#529
Post
by llondel » Sun Oct 16, 2022 2:48 am
I know in principle how to fly a generic aircraft and the stuff that needs to be watched, and I can claim some small practical experience on a Cessna and a Tiger Moth. However, when faced with a modern airliner cockpit, I can see that the biggest issue is figuring out which button I need to press, or which knob to turn. If it's all smooth and there's plenty of time then I can figure it out and learn, especially with some helpful chap on the radio telling me what to look for. If there was a fault warning, trying to navigate the flight computer to figure out the problem and the procedure to follow might take too long, especially if the fault meant there was altitude loss that couldn't be recovered with a bit of power and stick, or I had an engine fire to deal with.
I remember when I was a newly-qualified car driver, it was still very much a conscious and deliberate process to check the handbrake, press the clutch, engage the gear and slowly let up the clutch with a bit of throttle, releasing the handbrake at the appropriate time (especially on a hill start), compared to now when I just do stuff automatically and the muscle memory means I don't have to think about it. I assume a lot of 737 routine flying is the same, you know how much to move the stick, how much rudder, etc, and your brain auto-compensates and adjusts.
I'd love to try a simulator one day to see how well I'd do.