flying heavies

[TurboS7]

Sim is a pain in the butt, but the airplanes fly wonderful. I have 300 hours of sim time and I look at that like I am a brand new pilot. The older sims are a nightmare the newer ones are a little better. Generally a person that has trouble in the sim does great out on the line and vs. versa.

 

[flx757]

That's a pretty broad statement there, Turbo. I've known plenty of pilots that do a good job BOTH in the sim and on the line. Most pilots I know do a good job on the line. The ones that don't are few and far between. The ones that do a good job in the sim are the ones that want to do a good job in the sim. You will always have those with the attitude that they want to do just good enough to get by, and it shows. I like to set the standards a bit higher than that for myself, and I know there are plenty more pilots that do the same.

 

[TurboS7]

You are obviously one of those exceptional astronaut types.LOL We call checkairman astronauts, though when a line guys tries he can fly circles around them.(Don't take it personal I am just letting you in on some MAI humor.) I agree with you about the trying part in the sim, it just takes practice. You(as a checkairman) see the sim all the time a line guys sees it twice a year. Ask Bobby Bonds if he could hit a home run if he saw pitches just twice a year-no way. Considering the big picture it is amazing that any of us pass.

 

[DC10]

Heavies

Weight has everything to do with controllability on heavy jets. On the DC10, our max take off weight is 572,000 lbs. At that weight the aircraft is extremely slow to respond to pilot inputs and you have to think well ahead of the game. If you make a correction and wait to see the result before re-correcting, you're already behind. The key is in anticipating what the aircraft will do and planning well in advance.

On the other hand we sometimes fly really short repositioning sectors at very light weights. I think the lightest I have taken off in the DC10 is around 300,000 lbs which as you can see is about 130 tons below MTOW. At that weight the plane handles like a fighter jet. It will max out the VSI on climb (6000fpm+) and is very sensitive on the controls.

Also, light weight landings are much more difficult than having the stability of a heavier aircraft.

Hope this helps.

 

[skydiverdriver]

Well, I don't fly a heavy, but the thing I noticed the most, coming from a light aircraft to the F-27 and jet, is that the cg is 30 feet behind you. When you are on final with a crosswind, you are out in front of the cg, instead of near it like you are in a smaller aircraft. It seems strange at first, especially when you kick in the rudder to land streight, and the whole cockpit moves across the runway. Also, the thing about planning ahead is true, especially with speed control. You also usually fly down the glideslope with some power on, as idle will take you below your ref speed.

I personally think that the computer simulators are a good start to learn how to fly something larger. I got my first laptop on a trip once, and had a very experienced cargo pilot fly it once. I couldn't get the thing to do anything, but on his first time he landed it like he had designed the thing. I was pretty humbled. Good luck.