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A320 Basic Edition Flight Tutorial SIMULATION USE ONLY. DO NOT USE IN ACTUAL AIRPLANE copyright (c) 2009 Oyster Bay Media International Inc.
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Page 1: a320 Basic Edition Flight Tutorial

A320 Basic Edition Flight Tutorial

SIMULATION USE ONLY. DO NOT USE IN ACTUAL AIRPLANE copyright (c) 2009 Oyster Bay Media International Inc.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 2

INITIAL PREPARATION AND ROUTE PLANNING.................................................. 3

COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION ................................................................................ 9

AIRCRAFT PREPARATION .................................................................................. 15

PROGRAMMING THE FMGS ............................................................................. 18

PUSHBACK AND START-UP ............................................................................... 27

TAKEOFF ........................................................................................................... 33

CLIMB ............................................................................................................... 37

CRUISE .............................................................................................................. 38

IN-FLIGHT ROUTE REVISION AND DESCENT PLANNING ................................... 40

DESCENT ........................................................................................................... 43

APPROACH AND LANDING ............................................................................... 44

PARKING AND SECURING THE AIRCRAFT ......................................................... 49

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INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION

This flight tutorial will guide you through a complete standard flight with the AirSimmer A320 Basic Edition. It will start with the aircraft in its “Cold & Dark” configuration at Toulouse Blagnac airport, and will end with securing the aircraft upon arrival at Nice Côte d'Azur airport.

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INITIAL PREPARATION AND ROUTE PLANNING

LOADING THE SITUATION AND CONFIGURING THE AIRCRAFT

For this tutorial, we will need the aircraft parked at the Toulouse airport, in “Cold and Dark” configuration. In Flight Simulator, select “AirSimmer Tutorial” flight. After the flight has loaded, switch into the cockpit, turn on the two Battery switches on the overhead panel and place the Engine Master Switches to OFF on the pedestal.

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FLIGHT PLANNING

Our route today will take us from Toulouse Blagnac airport (LFBO) to Nice Côte d'Azur (LFMN). We will use the following route for the flight:

AFRIC G39 FJR G6 MTG RUBIT A3 STP

Cruising altitude for this short flight will be FL250. Alternate airport is Montpellier (LFMT). The first thing we will need to do is figure out the fuel required for the trip, and calculate our takeoff performance data. Open the Tablet PC by pressing Shift+0 inside the flight simulator.

In the Tablet PC, select Live!

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Select Load Manager

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Set a desired load level by moving the passenger and cargo sliders, and note the Zero Fuel Weight (ZFW). In this example, ZFW is 56210 kg. Click Apply Changes.

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In the Load Manager, click on the Fuel Planner button in the bottom left corner. The fuel planner interface will open. Complete the form with all the details about our flight, as shown below, and click Calculate BF & ZFW.

In the window at the bottom of the fuel planner, take note of the Block Fuel – the amount of fuel required for the flight: 5241 kg. We can now load the required amount of fuel to the aircraft. Click “Proceed to Load Manager” in the top right corner to go back to Load Manager. Move the fuel slider until Total Fuel equals approximately 5240 kg, and click Apply Changes. After you’re done with Load Manager, click Back, then select Takeoff Calculator from Live! Menu.

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On the Takeoff Calculator form, enter our departure data as indicated, and click “Calculate.” This will give us the takeoff flap setting as well as the takeoff speeds: V1, Vr, and V2. Remember these speeds - we will need them in the aircraft later.

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COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION

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COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION

This section will familiarize you with the various panels and instruments that will be mentioned in this tutorial.

OVERHEAD PANEL

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COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION

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O1 – Battery Pushbuttons O2 – External Power Pushbutton O3 – APU Bleed Pushbutton O4 – APU Master Switch Pushbutton O5 – APU Start Pushbutton O6 – No Smoking Sign Switch O7 – Seatbelt Sign Switch O8 – Emergency Exit Signs Switch O9 – Nosewheel Light Switch O10 – Landing Light Switches O11 – Runway Turnoff Light Switch O12 – Strobe Light Switch O13 – Beacon Light Switch O14 – Wing Light Switch O15 – Nav & Logo Light Switch O16 – Engine Anti-Ice Pushbuttons O17 – Wing Anti-Ice Pushbutton O18 – Overhead Integral Lighting Knob O19 – Dome Light Switch O20 – Annunciator Light Switch

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COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION

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MAIN PANEL

M1 – BARO Selector M2 – ND Mode Selector M3 – ND Range Selector M4 – ADF-VOR Display Switches M5 – EFIS Info Display Switches M6 – FCU Speed Window and Selector M7 – FCU Heading Window and Selector M8 – LOC Pushbutton M9 – Autopilot and Autothrust Pushbuttons M10 – FCU Altitude Window and Selector M11 – EXPED Pushbutton M12 – FCU Vertical Speed Window and Selector M13 – APPR Pushbutton M14 – Landing Gear Lights M15 – Autobrake Pushbuttons

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COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION

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M16 - Clock M17 – Triple Gauge M18 – EFIS Panel M19 – Master Caution Light M20 – Master Warning Light Monitor Abbreviations: PFD – Primary Flight Display ND – Navigational Display E/WD – Engine/Warning Display SD – Systems Display ISIS – Integrated Standby Instrument System

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COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION

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PEDESTAL

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COCKPIT FAMILIARIZATION

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P1 – E/WD and SD brightness knobs P2 – Transponder and TCAS panel P3 – Engine Mode Selector P4 – Engine Master Switches P5 – Spoiler Handle P6 – Flap Handle P7 – Parking Brake Handle MCDU – Multifunctional Control and Display Unit ECP – ECAM Control Panel RMP - Radio Management Panel

FCU PHILOSOPHY

The FCU – Flight Control Unit – is the main interface between the pilot and the autopilot. The targets for the autopilot can be either MANAGED or SELECTED. “Managed mode” means that the FMGS computes the target itself. This mode is selected by pushing on the associated knob. For instance, pushing the heading knob will engage NAV mode – where guidance is provided automatically along the flight plan. “Selected mode” means that the targets are set by the pilot through the FCU. This mode is selected by pulling the associated knob. Pulling on the heading knob will engage the heading mode, and the heading setting will appear in the FCU heading window.

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AIRCRAFT PREPARATION

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AIRCRAFT PREPARATION

Upon loading the aircraft, we find ourselves in the “Cold & Dark” cockpit. The first task is to establish electrical power. Press the BAT1 and BAT2 pushbuttons on the overhead panel (O1). It is now time to connect to the external power. Click on the MCDU MENU button on the MCDU and select Requests.

Click on EXT PWR. This will connect the external power cord to the airplane.

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On the overhead panel, check that the EXT PWR light says “AVAIL,” indicating successful connection of the external power. Click on the EXT PWR pushbutton, and the airplane’s electrical system will now be fully supplied. You will see the displays go through self-tests for a few seconds before the actual images show up.

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In order to provide the aircraft with the air required for air conditioning and engine start, the APU is used. Start the APU by selecting APU MASTER and setting the APU START buttons to ON. The APU page will open automatically, allowing you to monitor its parameters.

When APU page shows “AVAIL,” open the APU Bleed Air by setting the APU BLEED pushbutton to ON. A couple seconds later, conditioned air from the packs will flow into the cockpit. At this time, put the no-smoking sign to “AUTO” (which means it will always be on), arm the emergency lights, and turn on NAV & LOGO lights. Disconnect the external power by pressing the EXT PWR button again. AVAIL light will remain on to show that the external power is still connected.

We are now ready to program our route into the FMGS (Flight Management & Guidance System).

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PROGRAMMING THE FMGS

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PROGRAMMING THE FMGS

FMGS programming starts at the INIT page. Click on the INIT button on the MCDU. First, enter the city pair for the flight: LFBO/LFMN. At the route selection prompt that follows, click RETURN. Click “ALIGN IRS.” Enter the additional data: Flight Number is “AIB320”, Cost Index is 50, and Cruise Flight Level is 250.

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After the INIT page has been completed, press the F-PLN button to go to Flight Plan page, where the actual route for the flight is entered.

The route is typically constructed of a series of revisions, or changes. Revisions are commenced at the waypoint from which the revision is to take place. Since our route starts at LFBO, click to the left of LFBO on the F-PLN page.

LAT REV from the LFBO page will open, containing the list of possible revisions from that waypoint type: - DEPARTURE

This function is available at airports only. It accesses the list of all pre-coded departure procedures for the airport that are contained in the Navigational Database.

- NEXT WAYPOINT This function allows you to insert a waypoint right after the revision waypoint.

- NEW DESTINATION This function enables you to change the destination to a new airport. All previous routing from the revision waypoint up to the original destination will then be deleted automatically.

- AIRWAYS Enables you to insert airways into the route after the revision waypoint.

At this point, we want to insert a Standard Instrument Departure (SID) procedure that will take us from a runway at Toulouse to our first waypoint, AFRIC. Select DEPARTURE Now select the runway used for departure. You can use up and down arrows on the MCDU keyboard to scroll the list, if it is too long to display on one page. Select 32L. A list of all pre-coded SIDs is shown. Select AFRI5B. We have now created a revision. You will notice that the some words have changed to yellow, and the <TMPY F-PLN prompt is now shown. This is because the FMGS does not immediately activate the route changes that you make – instead, they are added to a copy of the original flight plan, called Temporary Flight plan. The color code for the Temporary Flight plan data is yellow. It is shown in the MCDU and on the ND, but it is not used for flying the route. Click on the <TMPY F-PLN prompt to go back to F-PLN page.

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You will find that the waypoints that are part of the AFRI5B SID are now inserted in the Temporary Flight plan. We can continue revising the route using the procedure described earlier. Scroll down to AFRIC, and click on it. In the LAT REV from AFRIC page that opens, select AIRWAYS, since we take G39 airway from AFRIC to FJR. AIRWAYS from AFRIC page opens. Here, you can insert the name of the airway to the left side, along with the name of the waypoint at which the airway segment is to be terminated on the right. The name of the airway is “G39,” and we’re headed along this airway to “FJR,” so put G39 on the left side, and FJR on the right. The AIRWAYS page allows multiple airway entry (up to 5 airway segments). We can continue adding airways from the last point. After FJR, the route takes us on the G6 airway to MTR. Enter G6 into the second line on the left, and MTR into the second line on the right.

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After MTG, the route goes direct to RUBIT. We can no longer do this on the AIRWAYS page, since we are not taking an airway to RUBIT. We have to go back into the F-PLN page and make another revision at the last waypoint created (MTR).

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Enter RUBIT into the NEXT WAYPOINT field. Duplicate names page will open, since the Navigational Database contains two waypoints named RUBIT. The waypoints on the Duplicate Names page are sorted by distance from the aircraft position to the waypoint, in ascending order. Select the closer of the two RUBIT waypoints – click on the first line. RUBIT will be added right after MTG.

To add the last segment, use the same AIRWAY procedure described earlier to create an airway A3 segment from RUBIT to STP. After you’re done, return to the TMPY F-PLN page.

We have now inserted the entire route into the FMGS, and it is available for review on the ND. Select the ND MODE SELECTOR to PLAN. You can now scroll up and down on the MCDU to move along the flight plan to verify that the route is consistent and correct.

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After you’ve verified the route, click TMPY INSERT on the MCDU. This will activate all the revisions contained in the Temporary Flight plan, and the route color and MCDU text will change to green. To the right of each waypoint you will find the distance to fly to that point from the previous one. The last line on the F-PLN page contains the code of the destination airport and the total along-flight path distance remaining.

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The next step is to insert Takeoff Data. Click on PERF on the MCDU. The TAKEOFF PERF page will open. Here, insert the V1, Vr, and V2 as pre-calculated by the Takeoff Performance Calculator we used earlier through the Tablet PC.

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The final step is to properly configure the EIS (Electronic Instrument System) and the FCU (Flight Control Unit). 1. Switch the BARO reference to millibars, the standard used in Europe, by rotating the outer

black knob on the BARO selector. 2. Select the ND mode to NAV. 3. Select the ND range to 10 – typically the most optimal setting for takeoff. 4. Select the VOR display on both ADF-VOR display switches. 5. On the FCU, most of the windows will be dashed, because the computer is controlling the

parameters such as speed, heading, and vertical speed. Altitude, however, is never dashed, and you should set it to the first altitude to level off. Let’s assume ATC instructed us to maintain 5,000 feet first after departure. To make the setting easier, select “step to 1000” on the outer altitude knob, then rotate the inner knob until the FCU window shows 5000. You can move back to 100 feet steps by placing the outer knob back to “100.”

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That’s it! The FMGS is now ready for the flight.

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PUSHBACK AND START-UP

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PUSHBACK AND START-UP

Once you have received clearance and are ready to depart, set the transponder to the squawk code assigned by the ATC (if you’re using it for your flight). Set the TCAS knobs to AUTO, ALT RPTG: ON, ALL, and TA/RA. This will activate the transponder after takeoff, and engage the TCAS system, which is designed to prevent collision with other aircraft.

Set the Seatbelt sign to ON, and turn on the Beacon light. Disconnect the External Power by using the same prompt in the MCDU that you used to connect it. Access the Pushback interface by going into MCDU menu, selecting REQUESTS and PUSHBACK. Here, you can enter the settings for your pushback: distance, turn direction, turn angle, whether or not voice should be played. You can also switch between meters and feet for the pushback distance. To change a parameter, click on the associated line. For this example, we are using 30 meters pushback, with a 90-degree right turn.

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After you’re done entering the settings, click REQUEST and the pushback sequence will commence. Follow the instructions of the ground crew. Engine start-up usually begins during the pushback. To start the engines, make sure the APU and APU BLEED are on, then select the Engine Mode Selector to IGN/START. You will see the Engine system page open automatically on the ECAM, allowing for engine parameter monitoring.

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Engines are started one by one, typically starting from the right engine (ENG 2). When you’re ready to start the engine, select the Engine Master Switch for ENG2 to ON. The start procedure is fully automatic, and will result in engines stabilizing at approximately 20% N1. After the right engine has stabilized at 20% N1, repeat the procedure for the left engine. After both engines have started, place the Engine Mode Selector back to NORM.

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By this time, the pushback should have finished, and you are ready to configure the aircraft for takeoff. Arm the spoilers (SHIFT + /). When spoilers are armed, a white strip is visible on the bottom of the spoiler handle. Select Autobrake Max, and select flaps to 1+F (one notch of flaps). A Flight Controls check is performed next. Move your Sidestick (Joystick) to the side – the F/CTL page on the SD should open. If it does not, you can manually call it up by pressing on the F/CTL button on the ECP. Move the sidestick to the left, right, up and down, and verify that the flight control surfaces follow the inputs. Also verify that the sidestick position indicated on the PFD (white cross) is consistent with your inputs.

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After the engines are started, the APU is no longer required. Turn off the APU BLEED and APU MASTER pushbuttons. The APU will run for two minutes in “cool-down” mode and will then shut off.

You are now ready to taxi for takeoff. Turn on the Taxi Lights, and taxi to runway 32L.

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TAKEOFF

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TAKEOFF

Before lining up on the runway for takeoff, you should check the ECAM Takeoff Memo – it should have no blue lines. If any blue lines appear, perform the action indicated. Only one of the lines should be blue at this point: “T.O CONFIG........TEST”. This line reminds you to conduct a Takeoff Configuration Test by pressing T.O CONFIG button on the ECP. A warning will pop up if you haven’t configured the aircraft properly for takeoff. If this happens, correct the problem. If the warning message does not disappear from E/WD, click “CLR” on the ECP.

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TAKEOFF

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Turn on Strobe lights and Landing Lights before entering the runway, and line up on the centerline. When cleared for takeoff, advance the throttles to approximately 50% N1. When engines are stabilized at the thrust settings, move the throttles fully forward. This will give you maximum takeoff thrust, called TOGA.

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TAKEOFF

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As you pass Vr, indicated by a blue circle on the PFD speed tape, move the sidestick to about 2/3 up, as indicated on the PFD, and rotate to approximately 15 degrees of pitch. After you notice altitude increasing on the PFD, retract the gear, and engage autopilot by pressing on the AP1 pushbutton.

Turn off the nose gear light and disarm the spoilers. The autopilot will maintain V2+10 knots until passing the pre-coded “Acceleration Altitude,” after which the aircraft will accelerate to 250 knots. Passing “Thrust Reduction Altitude,” “LVR CLB” will flash on the PFD, reminding you to reduce thrust to Climb Thrust. Slowly reduce your power until “THR CLB” is shown on the PFD, and “CL” is shown in the top-right corner of the E/WD. Retract the flaps when above S-speed (minimum slat-retracted speed).

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CLIMB

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CLIMB

CLB mode will have activated on the autopilot when the Acceleration Altitude was reached. This mode commands maximum climb thrust and adjusts pitch to maintain the target speed. You will also see that ALT is shown in blue right under the CLB – indicating that the Altitude Hold mode is armed and will activate when approaching the selected altitude. Several seconds before reaching 5000, as set on the FCU, ALT* mode activates; the aircraft lowers the nose and reduces thrust to level off and maintain the target speed. When the altitude is reached, the star symbol disappears, and the indication switches to ALT. Resume the climb by setting 25000 in the FCU (our final cruising altitude), and press on the Altitude Selector knob (left mouse click). This will reactivate CLB mode, and the aircraft will continue the climb. Above the Transition Altitude, the barometric pressure indication on the PFD will start to flash, reminding you to switch to the Standard Altimeter Setting. Pull the BARO selector (right-click). When climbing through 10,000 fee, the aircraft accelerates automatically to 300 knots. It is also time to turn off the landing lights and switch the seatbelt sign to auto, if there is no turbulence. The aircraft will climb to the selected 25,000 feet and level off, reducing the thrust to maintain 300 knots.

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CRUISE

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CRUISE

Cruise phase typically requires little pilot interaction – your task is to monitor the airplane and make sure it does what you want it to do. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will use this time to familiarize you with the systems display pages. Don’t get too distracted, though – we only have about 5 minutes to spare; it’s a short flight. The system display pages are used to monitor various aircraft systems, such as engines, hydraulics and electrics. The pages are called up using the ECP (ECAM Control Panel). Press ENG to call up the Engine page. The Engine page shows various engine parameters, such as oil pressure and quantity, vibration, and fuel used. Call up the BLEED page.

Bleed page shows pneumatic system data – the flow of air from the engines or APU through the air conditioning packs. Call up the PRESS page. Pressurization page allows you to monitor the difference between ambient and cabin air pressures, cabin elevation and its rate of change (called “vertical speed”). Call up the ELEC page. Electrical page shows the summary of the aircraft’s electrical system, displaying the status of the electrical generator and various buses. Call up the HYD page. Hydraulic page monitors the three hydraulic systems of the airplane – Green, Blue, and Yellow. Each is normally pressurized at 3000 psi. Call up the FUEL page. Fuel page shows the fuel data in more detail – it provides fuel quantity for each tank, fuel temperature, the status of the cross-feed valve, and the status of the fuel pumps. Call up the APU page. You’ve seen the APU page earlier during the APU start. It shows the RMP of the APU turbine, the EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature), and the APU Bleed Air pressure. Call up the COND page.

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CRUISE

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Air Conditioning page shows the temperature in the cockpit and cabin. You can adjust the temperature by using the Zone Controllers on the overhead panel. Call up the DOOR page. Door page shows the status of the aircraft doors. Call up the WHEEL page. Wheel page shows the landing gear summary, including retraction status, brake status, brake temperature, and auto brake settings. Spoiler indication is also available at the top of the display. Call up the F/CTL page. This page shows the summary for the flight control system. All surface deflections are shown, along with the hydraulic supply statuses, and the statuses of the flight control computers. In cruise, CRUISE page is shown by default, but it is not possible to call it up using the ECP. The CRUISE page will appear in cruise if no other page is selected for display. To deselect a page you’re requested, click on its associated pushbutton again. Cruise page is a combination of air conditioning and pressurization pages.

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IN-FLIGHT ROUTE REVERSION AND DESCENT PLANNING

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IN-FLIGHT ROUTE REVISION AND DESCENT PLANNING

ROUTE REVISION

Oops! Looks like the route given to us by dispatch will have to be modified for the proper arrival into Nice. No worries; revising a route in-flight is easy, and we will use this situation to practice it. We will be arriving on runway 4R at Nice airport, via the AMFO5R procedure, MUS transition. This routing begins at AMFOU, while our planned route ends at STP. Because we have the Temporary Flight plan feature, we can have peace of mind when doing route modifications – none of the changes will affect the flight path until we’ve confirmed the new route, and we can cancel all the changes by selecting TMPY ERASE on the F-PLN page in case we don’t actually need to modify the route. Go to the MCDU and select F-PLN page. Scroll down to our destination airport, LFMN, and enter Lateral Revision page. Since LFMN is [type “airport,” is this the correct term?] and is our arrival airport, the “ARRIVAL” prompt is shown. Select “ARRIVAL.” On the Arrivals page, scroll down to select ILS04R approach. The list of arrival procedures will then be shown. Select AMFO5R. For this particular combination, we also need a “VIA” route – it is a route between the last point of the arrival procedure and the first point of the approach procedure, so it essentially connects AMFO5R with ILS04R. Select <APPR VIAS. On the VIAS page, select MUS. After you’re done, select TMPY F-PLN to return to the F-PLN page.

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IN-FLIGHT ROUTE REVERSION AND DESCENT PLANNING

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We have now added the entire arrival and approach route into the Flight Management System. Because our original route did not blend into the arrival, however, a DISCONTINUITY still exists in the flight plan. A discontinuity is a gap, upon reaching which, automatic guidance along the flight plan will be lost. It is therefore important to remove any discontinuities to keep the route consistent. We will remove the last two waypoints of our original route, since they would take us too far off course. Removing a waypoint and discontinuity is easy: press the “CLR” button on the MCDU keyboard, then select the waypoint or discontinuity you want to clear. Clear RUBIT, STP, and F-PLN DISCONTINUITY. The route should look like this now:

On the ND, you can compare the original flight plan with the Temporary one that we’ve just created. After you’re happy with the Temporary Flight plan, select TMPY INSERT.

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DESCENT PLANNING

To calculate the point of beginning of our descent, we’ll use the old-fashioned rule of thumb, saying that distance to descent roughly equals the number of thousands of feet of altitude that we are to descend multiplied by three, plus five. In our case, we have to descend from 25,000 feet to sea level, so the distance from our destination at which we should commence our descent is:

(25000/1000)*3 + 5 = 80 nm Keep a close eye on the remaining distance so as not to overshoot the descent point! Also note that after we’ve added a pre-coded arrival procedure in our route, magenta altitude values are shown to the right of the waypoints on the F-PLN page. These are the altitudes at which the particular points should be over flown. We can therefore expect the first altitude to descend to be 12,000 feet, and we should reach this altitude by the TIPIK waypoint.

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DESCENT

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DESCENT

At your calculated point of descent (80nm along flight plan from LFMN), select the next target altitude on the FCU (12000) and press on the ALT Selector. This will activate the descent mode. The aircraft reduces thrust and lowers the nose to maintain the speed. Select Autobrake Medium. Autobrake upon landing will automatically slow the aircraft down at a comfortable rate. Passing TIPIK, select the next altitude – 8000 – to be reached by MUS. Several seconds before reaching 10,000 ft, the autopilot will begin reducing speed to 250 knots (maximum speed below 10,000 ft). Passing 10,000 feet, turn on the landing lights, seatbelt sign, and the LS indicator by pressing the LS pushbutton, located just under the BARO selector. If you happen to level off at an altitude (ALT mode indicated on the PFD), re-select a lower altitude on the FCU and press the ALT Selector to re-engage DES mode. If you end up being too high, use speed brakes to assist your descent. They can be extended by the “/” key or by dragging the speed brake handle. After passing MUS, reduce the FCU altitude to 3000 – our final approach intercept altitude. At that altitude, we will intercept the glide slope and descend using the ILS towards the runway. After MUS, you will see a waypoint named INTCPT. This is an intercept of our final course for the runway. From there on, we have about 20 miles to get to the runway.

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APPROACH AND LANDING

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APPROACH AND LANDING

Passing the INTCPT point, monitor the ILS indication on the PFD. Once the magenta “ILS” indication is shown, we can arm the Approach mode by pressing the APPR pushbutton on the FCU.

Once the Approach mode is armed, LOC and GS appear blue on the second line on the PFD. When the aircraft is inside the intercept range, the LOC mode captures the localizer and the GS captures the glideslope.

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About 15 miles from the runway, the approach phase should be activated in the MCDU – it will reduce the speed to the approach speed. Go to the MCDU, click PERF, and select ACTIVATE APPROACH PHASE. When prompted to confirm, press CONFIRM.

Your goal now is to extend the flaps on schedule. Extend the flaps to position 1 when passing the “Green Dot” speed (indicated by a green dot on the PFD).

When Glideslope Capture mode activates (indicated by G/S* in green on the PFD), select flaps 2.

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When flaps are at 2, arm the spoilers (SHIFT+/), lower the gear, and extend flaps to 3, and turn on the Nosewheel light. When flaps are at 3, extend flaps to FULL. This flow should stabilize your final approach speed, so that you are in landing configuration (flaps full and landing gear down) by at least 1500 ft AGL. It looks like the fun part is not over for us yet, however. There’s another surprise – the ILS is not aligned with the runway!

This brings us to one of the Golden Rules of flying the A320: if you don’t like what is happening, take over! This landing will have to be completed manually, which is a great opportunity for you to feel the Fly By Wire controls on approach and landing! Disconnect the autopilot by pressing Z (do NOT use the AP1/AP2 pushbuttons on the FCU, as it will result in a warning). Also disengage the Flight Directors, since you are not going to use them anymore – press on the FD button just under the BARO Selector.

FLY BY WIRE HANDLING

A320’s Fly By Wire system makes the aircraft very stable and easy to fly, as long as you use as little pilot input as possible. Many instructors have reported that the biggest mistake that new A320 pilots make is over-controlling the aircraft. From the position above, gently move the

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sidestick to achieve small bank angles, and align with the runway. The Autothrust system will still be controlling the speed, so you don’t have to worry about that. The autotrim system also relieves you from the task of constantly trimming the aircraft, so that all you have to do is point the aircraft where you want it to go, and let it fly there.

LANDING FLARE

Below 50 feet on landing, the autotrim is disabled, and you will have to start making smooth, gradual, but progressive nose-up inputs to flare – just as with any other aircraft. The Flight Warning Computer will be counting down the altitude reports. When you hear “RETARD” called out, smoothly reduce throttles to idle – this will allow the ground spoilers to extend, and the automatic braking to stop the aircraft smoothly. After you’ve landed, engage “reverse” by pressing F2, and let the aircraft decelerate. You can always apply manual braking if you feel you need it, which will disconnect the Autobrake system. Decelerating through 60 knots, disengage reverse by pressing F1. Turn off at a convenient taxiway when the speed has reduced to less than 20 knots.

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After you’ve cleared the runway: - Retract the flaps - Disarm the spoilers - Turn off landing lights and strobe lights - Start the APU - Turn on the APU Bleed when APU is available

Congratulations! You’ve just made a successful landing on the A320!

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PARKING AND SECURING THE AIRCRAFT

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PARKING AND SECURING THE AIRCRAFT

Upon reaching the gate, verify that the electrical supply is available before shutting down engines: you can either use the APU, or connect the External Power using the procedures learned earlier today. Once the power is established, shut down both engines by placing their respective Engine Master Switches to OFF. Once the engines are off, turn off the seatbelt signs, and the beacon light. You are now ready for your next flight! Alternatively, if you want to fully power-down the aircraft and call it a day, power down the APU (if running) or disconnect the External Power (if connected), and turn off both Battery switches. You will return to where you’ve started – a “Cold and Dark” Cockpit!