Gotta stay proficient somehow lol. No sense flying the flight director all day when they don't let you use it in the sim

 

I think some of you guys misunderstand the purpose of the FD and how to use it. The FD is NOT an "idiot guide" so that you don't have to think, and just "monkey see-monkey do". The purpose of the FD is to concentrate all the data you are receiving into one easy to interpret instrument to help you free up brain power during high work-load situations. It is STILL your responsibility to cross check what the FD is telling you against the other instruments and make sure it is giving you accurate information. A good example is when the LOC starts to wander during an ILS. Just because the LOC needle is swinging left and right and the FD is commanding corrections doesn't mean you should follow them.

But I guess I would have to go missed and divert in that situation since I'm one of the 9 out of 10 pilots who likes to use the automation that Experimental "guarantees" can't fly an approach without the FD.

 

Wow this thread's tone changed REAL quick.... Cant we all just get along?

 

I guess it's about time for me to chime in here...

First of all, I did nothing different than anyone else would have done and am capable of no more than anyone else out there. Saab2000 and I worked as a crew as we are all trained to do. If anyone deserves the credit is to Saab2000. From the right seat in a crew environment I am only as good as the leadership I am under. Saab2000's abilities as a PIC are right on and although he is relatively new to the left seat at AWAC his knowledge, wisdom, and experience in airline operations are way beyond his PIC time.

Saab enjoyed the trip with ya... hope we can do it again soon.


Second... to address what this thread has digressed to. There seems to be a lot of discussion about using the flight director or not. I personally never use it when the autopilot is off. It doesn't matter if it is VMC or IMC. If I have chosen to have the autopilot off I am controlling my destiny... not the flight director. Here's why. Several month back I flew with a captain who never used the FD. I was intrigued and decided to try. I was disgusted by how sloppy of a pilot I had become. I decided from that day on I would fly without the flight director. The first few days were pretty sloppy, but like anything else you re-learn pretty quickly. I love to fly. I hate all the airline BS, but i love to fly. There is no reason that any one of us can not fly a raw data approach and although I never really do that in IMC I still want to know that I can! I know a lot of you think that this is irresponsible and dangerous with people's lives in the back, but you people need to get a life. It's an airplane... you're a pilot... cowboy up!


Third... Early in this thread Kansas made a comment about me learning to fly in Kansas, and then another gave the credit to Parks College at Saint Louis University. I started to really think about who I have learned the most from.
Here's the list of a few men who have shaped my abilities in and passion for aviation... all in very different ways and from very different perspectives.

Tim Whitney- HawkerBeechcraft
Dwayne Clemens- Clemens Aircraft www.clemensaircraft.com
Ron Hallaux- HawkerBeechcraft
Randy Cox- Parks College @ SLU

... there are many more.



And just for the record... when we were coming in for that out of trim landing... that was some pucker factor like I've never experienced before!


-groovinaviator-

 

Ahh, welcome to the first of many differences between the 145 program and the 170 program. The only time we don't use a FD is stalls/steep turns. Its on for the rest of the flight. In fact, since the AP is integrated with the flight control modules, at least one channel has to be working to dispatch.

I keep the FD up even when its giving me "odd" data simply b/c it requires too many buttons to get it set back up if I suddenly want it. I usually fly via other references though and magically the FD goes where it should. I too chased it fresh out of the sim. Its amazing how much better the airplane seems to handle of you don't chase it and just fly the airplane.

 

I agree with ExperimentalAB, Toiletduck, and groovinaviator...

If you want to fly an approach (in IMC) without the flight director, you can do it. It may even make you a better pilot!

 

Duplicate Post...

 

By the way Saab2000 said you handled the situation, I would have guessed you knew how to fly the plane well...like a Pilot that was intimately familiar with his airplane...

So I've come to grips with the fact that I'm probably far different than most folks here - maybe I'm just a dying breed...But I didn't come into this Job for the money, big-shiny Jets, Flight Attendants, or glory. Really, deep-down inside somewhere, I'm just a guy that Loves to fly Airplanes. Which is really the only good reason I put up with all the crud of the 121-world - because they let me fly an Airplane for up to 8 hours a day (and sometimes more - legal to start, legal to finish!).

Honestly, it saddens me when I fly with guys that treat their Profession as a science - and a sloppy one at that. Flying an Airplane is nothing short of an art and should be treated as such. Just like a standard-shift car can be driven more smoothly than the best of automatics, we should all strive to fly the aircraft better than any Autopilot. One Captain I flew with many months ago said it best - "the day I can't smoothly fly this airplane [sans FD], is the day that I quit."

Again, groovinaviator and Saab2000 - Job well done.

 

N441ZW


From all the MEL's I've been seeing lately it seems our airplanes are falling apart... and I'm not just talking about the plethora of customer convenience item write-ups!

 

Maintenance doesn't have a future there either, it seems...

I always liked flying 441...421 was the dog for me...