Airbus A320 Flight Tutorial

The A320 is normally powered by the two engine generators during flight. When the engines are not running an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) in the rear of the aircraft can be used to provide power. On the ground when the aircraft is parked we can also connect an external power generator to the power inlet on the outside. If all generators fail during flight a ram air turbine (RAT) automatically deploys and is driven by the airstream to provide essential power. Lastly the A320 has two batteries that provide DC power for APU start.

Upon entering the flight deck:

• Check that the wipers and weather radar are turned off
• Check that the landing gear lever is down, engine master switches are off and engine mode selector is normal
• Check Battery Voltage greater than 25.5V
• Push BAT 1 and BAT 2 pushbuttons to turn both batteries on which will give us basic DC power
• When the EXT PWR pushbutton shows a green AVAIL text push it to use the external AC power for the flight deck screens

• Push and hold the APU fire test pushbutton in the upper part of the overhead panel. This triggers the fire test which illuminates the APU fire button, fire extinguisher button and show a red ECAM master warning and APU FIRE ECAM action. Release the button again
• Push the APU MASTER SW pushbutton
• Wait for a few seconds for the APU for the APU self test to complete and inlet door to open, which you can monitor on the APU page in the lower ECAM
• Push the APU START pushbutton to start the APU
• When the APU has started the START button shows a green AVAIL light and the upper ECAM shows an APU AVAIL memo in the right column
• Turn on the APU BLEED when the APU is available
• Check that both air conditioning packs are turned on with the PACK 1 and PACK 2 buttons
• Turn on all fuel pumps by pressing the L TK PUMP 1 and 2, CTR TK 1 and 2, and R TK PUMP 1 and 2 buttons
• Check that no white lights are remaining in the overhead panel

• Set all three ADIRS switches to the NAV position to start the alignment process

In the real world this can take 10 minutes or more, we’ve sped this up for you to just one minute. The A320 comes with two sets of navigation lights to allow continued line operation even when a single light bulb fails

• Turn on the first set of navigation light by placing the NAV & LOGO light switch to the “1” position.
• Arm the passenger emergency exit lights by setting the EMER EXIT LT to the center ARM position
• Set the SEAT BELTS and NO SMOKING switches to AUTO

In our A320 the company decided to keep the no smoking signs on at all times and instead the no smoking switch is used to signal the use of personal electronic devices.

We can perform an engine fire test for ENG 1 and then ENG 2 by pressing and holding the TEST button in the upper part of the overhead panel. You should see the engine fire button light up red, the two fire extinguisher buttons illuminate and you should see and hear a red master warning, a red engine fire message on the ECAM as well as a red FIRE text on the engine master switch

• Press and hold the ENG 1 fire test button, then repeat for ENG 2
• Check that the flap lever is at the indicated flap position
• Check that the speed brake lever is retracted
• Check that the parking brake is on
• Check the brake accumulator pressure is sufficient to hold the parking brake on
• Open the ECAM engine page and check the engine oil quantity
• Check the ECAM hydraulic oil quantity
• Check the ECAM oxygen pressure
• Check the ECAM status page
• Press the ECAM recall button to display any previously cautions and warnings

We’re now entering the minimum necessary values into the MCDU.

• Set the ZWF and ZFWCG as well as the BLOCK FUEL mass on the INIT B page
• On the performance takeoff page insert the V1, VR and V2 speeds and takeoff flaps

If you want to you can preform a full MCDU preflight as described in our dedicated A320 MCDU tutorial

After MCDU preflight has been completed continue with before start checklist:

• Set the BEACON light switch to on
• Display the default ECAM page by pressing the manually selected ECAM page button or by pressing the CLR button if they are highlighted in green
• Check that all fuel pumps are on, that the APU is running and that APU BLEED is turned on
• Check that all doors are closed. Open the ECAM DOORS page and click on any doors that are still open. After a while the label will change from amber to white to show the door closed and slide armed

• Turn the flight director on by pushing the F/D button on the captain and first officer side. The F/D buttons will show a green highlight when the F/D is on
• Set the initial climb altitude by rotating the autopilot selected altitude, we’ll already set the cruise altitude of 35000ft now

The autopilot flight control unit (FCU) should now show a dot and three dashes for the airspeed and heading and dashes for the vertical speed. If the speed or heading don’t show this you can normally push the knob to set the managed mode (*—).

The primary flight display (PFD) shows the active and armed thrust, lateral and vertical modes on the flight mode annunciator (FMA) section at the top. The FMA columnds should now show

1. Blank
2. ALT or CLB in blue
3. Blank or NAV in blue
4. Blank
5. 1 FD 2

With the APU running and APU BLEED and all fuel pumps on, parking brake set and beacon light on we can now commence with the engine start. Start sequence is right engine #2 first, then left engine #1.

• Set the engine mode selector to IGN/START
• Move the ENG2 master switch from OFF to ON

The full authority digital engine controller (FADEC) now automatically starts the engine. The lower ECAM displays the engine page and we can see the air starter valve open and ignition A or B being used for the engine start. The engine core N2 and engine fan N1 rotation speeds are rising and the fuel flow (FF) and exhaust gas temperature (EGT) is increasing. When the engine is started successfully a green AVAIL text is displayed above the engine N1 indication.

• Repeat the process for the engine #1
• When engine #1 also displays a green AVAIL indication on the upper ECAM set the engine mode selector back to NORMAL

• Engine mode selector NORMAL
• Arm the ground spoilers by pulling the speed brake lever forward until the white stripe appears. You can also tap the lever briefly for this
• Set the flaps to the takeoff position, in our case flaps 1. The aircraft extends slats and flaps to the takeoff position and the ECAM displays 1+F
• Center the rudder trim by pushing the button next to the rudder trim switch
• Set the pitch trim to the takeoff setting. In our case UP 0.0 units
• Turn on the predictive wind shear system (PWS) on the weather radar panel
• Set the transponder to TA/RA
• Turn the APU BLEED off by pushing the APU BLEED pushbutton
• Turn the APU off by pushing the APU master switch. After a cooldown phase the APU will spool down
• If the external power is still in use turn if off now
• Push the ECAM recall (RCL) button and check the STATUS page

Let’s perform the flight control check. As soon as you deflect any of the control inputs the lower ECAM page automatically displays the flight control page for you.

• Push the side stick fully forward then full aft

The cross hair on the PFD should move down to the full down position, the flight control page should show both elevators at the full down position when you push the stick and full up position when you pull up.

• Side stick full left, then full right

PFD cross hair goes to full left, ECAM shows left aileron full up, right aileron full down. The four left roll spoilers should indicate their deflection with a green arrow each. The image is mirrored image for the full right deflection.

• Rudder full left, full rudder right
• If you are performing this test while rolling hold down the pedal disconnect button on the tiller to disable nose wheel steering during this test

The flight control page should show the rudder deflections.

• Set the nose light switch to TAXI
• Turn on the runway turnoff lights
• Release the parking brake

The aircraft is usually able to accelerate with idle thrust. If you are going uphill you might need to add a bit of thrust to start rolling.

• A low speed test the wheel brakes and check that the brake accumulator pressure gauge indicates zero pressure
• After the brakes are tested arm the autobrake rejected takeoff function by pressing the AUTO BRK RTO pushbutton

Two minutes after the engine start the ECAM will show the takeoff checklist for us. You can also request it earlier by pushing the ECAM T.O CONFIG pushbutton.

• Press the T.O CONFIG pushbutton to display the checklist
• No remaining items should be visible. If the line T.O CONFIG is still highlighted in blue then push the T.O CONFIG pushbutton again

If the ECAM displays red warnings push the master caution button in the glareshield to cancel the warning. Check the error message and correct it or press the ECAM CLR buttons to remove them.

When entering the runway

• Turn on the strobe light
• Turn on both landing light switches
• Set the nose wheel light switch to T.O
• Received CABIN READY memo on the ECAM

We are now ready for departure.

Note - You can return to this state or skip all of the steps above by just selecting the runway position in the location menu.

Initiate the takeoff by moving the thrust levers to the mid range 50% N1 position. After both engines have spooled up to this intermediate power setting release the brakes and set the thrust levers to the FLX/MCT detent.

• Move the thrust levers to about 28% of the range to set 50% N1 and let both engines stabilize at that value
• Release brakes if you haven’t done so
• Set flexible takeoff thrust (FLX) by moving the thrust levers to about 77%
• Hold about 1/4 to 1/3 of nose down elevator input until you reach 100 knots. This improves directional stability until the rudder becomes effective

The PFD flight mode annunciator (FMA) will now engage the speed reference system (SRS) takeoff mode and the thrust mode will change to MAN FLX xx. The flight directors will turn on and will indicate pitch commands for after lift off. Ignore these until you reach rotation speed VR.

• If needed more thrust you can move the thrust levers to the TO/GA position
• Maintain the runway centerline with rudder inputs
• Aileron crosswind corrections are usually not needed because this is a full fly by wire aircraft and this is also simulated to full extent

When the airspeed passes though our rotation speed, indicated by a small cyan circle on the airspeed tape, we can pitch up to lift off.

• Gently pull back on the stick with about 20% of nose up input indicated on the PFD
• After lift off follow the flight director SRS commands and establish a pitch of about 15 to 18 degrees.
• Retract the landing gear when the vertical speed indicator indicates a positive rate
• Maintain an airspeed of about V2 + 20 knots
• Engage the autopilot by pressing the AP1 button

After takeoff, when you are in the air with the auto-thrust system turned on, you should keep the thrust levers in the CLB detent throughout the flight. When the thrust levers are above the CLB detent you are commanding manual thrust and you can see a LVR CLB message blinking in the FMA and MAN THR is shown.

When your thrust levers are below the CLB detent your maximum engine thrust is limited to your thrust lever position and auto-thrust cannot command more thrust. In this case LVR CLB is also flashing in the FMA and SPEED/THR CLB/THR IDLE is shown.

• Move your thrust lever to the climb (CLB) detent

Note - In case one engine is off the message shows LVR MCT and you should move the levers to the FLX/MCT detent instead.

During landing, shortly before touching down, a callout is made to remind you to close the thrust levers and set them to IDLE. The callout “RETARD, RETARD” is repeated until you have reduced thrust to idle or triggered a go-around.

During automatic landing (auto-land) the callout activates at 10 feet above the ground and during manual landing the callout comes on at 20 feet.

• Pull the thrust lever to IDLE

When the flaps are extended and you are below 2000 feet above the ground the aircraft monitors if your aircraft is getting too low on energy or too slow. When your flight path cannot be maintained with current engine thrust, e.g. you are getting dangerously low on airspeed and are approaching a stall condition, then the aircraft issues a “SPEED, SPEED” callout.

• Immediately increase thrust and lower the nose to pick up speed

The reason for this occurrence could be that you accidentally turned off the auto-thrust. Make sure that if you are flying manually that the auto-thrust is controlling airspeed by pulling the vertical speed knob.

When the auto-thrust system is active the minimum target airspeed for the A/THR is kept above the velocity low speed (VLS), a.k.a. velocity lowest selectable. The VLS is shown on the airspeed tape as a thin yellow line and it is based on flap setting, spoiler position and aircraft weight. The VLS is the first defense against a stall in an Airbus and it allows a level flight turn up to about 30 degrees without getting into the stall protection zone.

• Select a higher flap setting to decelerate further
• Retract speedbrakes to increase the stall margin
• Increase the selected airspeed above the VLS

When the angle of attack (alpha) is approaching a stall condition then the auto-thrust system turns on automatically in the ALPHA FLOOR (A.FLOOR) mode and commands full TOGA thrust to prevent the stall. When the angle of attack reduces again or when the pilot holds the side-stick forward for about one second to recover from the stall then the mode switches from A.FLOOR to TOGA LOCK (TOGA LK). During TOGA LK the TOGA thrust is kept until you manually move your thrust levers.

Notice that the active thrust mode on the flight mode annunciator (FMA) is now A.FLOOR or TOGA LK boxed in an amber color and flashing. On the engine display (upper ECAM) you can see an amber pulsating A.FLOOR or TOGA LK text.

• Push the nose down to recover from the approaching stall
• Add full TOGA thrust manually

When stall condition has been recovered - Move thrust levers to CLB

Note - You can cancel the A.FLOOR and TOGA LK modes by moving the thrust levers and setting them to idle or by pushing the instinctive auto-thrust disconnect buttons on the thrust levers. A.FLOOR won’t trigger again until the stall has been recovered and a new stall occurs.

When you hear a “Tick Tick Tick” (Triple Click, Triple Ticking sound) in the cockpit then the autopilot is trying to get your attention. Look at the flight mode annunciator (FMA) and check if any mode or indication is boxed in white or amber.

Some of the conditions that trigger the attention getter sound:

1. The lateral navigation is lost and the aircraft reverted to heading select
2. The vertical mode changed on its own without pilot action
3. The approach capability downgraded, e.g. after disconnecting the autopilot or auto-thrust
4. The selected vertical speed is excessive and the autopilot cannot maintain the selected vertical speed

• Double check the active modes and selected values and change them if needed

With the vertical speed mode (V/S) engaged the aircraft tries to pitch for the selected vertical speed target. This affects the airspeed and if climb thrust is not enough to stay above the stall speed or when even at idle thrust the aircraft still speeds up above the maximum allowed airspeed, then the vertical speed mode starts flashing in amber color on the FMA. The autopilot issues a triple clicking sound “Tick Tick Tick” and adjusts the vertical speed target to stay within the safe airspeed envelope.

• Check your airspeed and adjust the vertical speed target
• Increase thrust or increase drag if needed

During an ILS approach pilots should select the ILS needle display with their EFIS controller. If the autopilot is armed to intercept the localizer or is already capturing it then an amber “ILS” is flashing on the primary flight display (PFD) in the lower right corner of the attitude indicator to remind pilots to turn on the landing system display.

• Push the LS button on the EFIS controller to turn on the landing system display

When no ILS approach has been selected then the ILS needles should not be displayed on the primary flight display. If the pilots have turned on the landing system display but no ILS approach is planned, then the primary flight display shows an amber V/DEV flashing in the top right corner of the attitude indicator.

• Push the LS button on the EFIS controller to turn off the landing system display

When the active lateral mode can no longer be maintained then the autopilot reverts to the basic mode HDG. This change triggers the attention getter triple clicking sound (“Tick Tick Tick”) and the flight director lateral steering bar is flashing on and off. The lateral mode on the FMA is boxed in white and flashes for several seconds.

Reasons why this happened:

1. The NAV mode was active but you flew too far off the planned course or flew over the end of the flight plan
2. The LOC mode was active and the localizer signal was lost

• Verify the active lateral and vertical modes and change them as desired

When the active vertical mode can no longer be maintained then it automatically reverts to another mode. You can hear the attention getter triple click “Tick Tick Tick” and the vertical command bar of the flight director flashes on and off. The vertical mode on the FMA is boxed in white and flashes for several seconds.

Reasons why this has happened:

1. You pulled the heading knob when the G/S, CLB, DES, ALT CST or other modes where active which require the LOC or NAV lateral modes
2. You rotated the altitude knob when the autopilot was in the altitude capture phase (ALT* or ALT CST*)

• Adjust the altitude and pull the altitude knob if you wish to use OP CLB or OP DES modes
• Adjust the altitude and pull the vertical speed knob to set vertical speed mode

Note - If you have NAV or LOC mode engaged and CLB/DES or G/S active you can pull the heading knob and immediately after confirm the automatic change to OP CLB or V/S by pulling the respective buttons to prevent the attention getter and mode flashing.

When abnormal conditions are encountered the flight director (FD) might fail and a red FD text is visible on the primary flight display (PFD). When the autopilot was active then it disconnects itself.

Conditions that can trigger a flight director failure (red FD):

1. You are flying manually and didn’t pitch for the speed target and flew into the overspeed regime
2. The pitch angle or bank angle exceed the normal operating range
3. During an RNV approach the aircraft descended below the minimum descent altitude. Automatic landing is not possible during an RNV approach and the guidance is no longer valid and the autopilot disconnects

• If the autopilot tripped off push the instinctive takeover-button on the side-stick to cancel the warning and to take manual control of the aircraft
• Check that the airspeed, pitch and bank angles are within normal operating range

When an ILS is flown with the LOC and G/S mode they combine to the LAND mode below 400 feet above the ground. When the localizer or glide slope signals are lost or when deviations become excessive or then the autopilot is turned off below 200 feet then a red AUTO LAND indicator flashes in the glareshield.

The automatic landing is no longer possible and the landing should be aborted unless you have the runway in sight and can take manual control.

• Take manual control if you have the runway in sight
• Otherwise perform a go-around by moving the thrust levers to TOGA

During cruise the navigation display displays the point at which you need to start descending (the top of descent, TOD) in form of a white arrow pointing down and right. That is the point at which the descent should be initiated. When you have flown past the top of descent point (TOD) then a white DECELERATE text is written on the primary flight display (PFD) reminding you that you should descent or slow down at least.

• Initiate the descent by selecting a lower altitude and pushing the altitude knob in or pulling it

Hint - The green dot on the altitude tape indicates the planned target altitude for the managed descent.

During the descent the flight management system computes the optimal vertical profile to meet all altitude constraints along the route. When the aircraft is too high and cannot descent in time for the next altitude constraint then a “MORE DRAG” message is shown to the pilot.

• Extend the speedbrake to descent quicker

Hint - On the navigation display a blue saw-tooth arrow points at the location where the vertical profile will be intercepted with half deflected speedbrakes.

The altitude alert is a continuous chime that plays a C-Chord note and flashes the altitude window on the primary flight display. The alert is triggered when the aircraft has not levelled off at the selected altitude and has flown through it or deviated from the selected altitude after a while. This alert is designed to get the attention of the pilots to monitor their altitude.

Reasons why this happens

1. You are in a steep descent and select an altitude very close to the current altitude. The altitude capture mode engages but the aircraft cannot pitch down in time with the maximum vertical g-load limits and overshoots the target altitude
2. You are flying manually and did not level off at the selected altitude or deviated after capturing it

• Push the master caution button to mute the altitude alert sound
• Fly back to the selected altitude or change the selected altitude

Note - A brief (about one second) c-chord can be heard and the altitude window flashes in yellow when you are approaching the target altitude and the autopilot is not flying. This is a reminder for the pilots to start leveling off now

When climbing to the cruising altitude you should switch to the standard pressure setting when passing through the transition altitude of the departure airport. Similarly during the descent you should switch back to local QNH pressure setting when you are descending through the transition level on the way to your destination airport.

When you have not switched to STD pressure setting above the transition altitude during climb the pressure setting starts flashing.

• Pull the pressure setting knob on the EFIS control panel to set standard pressure barometric reference (Std)

During the descent when you have not switched back to QNH below the transition level the pressure setting also starts flashing.

• Push the pressure setting knob on the EFIS control panel to set QNH barometric reference
• Rotate the pressure setting knob to set the local pressure setting

Hint - In the U.S. the transition altitude and transition level are 18,000ft but in Europe these values change depending on the weather and airport surroundings. Naturally you can find higher transition altitudes near mountainous terrain where it is important that aircraft know the correct height relative to mountains in the area.

When flying with autopilot engaged the maximum speedbrake deflection on the A320 is reduced to increase passenger comfort, to increase stall margins and to reduce pitch trim wear. Most of the time the reduced deflection is enough to slow down or descent back to the target path. But in some cases you may need the maximum deflection possible.

• Turn on the seat-belt signs
• Disconnect the autopilot to use maximum speedbrake deflection

Airbus aircraft also have a build in spoiler protection. When the airspeed get’s too low the speedbrakes are automatically retracted and kept in the retracted position to increase the lift and to prevent a stall. They also retract automatically when the pilots add TOGA thrust.

When the speedbrake lever is not at the retracted position and the speedbrakes have been retracted automatically then the ECAM issues a master caution with the speed brake disagreement.

• Retract the speedbrake lever and wait at least 5 seconds for the system reset if you want to deploy them again

Each approach has a minimum altitude that you are allowed to descent to or a minimum height above the ground at which you are required to have visual contact with the runway or approach lighting system. The minimum descent altitude (MDA) is a barometric altitude entered in the MCDU and the decision height (DH) is a radar altitude value also entered in the MCDU.

When the aircraft descents below these minimum altitudes then the primary flight display shows a flashing “DH”.

• If you see the runway continue the approach, disconnect the autopilot if it’s not an ILS autoland
• If you cannot see the runway: perform a go-around by moving the thrust levers to TOGA

Approach markers are radio beacons with a limited range that are installed along the final approach course for a runway. The outer marker (OM), middle marker (MM) and inner marker (IM) are displayed in the lower right corner of the attitude indicator and blink or flash when the aircraft flies over it. This is an information for the pilot that they are approaching the runway.

If you know the approach markers are installed on a runway and are working then you can double-check the distance to the threshold with these approach markers.