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< The amazing view of Tibetan mountains from A330 sim!
November 2014 Update: I flew an Embraer190, a Boeing 757, a Boeing 777-200 and an Airbus 330 this time.
I remember taking E190 back in Europe this summer with Lufthansa. I thought it was just another one of those small planes, but oh am I wrong.
Embraer190: Out of all the simulators I trained in, I thought the Embraer was the hardest to fly. Nothing was very familiar to me. I was bewildered by the display screens in front of me and the yoke, it was very difficult to control for the following reasons: 1. It was really heavy. 2. It was very insensitive. When I pitched the yoke down all the way, the plane was still climbing. Overall, it was just very slow-acting and it took a few seconds for it to begin the descent (no, the trim didn't quite work and the speed was alright.) It was quite a challenge for me.
B757: I expected the 757 to be a little easier, but I wasn't. It's similar to 737, but the system and displays are much older. I guess I should have expected that from a plane that is no longer in production. Some of the displays weren't even electrical. It was still nice experience anyways.
B777: It was newer than 737. I would say I was most familiar with this plane because it shared many similarities with the 737 I flew last year for more than 25 hours. The time spent wasn't very long, just a few take offs and then quick landing along with some weather conditions.
A330: This was generally easy to control. The only challenge for me is flying with my left hand. Last time in the A320 sim, I flew as the first-officer, so I got to use my right hand, but this time, I flew as the captain and had to use my left. I eventually got used to it. On this plane, we did quite a lot- a lot of smooth take-offs and landings, both ILS and visual. I personally find the ILS landings very very challenging because you really have to anticipate the next movement and be able to change the plane quickly. It was hard to keep up with the localiser some times. I would be chasing it left and right and left and right and in the end, I might end up on the grass patch, not the runway. I do feel very accomplished though, because of our flight to Tibet. It was a fun yet very arduous process. Our elevation was very high, around 10000 feet, meaning the air around us was very thin. We took up most of the runway just for a take-off right into the tall mountains. It was a weak climb even with our engine to full thrust. The airport is built in a valley with a stream. To take-off or land, you have to squeeze in between the mountains and follow the streams to avoid collision with terrains. We circled above the mountains and went for a landing, which turned out to be unsuccessful because we were too high. I pulled up, did a short circuit to get further, then came back again for the approach. It turned out to be a very smooth and on-track landing. I am so proud of myself :)
November 2014 Update: I flew an Embraer190, a Boeing 757, a Boeing 777-200 and an Airbus 330 this time.
I remember taking E190 back in Europe this summer with Lufthansa. I thought it was just another one of those small planes, but oh am I wrong.
Embraer190: Out of all the simulators I trained in, I thought the Embraer was the hardest to fly. Nothing was very familiar to me. I was bewildered by the display screens in front of me and the yoke, it was very difficult to control for the following reasons: 1. It was really heavy. 2. It was very insensitive. When I pitched the yoke down all the way, the plane was still climbing. Overall, it was just very slow-acting and it took a few seconds for it to begin the descent (no, the trim didn't quite work and the speed was alright.) It was quite a challenge for me.
B757: I expected the 757 to be a little easier, but I wasn't. It's similar to 737, but the system and displays are much older. I guess I should have expected that from a plane that is no longer in production. Some of the displays weren't even electrical. It was still nice experience anyways.
B777: It was newer than 737. I would say I was most familiar with this plane because it shared many similarities with the 737 I flew last year for more than 25 hours. The time spent wasn't very long, just a few take offs and then quick landing along with some weather conditions.
A330: This was generally easy to control. The only challenge for me is flying with my left hand. Last time in the A320 sim, I flew as the first-officer, so I got to use my right hand, but this time, I flew as the captain and had to use my left. I eventually got used to it. On this plane, we did quite a lot- a lot of smooth take-offs and landings, both ILS and visual. I personally find the ILS landings very very challenging because you really have to anticipate the next movement and be able to change the plane quickly. It was hard to keep up with the localiser some times. I would be chasing it left and right and left and right and in the end, I might end up on the grass patch, not the runway. I do feel very accomplished though, because of our flight to Tibet. It was a fun yet very arduous process. Our elevation was very high, around 10000 feet, meaning the air around us was very thin. We took up most of the runway just for a take-off right into the tall mountains. It was a weak climb even with our engine to full thrust. The airport is built in a valley with a stream. To take-off or land, you have to squeeze in between the mountains and follow the streams to avoid collision with terrains. We circled above the mountains and went for a landing, which turned out to be unsuccessful because we were too high. I pulled up, did a short circuit to get further, then came back again for the approach. It turned out to be a very smooth and on-track landing. I am so proud of myself :)
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- I am more familiar with Boeing 737. I have flown it for longer. I know the trim, the yoke, MCP, VOR, PFD, flaps, setting up basic MFC and all the basics. On the B737 I fly mostly with hand and not auto-pilot. On the Airbus I flew, I did 4 circuits, I didn’t have to set up anything- but I had to control the gear and stick, take-off and ILS landing and also visual landing. I learned about the different flaps and the engine, but the plane was set up for take off already when I went the simulator and I just had to fly it. I find that the control of the airbus is more sensitive and automatic. Wherever you push or pull the stick and release, the direction stays until you push back the other way, so it was less tiring. On a B737, sometimes when you are hand flying are doing checks and not paying attention to your altitude and speed display, it will change rapidly. When you lift your head again, you either dropped or climbed too much. You don’t use much of the trim on Airbus. When you bank on an Airbus, you just turn, you don’t have to pull up like you do on a Boeing. The rules are quite similar though, the stall angle and gear and when to put flaps, quite a lot of things. Airbus is definitely for lazy pilots as people have said. I guess they are quite similar once you get use to it. Boeing, the yokes are heavier. You need to use more force to move it, but you will never go too far off course on Boeing because you can never move the yoke too much! Since I have only piloted the Airbus once, I would like to try again someday!