The last week has been quite tough, especially with 2 early sims that start with a 5.30am briefing! Â I didn’t find them too tiring when we were in the fixed base, since the sessions were only 2 hours long and were mainly procedures. Â The full flight sim sessions are now 4 hours long and are far more challenging. Â Nonetheless, the time does go by really quickly. Â We had our first progress check in the full motion flight simulator and we had a really good flight and passed it!
The last few simulator sessions have involved many non-normal situations such as engine failures, fires, rapid depressurisation and other system malfunctions and failures. Â We’ve had plenty of practice on solving the problems using the QRH, liasing with ATC and cabin crew, informing passengers (all simulation of course!). Â Other maneuvers we’ve been practicing have been single engine flying including approaches and landings on one engine. Â We also practiced TCAS (when we are flying clear of other traffic) avoidance maneuvers and terrain clearance maneuvers. Â We are using procedures, but the sessions have been concentrating more on manual flying and non-normal procedures and dealing with problems in the air. Â We’ve also had some practice at flying raw data (manual flying without flight directors or other form of automation) ILS, which I found difficult at first due to the new scan I had to get used to. Â I’ve been used to using the older type of instruments we would use on light aircraft, and the 737NG has the PFD (primary flight display) and ND (navigation display), which are more sophisticated but takes time getting used to.
I’ve also been jump-seating a few simulator sessions, which gives the advantage of getting a heads up on what we’re going to do next. Â Also it’s much better to pick up information on flying techniques, CRM, problem solving, etc. when observing that will help for the sim session we’ve done. Â I also jump-seated a session I had already done, which made it a nice review. Â The next session is on Tuesday, which will involve training to deal with windshear encounters and more single-engine maneuvers.