The Pilot's Guide to The Airline Cockpit

The Pilot’s Guide to the Airline Cockpit

Second Edition

by Stephen M. Casner

© 2013 Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.

All rights reserved. The purpose of this book is to provide information on turbine operations. The user of this information assumes all risk and liability arising from such use. Neither the publisher nor the author can take responsibility for the actual operation of an aircraft or the safety of its occupants.

First edition, entitled The Pilot's Guide to the Modern Airline Cockpit, published 2001 by Iowa State University Press; Second printing 2006 ASA.

Published 2013 by Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.

7005 132nd Place SE • Newcastle, WA 98059

Website: www.asa2fly.com • Email: asa@asa2fly.com

ASA-AL-CP2-EB

epub ISBN 978-1-61954-039-2

LC# 2001016897

About the Author

Stephen M. Casner is a research scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. Steve holds a Ph.D. degree in Intelligent Systems from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a B.S. degree from Millersville University. Steve holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate with type ratings in the Boeing 737, Airbus A320, and Cessna Citation. Steve is also a Gold Seal Certified Flight Instructor with instrument and multiengine ratings.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the many pilots and engineers who have taught me many things about cockpit automation. Captains Bill Bulfer, Mike Montalvo, Dave Austin, Jim Irving, Corwin Logsdon, Cliff Bonner, Mark Buzzell, April Gafford, Scott Maclean, Brent Petersen, John Shopland, Ed Szetela, Gavin Tanchuck, and Lisa Wightman, and scores of pilots that I have had the privilege of jump-seating with whose names have been sadly forgotten. Randy Mumaw, Lance Sherry, Mike DeJonge, and Reid Fairburn have shared much of their engineering expertise over the years. Jim Papageorge, Bill Bulfer, Ed Hutchins, Mark Holt, and Eric Villeda took the time to read drafts of this book and provided me with many helpful comments. Doug Dupuie generously offered his graphic arts expertise in the production of several of the technical drawings in the book.

Introduction to the Second Edition

The purpose of this book is to introduce you to the cockpit automation found in the airline cockpit, before you enter training at an airline company. Taking the time to learn the fundamentals of cockpit automation now will provide you with a number of benefits in the future. Walking in the door with a solid understanding of how cockpit automation works will allow you to make better use of the limited time that you spend studying cockpit automation during airline company training. And by the time you leave training, your understanding will undoubtedly be greater than the pilot who had to devote precious training time to hurriedly memorizing knobs and dials procedures. Understanding the concepts that underlie the operation of cockpit automation systems will give you a considerable advantage over pilots who simply memorize button-pushing procedures. Aside from more quickly mastering and more readily retaining the procedures you learn, you will better understand how the automation uses the inputs and entries you make to produce its results. This understanding will serve you especially well in unexpected situations that differ from the routine ones you learned and practiced during training.

With a solid understanding of the fundamentals of how cockpit automation systems work, the problem of becoming proficient in a particular airplane at a particular company becomes a matter of differences training. Approaching a new airplane, you won’t have to start at the beginning because all cockpit automation systems are fundamentally the same. You will only have to commit to learning the details of the particular system installed in the airplane, and the standard operating procedures used by your company.

Why Is Mastering Cockpit Automation Challenging?

Instructors and trainees alike consistently report that the most challenging aspect of learning to operate a transport aircraft is learning to use the automated systems found in the cockpit. Why does cockpit automation give pilots so much trouble? One reason for this may be that computer systems are harder to learn about than mechanical systems. For example, while mechanical control yokes and control surfaces have moving parts that you can see, the computers in the cockpit have software and logic that can only be observed by reading, observing, hypothesizing, and experimenting. As with the other computers and mobile devices that you use, along with their many quirky behaviors there is some uncertainty in trying to form a solid understanding of a complex system that never really shows its face.

A second reason for the difficulty is that, while cockpit automation can relieve the flight crew of many tedious chores, it also places new demands on the flight crew. For example, how does the crew decide which automation features to use and when? What are the limits of the automation’s capabilities and how should they be taken into account during real flight situations? How does the flight crew monitor the progress of an automated system? What can the flight crew do to remain in-the-loop while the automation performs its duties? These are all new skills that must be learned in addition to the technical details of operating the system.

A last challenge presented by cockpit automation is that, as you acquire knowledge and skills with using automation, you must also be careful to maintain your manual (e.g., stick and rudder) flying skills. As the use of cockpit automation becomes more and more of an operational standard, pilots must find ways to preserve manual flying skills that are used less and less.

A Different Approach to Learning

This book does not begin with system diagrams and details as technical manuals often do. It explains cockpit automation in terms of what you already know as a commercial multiengine instrument pilot. One thing I have learned from the engineers who design cockpit automation is that the automation is built to support the flight crew in performing their familiar flight duties. Therefore, this book teaches you cockpit automation in terms of these duties and how the automation was designed to help you perform them. Through every phase of flight, the discussion begins with a review of the duties that the flight crew must perform. Cockpit automation systems are introduced as resources that the crew has available to help them when performing these duties. You will learn how to make informed decisions about which system features, if any, to use in which situations. You will learn how to assume the role of supervisor when delegating control of the aircraft to the automation: how to solicit information from the automation about what it is doing, and what it plans to do next.

How To Practice What You Are Learning

PC-Based Simulators

The cockpit automation systems described throughout the book are the ones found in the cockpit of the next-generation Boeing 737. Although several computer-based training systems are available for this airplane, most are developed for the airline training department market and cost up to several hundred thousand dollars. A more practical choice for individual pilots looking to get a head start on cockpit automation is a forthcoming and fairly inexpensive PC-based Boeing 747-400 simulator made by Aerowinx. The Aerowinx 747-400 simulator offers most of the cockpit automation systems discussed in the book. More information about this PC-based simulator is available on the WWW at: www.aerowinx.com

For the purpose of the material covered in this book, the differences between the Boeing 737 and the Boeing 747-400 are minor. The last chapter of the book points out the differences that will allow you to get started using this simulator immediately.

Automation In General Aviation Airplanes

Another excellent way to get hands-on experience working with computers in the cockpit is by using the technology now available in general aviation airplanes. Whether it be a simple IFR GPS receiver or a full glass-cockpit system like those offered by Garmin, Avidyne, and others, you will find that the basic concepts and skills presented in this book can be applied to planning, following, and modifying an instrument flight plan using any of these systems. Aviation Supplies and Academics (ASA) makes available a number of training products for the Garmin G1000 and Avidyne glass cockpit systems (www.asa2fly.com).

Chapter 1

The Quick Tour

This chapter takes you on a quick tour of the modern airline cockpit. You will see that the intimidating-looking computers in the cockpit are nothing more than a collection of tools designed to lend a helping hand as you perform the same flight duties that are required when operating any aircraft. These include the familiar chores of: (1) planning a flight route; (2) guiding the aircraft along the planned flight route; (3) making en route modifications to the flight route; (4) flying off the flight route to comply with simple ATC clearances; and (5) sometimes rejoining the flight route when cleared by ATC.

You will see how using cockpit automation changes the way you do your job. The automation is capable of handling some of the dirty work while you and your crewmate assume the role of supervisors who must intelligently manage the automation as it performs its duties.

Planning the Flight Route

Back at the gate, the flight crew works together with a device called a flight management computer to plan a highly tuned flight route that makes optimum use of time and fuel. You and your crewmate must first provide the flight management computer with information about the assigned route, aircraft, and expected conditions. The flight management computer then calculates the details of the route based on your inputs and displays this information to you. The flight crew must then review the route to ensure it meets all requirements.

Prior to departure, the flight crew works together with a powerful component of the automated cockpit to plan the ideal flight route. The component is known as the flight management computer (FMC). The route created by the combination of you and the flight management computer will do more than simply maneuver the aircraft among the waypoints and airways that make up the assigned route. This route will be highly tuned with respect to both time and fuel. The computed takeoff thrust will be just right for atmospheric conditions. The climb, cruise, and descent speeds chosen will reflect a near-perfect trade-off between time enroute and fuel burned. The FMC will calculate the point at which the aircraft will reach the assigned cruise altitude with remarkable accuracy. Finally, the FMC will choose a top-of-descent point that will allow the aircraft to perform a whispering idle-thrust glide that delivers the aircraft on speed and altitude at the assigned descent crossing restriction.

How does this ideal flight route get built? The flight crew and the FMC work together to accomplish this in three simple steps.

The Flight Crew Enters Information about the Assigned Route, Aircraft, and Expected Atmospheric Conditions

The first step in creating a flight route requires the flight crew to enter a variety of pertinent information that will help the FMC do its part.

Like every other computer, the flight management computer has a keyboard and monitor that allow the flight crew to view information contained in the computer and to input information into it. The control display unit (CDU) serves as the keyboard and monitor for the FMC. Shown in Figure 1.1, the CDU displays information about the route on the CDU screen. Since the FMC contains far more information than could fit on one small screen, information stored in the FMC appears on a collection of CDU pages. Each CDU page displays information related to one particular aspect of the flight route. Only one CDU page can appear on the CDU screen at a time. The alphanumeric buttons allow the crew to enter information the FMC needs to perform its part in building the flight route.

1.1. The control display unit (CDU).

The CDU pages shown in Figure 1.1 allow you to enter information such as the initial position of the aircraft, the origin and destination airports, the gross weight of the aircraft, and the planned cruising altitude.

Using the CDU keypad to enter this information into each of the CDU pages is the first step in the flight crew’s part in building the flight route.

The FMC Uses the Crew Entries to Calculate the Flight Route

After you and your crewmate have entered the basic information about the route and aircraft, the FMC constructs a detailed flight route. The FMC draws on two extensive databases to accomplish this step. A navigation database electronically stores the same navigational information contained in your aeronautical charts. A performance database details the performance characteristics of the aircraft and engines. It tells the FMC how the aircraft will perform in a variety of configurations and atmospheric conditions.

Using the information you have entered, the FMC performs all of the calculations that you had to perform in the past using your hand-held flight computer. In addition to figuring the tracks, distances, times, and fuel remaining at each waypoint, the FMC also calculates the most fuel-efficient speeds to fly and the ideal point at which to start your descent as you approach your destination airport.

The flight plan created by you and the FMC can take you all the way from your departure runway to the missed-approach point at your destination airport.

The Crew Reviews the Flight Route

Once the FMC has done its job, the crew must review the finished product. Why is it so important for you and your crewmate to check the flight route? You will soon learn that cockpit automation offers you the capability to automatically guide the aircraft