Early Airbus SOP's?
 

I am fairly new to the Bus and started wondering how the A320 sop's/operating philosophy has changed over time. Nowadays, they seem pretty conventional (with few exceptions). I wonder what they were like in the late 80's/early 90's when the BUS was brand new and sold as "my maid could fly it", fully automatic airplane. Any thoughts, or references?

Cheers

Stuck

SOPs
 

For me, the big problem with SOPs is when Chief Pilots who think they know more than the manufacturer start fiddling with them. I have seen so many changes to SOPs over the years by management, changes that were quite stupid and had nothing to do with the original ones supplied by the manufacturer. In one case I had to e-mail the builder for clarification after enduring mass problems with a change done by a large operator and passed by the Government Aviation folks. The reply was " That is why we told you to do it this way". Some don't realize that if you change the SOPs and have an accident, the manufacturer may turn their backs on you.
Unless you design, build, flight test, certify and write the manuals for a particular 'plane, don't mess with the SOPs.
T

Essentially, if all lights were out, everything was okay then one programmed the FMGEC...

Now that's a bit of a simplification, but not by much. The check was called a "flow" (as it is sometimes now called for other types). In steam airplanes, everything was checked, (all audible/visual warnings), switches were placed and bugs were set. In the A320, one moved one's hand about the overhead as if a genuflection, then over the center panel, the pedestal and finally the Captain's then F/O's panel then one did the FMGC entries from the flight plan.

As for chief pilots changing SOPs, it is well understood that airlines can do what they want with SOPs providing they do not permit more than the manufacturer does in their generic SOPs. The SOPs I was familiar with were in my view disciplined, detailed and excellent and dovetailed with other types in the fleet. During CCQ, (cross-crew qualification) we were required to adopt "The Flow" for a while but returned to the detailed work that was familiar to all. Not a pleasant time, as new SOPs were coming overnight by the trainload. Thank heaven it was sorted out.

Hi!

Thanks for replies. What I am trying to learn is how much has been changed due to various incidents that showed up during the type's service life. Does anyone, perchance, have copies of early FCOM3/FCTM?