Timbo , 05-19-2012 01:59 PM
Runs with scissors
We still get paid by the minute, right?
Maybe they are 'short' for the month!
That was a joke, I do agree with your sentiments SF. But here's the problem. We are told to use all the automation, as much as possible, Vnav to the OM, etc. Flying is (or should be!) a eye-hand type skill, skills we all learned early on, and got to use all the time in the 727/DC9/DC8, what have you.
But to keep that skill, you have to PRACTICE once in a while. Just like a golf swing or racing catamarans, the more you practice, the better you get. But since the Airbus philosophy has taken 'hand flying' out of the realm of normal ops, and with that same mindset creeping into our Boeing training programs (757/767/777) well, in the Sim, they want to see you use the automation, all the time....so...when do you get to practice?
I still go out and fly a little taildragger, just to keep myself sharp, because I don't even get one landing per month on the 777. Thank God I have about a zillion landings in the 757/767 to fall back on, all but a couple Cat 3's in 12 years on it were hand flown, and they are similar enough to the 777 that old 757 habbits work well there. But for someone coming off of nothing but glass and magic, well, what do they have to fall back on when the magic quits, or confuses them?
In BOTH Air France incidents...it sounds like these guys have no idea what to do when the magic quits! I fear we are breeding a similar pilot, eventually, with our "automation all the time" policy. I agree we should be doing a lot more hand flying, on the line and in the sim, and more partial panel work in the sim.