Originally Posted by
eaglefly
I've flown a CAT III approach in a sim before using a HUD and IMO, it was easier then CAT II without.
For the record, Eagle experience levels meet or exceed Horizons and we'll be flying Cat II's soon without HUDS. That notwithstanding, Horizon has a fine group of pilots that deserve better and I hope they get it.
I just thought the IBT could be a little more imaginative then following ALPA, as following ALPA nowadays usually gets you nowhere except poorer.
I would imagine this is the same with many airplane types and with many carriers. But, just because an advanced system is easy to use in a simulated environment does not mean it ads complexity to the operation. It means we have to learn more procedures. It means we have to be tested on more too. And the system in place at Horizon for this advanced equipment is to teach it via powerpoint slides and bulletins.
It is not just flying a Cat 3 approach via a HUD. It is knowing and using the restrictions and procedures that come with it. And having to operate within the ATC system with an often faulty airplane system that fails to arm far too often.
And it isn't just CAT 3/HUD we work with. It is also RNP and now a few airplanes have FMSs set up for WAAS. It is the EFBs too, which are supposed to make things easier but is yet another system we have to know and be tested on. And all this we have to be experts on via bulletins.
By no means are we special or better than any other regional. But, to blow off the additional procedures and knowledge we are required to know is not good.
And to top it all off, our technical people are working on getting minimums lowered for us on all CAT 1 approaches to 1,200 RVR.