Simulator time again. The system has been changed recently, so that now, instead of doing one sim roughly every three months, we’re now doing two on consecutive days, every six months. Like every change there are pluses and minuses, but it allows some of the work to be spread over the two exercises…and keeps them close enough that you don’t forget it in the interval.
First exercise is run out of Dallas, and starts with a take off and SID, which then joins a STAR and the ILS. Overall straightforward enough, but with the twist that it’s done manually, with no autopilot or flight director use. Done twice, once for each pilot.
Next up the FO gets a take off…engine failure and fire after V1, and then just for laughs a second engine failure (on the same side) at a few hundred feet. When you eventually get all the procedures sorted out, he gets to fly back around and land.
A bunch of landings next, with differing failures. The electrical emergency configuration takes away most of the coughpit displays, drops the aircraft into direct law, and plays havoc with almost all of the systems. Quite restricted flight controls, which means it’s unresponsive in the flare, and needs almost full back stick. Then we get the electrics back, and do a flapless/slatless landing…approach speed 178 KIAS…and the flare is the opposite, with the aircraft wanting to overpitch.
There are three radar altimeters, and they are failed individually, and then totally. You lose obvious things like altitude calls, but also the aircraft switches to direct law when the flaps are extended. Autopilot works in some modes but not all.
Exercise finishes with some landings with tailwinds.
All good stuff to see and play with.
The next day the exercise takes place in San Francisco.
We start off at about 20,000, and turn off all of our screens. Then we both have a fly on the standby instruments, and look at moving the displays to alternative positions. Just to answer a query….we also turn off all of the PRIMs (primary flight control computers)…just to see what happens (nothing much, lots of warnings, and direct law).
Back to the airport. Take off on 28R, head up to the north , and then fly the VOR approach to 19L (with all systems working). Go around at the minima, and the given a low level for the go around. This leads to a ground proximity warning, with a max back stick pull up. Once sorted out, back to the runway, for the FO to do the same exercise, though this time a different reason for the go around (first time we were still in cloud at the minima, but the second, the runway lights went out).
Back to the airfield for another take off, but now we’re at maximum weight, and in thick fog. First take off results in an abort from about 150 knots. Second time around, the engine fails past V1, so take off. As the terrain is rising in front of you, there is an escape path to follow, which basically takes you down a valley. Once sorted out, the engine fixes itself, and you lose 200 tonnes of weight, and set up for a low vis approach. System plays up a bit, and you lose the CAT IIIB capability (no decision height), and revert to IIIA (50 feet). Loss of localiser at low level leads to a go around. Now the weather improves, but the aids die, so you fly a visual approach without any guidance.
Aircraft now miraculously jumps to the Hawaii area and into the cruise, where you then have a depressurisation, and emergency descent. Hawaii is chosen because the safety height is just under 17,000’.
Back to SFO, where we fly the VOR from the first part of the exercise again. This time, the GPS single has degraded, so that the approach has to be flown in selected (i.e. heading, track, V-S, FPA) instead of our normal managed modes….just like we always did in the 767.
All done…go home.
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