Tinpusher007

We are all biased to what we're used to. So to say one is intuitive vs the other is subjective. When I learned the Thales FMS, I didn't find anything about it terribly difficult to comprehend. But it's way more adnavcnced than the Collins FMS I was used to. Im pretty sure if I ever flew a Boeing I wouldn't struggle with that either. Personally, when learning new airplanes I try to learn and operate them the way they're supposed to be rather than wishing it was my previous airplane. I want it to work the way its supposed to. Hate or love the Airbus, we have chosen to invest heavily in their products in both our narrow and wide body fleets. So one can very easily fly their entire career here at Delta with just the Airbus philosophy to master without having to utilize too many brain cells between the different models.

dbrownie

Well put.
I flew the 320 as my first FMS airplane then went to Boeing, then back to Airbus, then back to Boeing...now going back to the 330 to be honest looking forward to returning to the Airbus.

Gunfighter

Every time I disconnect the autopilot I'm anticipating 500 lbs of asymmetry or a missile launch. When acknowledging landing clearance it feels like I should be just a little closer to the numbers before pulling the mic switch. It's been a decade and it still feels wrong.

I wish the A350 training and standards pilots would fly it like an Airbus. The B747 is gone, can we please fly our "starship/flagship" lights out with the displays matching the trackball selection keys. The OIS is an individual iPad replacement, not a shared moving map. Rant over.
*JB is it your fault or are you one of the good guys who can correct it?

On an unrelated note, my entirely unscientific observation of "grumpy old guys" clamoring for 67 reveals that they also tend to be the "old school Captains" who buy the beers.

blue vortex

not sure how you can saw its it's "almost exactly the same", I mean of course a lot of it's got to be the same it is an airplane after all. Does the fact that it's a "from" box make it exactly the same?... You have a flight plan in there you have constraints, CI, fuel, ZFW, etc. Of course that's going to be the same. It's not a got a espresso machine or even a video game in there after all. But it has many many different features such as KCCU (track ball), drop down menus and many underlying menus that are totally different, AFS CP backup, etc.


in fact, many instructors will say that it's easier to train former Boeing guys in the 350 because they have an clean slate. The 330 guys especially with the short course can have problems adapting.

my best advice for anybody going to 350s have an open mind about learning new ways of doing things and you will have success.

blue vortex

so you're saying you're in favor of the Flight Plan and performance page on the center screen? Just curious, nothing wrong with that.

Gunfighter

Yes, it's my preference for most of the flight. There are a few times when "sharing" the lower display makes sense like briefing.

In a perfect world the screen selection buttons above the trackball would be tied to a location vs a function. ie outboard button to outboard display vs hard coded to OIS.

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Margaritaville

Oh, there's a way. Just create a fix with a constraint at the hockey stick to cross 10 feet below your cruise altitude (FL340 --->37990). Set the bottom altitude in the FMA and manage it. It will descend 10 feet and alt* until you hit the constraint then start down on its own. Works great.

Hope you guys get the 350s. Our management here at AA is deferring 787s and ordering E175s. Classic. Sorry for APA failing to hold up our end of bargaining. Maybe we can do something about them this year.

PilotJ3

Still have to program it and press the button. I was being sarcastic about the Boeing pilots always saying “the Airbus doesn’t start down in the TD”.

I usually start down early anyways and wait for the idle path.

notEnuf

That's because we are lazy. (Boeing) If your busy bashing the box or briefing the backups, how else are you going to know when to yank the speed brakes so it doesn't overshoot it's fantastic VNAV calculations. Ok, not all our boeings but our "modern (not so modern) efficient" ones. Rant over. Watch it like a hawk, hawk it like a watch.

LeineLodge

Haven’t forgotten to start down yet but I know my time is coming.

Since we’re learning new things about the Airbus on a mostly anonymous forum:

Why can’t we manually enter a speed on the climb page like we can on the descent? Is there a workaround other than pulling a selected speed?