What Pilots Learn About Autoflight While Flying On The Line

[Amish RakeFight]

WHAT PILOTS LEARN ABOUT AUTOFLIGHT WHILE FLYING ON THE LINE​

http://hci.ucsd.edu/lab/hci_papers/EH2001-1.pdf

ABSTRACT

We are conducting a longitudinal study to
investigate how pilots acquire expertise in the
operation of the autoflight and flight management
computer systems in the Airbus A320 airplane. We
interview and observe pilots in the first stages of​

their line experience to discover how pilot’s

understanding of flight deck automation develops.

Pilots appear to use a small set of simple conceptual
models to understand how the automation controls
aircraft behavior. These basic models are not
presented to pilots in training. Pilots appear to use
their conceptual models as resources for constructing
an understanding of how the automation controls
airplane behavior. We discuss the models and our
efforts to incorporate them into training.​

​

 

[FL420]

I was pretty sure the Bus was trying to kill me for the first couple hundred hours. Glad to see it wasn't just me. :0

Lots of things in that machine are just counterintuitive. Couple that with the old and slow Intel 8086 processors which could penalize you severely for typing too fast on the McDoo or not pressing a button long enough on the MCP for it to register, you were asking for trouble until you learned to always verify your input was accompanied by the appropriate FMA.

There are so many things you never get to practice in the sim that you do every day on the line; things like visual approaches and vectored departures. The instructors tell you over and over to turn off the flight directors when you handfly the approach but they usually can't really explain why; at least not enough to make the kind of impression on you that the airplane does when it gets real slow on final because you didn't.

Another gotcha is busting 250 below 10K by not turning off the F/Ds when you are trying to climb out while bobbing and weaving around and under building cumulus on departure. If you hold it down below the F/D commanded pitch attitude the A/THR will keep the power up until you fix it or hit Vmo.

 

[AdSo81]

"Ummm....what the heck is it doing now?"

 

[WabiSabi]

"Ummm....what the heck is it doing now?"

that is a typical question of an Airbus FO

a Captain would say; "ahhh, hey look, it's doing that thing again!":laugh:

 

[Princedietrich]

"Ummm....what the heck is it doing now?"

Famous last words, right up there with "Watch this" and "where are we?"