Originally Posted by
4fans
Hey everybody, I'm a 320B considering 7ERB on the MOAB. Has anybody who has been on the 320 or 330 a while gone back to a "real" airplane and felt like they were behind the curve? (this is not intended as a slam on the airbus, I love the plane, just not the trips) Or is it just like riding a bike? I've heard people going to the bus have found it challenging to adjust, but how about people leaving it? Most everyone I have flown with who flew the 757 consider it their favorite airplane so I figure it must be pretty great.
Thanks for any thoughts.
Did that move with a few months as FE in between (so I had that going for me). The riding a bike thing, especially regarding pitch trim ... I kind of missed that for no good reason and it came back pronto. It takes a while to redevelop a proper instrument scan. The scan pattern on the 757/767 is the same as a pure steam gauge plane for the most part, since there are no tapes for airspeed and altitude/vsi. 320 or any full glass cockpit tends to make the eyes lazy; an EFIS stare, if you will.
I like the 7ER fleet better than the Bus, but I’m good with either. Once you have seniority, the choice of flying is awesome on the ER and it flies really great. Twice as many tires and brakes on the MLG provides much more runway stopping confidence than on a stretched Bus or 737, and worries of dragging the tail are greatly diminished. If only that damn yoke could move away at meal time, the 757/767 would be pretty close to perfect. The cave man EFIS does not make your day any worse compared to Bus duty, and the FMS reliably places your jet where you want it on a vertical or horizontal trajectory. Better flight spoilers/speed brakes, and a gear speed that will get you down when in a bind.
Honestly, I’d be happy on either jet if pay and destinations and schedules were equal. But the Boeing is pretty sweet. If you have ever jumped from something like a Piper Archer or your run of the mill tri gear Cessna to a later model Bonanza, you may recall the feeling of how “solid” the Beech was in comparison. It’s like that. Modern CAD engineering with assumed (limited) lifespan for each part on the plane vs. a ruler, protractor and a “make it thicker & it will last” mentality.
I recently did 7ER IQ (for the second time in my career, to change seats) under the latest training footprint, coming from complete glass on the 744. It’s a good course, with plenty of PT & sim time to “ get it.” Now it looks like back to the Bus for me, if I want to have a life. We’ll see how this bid shakes out.
Good luck with your decision and bid results.