ExperimentalAB

The CRJ's have a neat little "banana" on the MFD that shows you where you will be reaching the selected altitude, as well as a "snowflake" on the PFD where you would normally find a G/S indicator. They cannot be Autopilot-coupled.

The ERJ's have just a purple indicator (same as a G/S indicator, just purple) on the PFD. This cannot be Autopilot-coupled either.

They are for guidance only, and are dependent on the information saved in the box (ie VNAV G/S-angle). If you have garbage in, garbage comes out. Ahhh...the beauty of automation.

wi_pilot

CRJ's will give you a snowflake from the FMS, but the autopilot cannot fly vertical guidance given from the FMS.

iflyjets4food

After looking it up, I stand corrected. Depending on your company's operating procedures, RNAV procedures can be hand flown. In the case of the Eldee2 arrival, since it is an RNAV 1 procedure, one MUST use a lateral deviation indicator, flight director, and/or autopilot.

cbire880

Dude that was an attack. Get off your high horse with respect to hand flying raw data. There is a lot going on while flying such an arrival or departure that needs to be managed. The autopilot/flight director are tools to lessen your workload so that you don't miss some other important factors (like miss a crossing restriction in a non-VNAV equiped airplane). Most of us don't see a need to keep going around blabbering about how Sierra Hotel we are. We fly the airplane and get the job done. I highly suggest you read this article from APC. You are coming arcross sounding like a punk kid pilot mill grad.

To answer your question, yes I am perfectly capable of flying said arrival by hand if need be. I generally don't hand fly during the arrivals though because both pilots tend to get task saturated. The PM is often busy getting the ATIS, calling in range, briefing the pax and FAs, and loading the approach(after the third runway change of course). Our SOP does not permit the PF to manipulate the guidance panel when hand flying (doesn't mean it doesn't happen) and he can't do all of those things at the same time. I'll throw my salvo back, you fly for SkyWest, have you ever operated in the Northeast in the winter?

Airsupport

easy fellas. Hand flying like you both said is no big deal. i like hand flying. we have 3 modes of automation that the company likes us to be proficient in. autopilot off, fd off. autopilot off, fd on. autopilot on, fd on. if it is a nice easy day taking off out of little ole mobile, al i will sometimes take off with no fd, or autopilot and fly it to 10k or so. then get bored and turn all the stuff on so i can finish my up down words. even if the weather was bad in mobile i wouldn't have a problem flying the plane around.

but if i am taking off or landing at an airport with marginal conditions i will turn on the autopilot at 600ft or keep it on if i am coming in to land. is it because i cant fly the departure/arrival, or the approach? no. it is common courtesy to the pilot monitoring. when things get busy the last thing i want the pm to do is be listening to me tell hime to bug headings, speeds, change modes for me, or any combination of the above.

so like i said it is common courtesy and a big help in the cockpit to be SMART and THINK about when would be a good time to go raw data and fly the plane around to when it is better to have the autopilot on. just think and be courtious to the guy you are flying with.

NightIP

Bingo!

I typically hand-fly up through the mid-teens after takeoff, but then leave the autopilot on until I break out on an IAP. The biggest reason I wait so long on an approach is simply what you said: common courtesy. The PM is taking radio calls and concentrating on the approach as well. No need to unnecessarily ask that person to continually set things in for me when I could be lowering everyone's workload by letting the autopilot fly.

Also, it's just plain safe. While I'm perfectly capable of hand-flying an approach (as everyone qualified in the airplane should be), I recognize that there are 50 people sitting behind me who don't deserve to have pilots purposefully increasing their own workloads just to prove that they're hot sticks. I use every bit of automation available to me for that reason.

andy171773

I'd help..but i have absolutely no idea how to read those silly naco's

kidding! i swear

I have never flown this, but i don't see the issue..you have WZZRD at 10,000, which is the last restriction before ELDEE 12 miles later at 8...2000 feet in 12 miles isn't anything significant...sounds like guys blasting at 250 for too long, then having to wait for a clean jet to slow up..

just what i gander.