+1 Content is not as important as the ability to communicate. My topic was compare LPV to LNAF/VNAV approaches. As a military guy in a plane that couldn't fly those, I had no idea. I wrote what I new about RNAV/GPS approaches and said if hired this is something I'd have to learn about. Do not BS.

 

+1. Got the same thing.

 

That's a tactical change they have made. The pencil worked well back in the old days (2.9 years ago).

8

 

After I submitted my application recently I was second guessing myself WRT to EFIS qualifications. I answered that I had 0 EFIS time, but does anybody know if the T-6A can be considered EFIS? After all, it has an EFIS control panel... Unfortunately it has no auto pilot and all the glass gauges are just steam gauge replicas... I tried looking up the definition of EFIS but there was no one definition that really answered my question. Is this a deal breaker for Atlas? Also, I am guessing that Atlas favors the prior Heavy guys? I am a Navy guy with a C-2 background and most recently IP time in the T-6A, neither of which are very large...

 

I don't know if it's correct, but I haven't been counting the T-6 as EFIS. We really don't have a FMS or a MFD, yeah technically we have glass, but I don't believe it is considered an EFIS though I could be incorrect. (if it is, it would be an extremely basic EFIS system) I guess I'm curious about the answer too.

https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/spg/sho...%2Ft6panel.jpg

 

Electronic flight instrument system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I can't see it being a deal breaker. There were some old school pilots from Piedmont that went to US Airways and had a real hard time with the systems on the Airbus. I think a lot of it has to do with attitude. (no pun intended) Just do what the instructor tells you and you will be fine. Modern airplanes are not meant to be hand flown. They can, but then it can overload your partner. If you have been flying steam gauges for the past 20 years it is going to be harder for you to learn to fly with a computer screen in front of you. It's easier but you have to think before you start pushing buttons. There is a fine balance between being 100% reliant on the autopilot systems and being able to do hand flown, zero guidance visual approaches. As shown by Asiana. Learn with training wheels then take them off your bike has worked for years.

 

Really? I flew for what you call Piedmont...and we called Henson...a long time ago. No autopilots, VOR/ILS by the F/O's right knee in a BE-99...and you're saying "modern airplanes" aren't meant to be handflown because the workload is too heavy on the NFP?

Get serious, man. The -400 is about as close to being a single pilot airplane as you can get, and if they had moved everything closer, they'd have tried.

Transitioning from steam isn't difficult if you clear your head, approach it logically and ask questions when you need to. Boeing builds airplanes for pilots to FLY, with computers to back them up. Anyone who sits back and lets the magic take over from 500' agl to rollout will be totally useless when the magic goes blank and they haven't hand flown the bird.

Taking a 747...or any other plane to cruise and then turning on the autopilot...or hand flying a descent...is not only easy, it's not "hard" on the other guy. And heaven forbid, it keeps your skillset sharp.

 

I have to respectfully disagree on this one. Hand flying up to cruise proves/provides nothing, as long as you have the FD up and running. In the departure environment, while you're playing pilot, the PM (pilot monitoring) is managing the radios, CDU, MCP and keeping more than an eye on the hand flying going on. Just my opinion.

On the classic, more than a few times, I saw guys aviating to cruise and get so slow we had to descend to get on speed. Mind you, we were hanging on the props, even if on speed, but get behind, even by a few knots and you'd never accelerate.

 

Yeah, time and place for it. Some guys don't get that. Did a flight into remote Africa with a guy hand flying down from cruise. Runway change, 3 radios to play with, building approaches, setting his speed and heading bugs, building fixes for an arc, avoiding mountains. That was real safe.... But I'm sure the flying part was easy!

 

I agree with ATC. I am typed in the 72 through the 76 and here at Atlas is the only place I have ever heard of overtaxing the PM by hand flying. Really? We, the industry have reached the point where we are turning the automation into a liability with, for some, the complete loss of skills. There is a time and place for both. We need to stress maintaining competency in all levels of automation, including NONE.