 
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I really gave a serious thought to avoiding reference to 447 because despite twenty thousand posts and a decade later it refuses to die. I only hope I already haven't done the damage.
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Old 26th Jun 2018, 05:54
  #59 (permalink)  
 
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AF447, oh no we're going under
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