Flight Directors

[Tri-holer]

I've got to agree with de727ups for the most part. I liked hand flying the airplane and rarely brought up the FD. I did bring it up for actual ILS approaches and that was about it. Occasionally, with a compliant captain, I would shoot an approach down low (4-500') with the FD down - his was up. The way I figured it, anybody could fly the approach with the FD, but if it broke or gave me bad data, I wanted to be sure I could do it without coaching.

Only difference with de727ups is I would hand fly up to altitude and back down to the ground. I figured I wanted to fly, not watch the autopilot fly and when I got a job flying passengers (not uncomplaining boxes), the company would probably make me use the autopilot. My last captain thought I was afraid of the autopilot - I'm not, I'm just a Luddite. Guess now that I do have that job flying pax, I will have to be a reformed Luddite.

 

[328dude]

I personally prefer the V bar. I find it a little bit easier to follow. I used to fly raw data more often when I got hired, but got lazy and just leave it on now. I also find it funny that the "STBY" button on our panel for the FD is the cleanest of the bunch. LOL Hardly any dirt or finger grime to wipe off. Oh well, just leaves me more time to look for porn.

 

[Orvilleflyer]

Lately I have been flying with FO's who like doing takeoff's without the FD on... When it's severe clear and a million. A little unnerving to me because of how much engine failure training you get in the sim and never once do you practice a V1 cut without the FD on.. At least at my airline. As far as in cruise, go ahead, turn the thing off once in a while- It's good for ya. I had one week (in three years at the company) with 3 airplanes I flew that had the AP/FD deferred- One of which was going into SLC during the Olympics- Not a time to screw up. Nevertheless we did fine having not flown raw data in a long time. The point is, if it's there, use it. Just once in a while hand fly without it. The job of the FD is to take the input from 4-6 instruments and turn that into one thing to look at, thereby making your job easier... And intern, making it safer for the passengers- The number one priority.

 

[tarp]

Three things to consider:

I for one fly in an airplane with the world's stupidist flight director. It can't find a pitch without oscillating up and down and can't intercept a localizer at greater than a 20 degree angle without flying through and oscillating right and left until it finds the groove. Do you think I trust it's little pink arrow?

When you do stalls in the Sim, it's raw data.

To get your captain's bars at our airline you have to do a precision and non-precision approach in raw data.

So - learn to fly with it and without it. To tell you the truth, the hardest thing to do is to fly "through the flight director" when it is telling you to do one thing and you see that its wrong. But to do that, you need to understand all the raw data on the sides.

 

[FlyinBrian]

I would never have the bars on without being tucked up inside them. If you're not going to follow them, get rid of them! They will only confuse you. Figure out where you screwed up, get it in the right mode, and then turn them back on if you want to.

Our manual required you to follow the FD if it was on. I think that this is a good policy.

 

[Orvilleflyer]

I agree with Brian. If it's broken, write it up.

 

[DC9stick]

On our DC9's, antique steam powered, (FD109) FD use is pretty much Capt. discretion.
The MD-80 on the other hand is a highly automated aircraft with two autopilots and FD use is mandatory during all phases of flight.
All training is also done with the FD engaged.