Airbus A350 & A380 Quickstart Guide

All engines and all electrics off are switched off, let’s power on the aircraft from this cold and dark state.

• If the green AVAIL light is illuminated set EXT 2 and EXT 1 on.
• Turn on all four batteries from left to right: BAT 1, BAT EMER 1, BAT EMER 2, BAT 2
• Set the APU MASTER on and press the APU START button to start the auxiliary power unit (APU)
• Set the CREW SUPPLY pushbutton from OFF to ON (no lights)
• Set the RCDR GND CTL pushbutton to ON.

• Rotate all three ADIRS mode selectors to the NAV position, in the sequence 1, 2, 3, so left, right, center.
• Switch on all fuel pumps from left to right: L TK MAIN+STBY, CTR TK L+R, R TK MAIN+STBY (no white lights)
• Check that there are no remaining white lights illuminated in the overhead panel at this stage

When the APU has been started we can turn on the APU BLEED so that the air conditioning can operate and so that we have high pressure air to start the engines later.

• Set the APU BLEED pushbutton to ON
• Turn off the EXT 1 and 2

In preparation for the upcoming engine start let’s switch on external lights and passenger signs.

• Set the switches STROBE LT to AUTO, BEACON LT to ON, NAV to 1, LOGO to ON or AUTO
• Set the SEAT BELTS and NO MOBILE switches to ON
• Set the EMER EXIT LT switch to ARM, so that the emergency exit lights can illuminate in case of an emergency evacuation.

The aircraft needs a couple of parameters in the flight management system (FMS) to function correctly. We’re going to insert the bare minimum here, without any navigation route. If you already planned a route through the missions or through the navigation menu most data for the route is already inserted.

• On the MFD keyboard press the INIT button at the top to display the INIT page.
• You can double click/double tap most of the entry fields or you can chose to type data in manually after selecting an editbox/textbox on the page.
• As the bare minimum insert the cruise altitude (CRZ FL)

All steps that need completion are listed at the bottom half of the page. You can press each of the buttons and then return to the INIT page when done to go to the next step.

We’re going to skip ahead to FUEL&LOAD and not insert any route to keep this tutorial short.

• On the INIT page press the FUEL & LOAD button
• Double click/tap all the entry fields with amber boxes to insert the correct values.
• Check that the ZFW (zero fuel weight), ZFWCG (ZFW center of gravity), BLOCK (block fuel for the flight) and TAXI fuel mass are inserted.
• You can enter a passenger number in the PAX NBR field as well
• Press RETURN at the bottom left of the page

Back on the INIT page

• Press the T.O PERF button
• Double click/tap all fields with amber boxes to insert the correct values.
• Check that V1 (takeoff decision airspeed), VR (rotation airspeed), V2 (initial climb airspeed) are inserted
• Check that the takeoff pitch trim for takeoff is inserted (THS - trimmable horizontal stabilizer)
• We’ll takeoff with reduced thrust with a flexible temperature (FLEX)
• On the right MFD keyboard press the C/L Menu button in the top right corner if you want to go through the checklists of the aircraft.

• On the autopilot panel (AFS CP) set your planned cruise altitude
• Rotate the ND mode knob to ROSE, ARC or PLAN
• Rotate the ND range knob to the ZOOM position.

On the navigation display (ND) we can now see an airport map. You can drag the map with your mouse or finger touch gestures. In modes other than PLAN the view jumps back to the aircraft automatically after a few seconds.

• On the Onboard Information System (OIS) main menu press the ENROUTE button to see the en-route map
• If you’re using the desktop version you can also press the TAXI button to display the taxi camera right on your primary flight display (PFD).

We’re starting the engines one by one. We’ll start with engine 2 but you can also start engine 1 first.

• Rotate the ENG START selector to the IGN START position to arm the auto start procedure
• Move the engine master switch of the desired engine from OFF to ON.
• The engine start can be monitored on the System Display (SD) but it’s fully automatic.
• When the engine indications show a green AVAIL text you can continue with the second engine.
• Move the remaining engine master switch to ON as well
• When both engines have been started reset the ENG START selector back to NORM.

Both engines are now running.

• Check that the ENG START selector is set to NORM.
• Pull the speed brake lever forward/out to arm the ground spoilers for a rejected takeoff
• Set the flap lever to 1.

On the primary flight display (PFD) in the bottom memo area we can now observe the flaps moving to 1+F (position one with flaps) and we can also see a cyan triangle above the wing graphic to indicate that the ground spoilers have been armed.

We no longer need the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) and can turn if off.

• Set the APU BLEED and APU MASTER pushbutton from ON to OFF (no lights)

In the real world you would wait with some of the lights until you enter the runway of course but to keep this tutorial short you can now set all external lights to ON.

• Set the STROBE, BEACON, NAV, LOGO, WING, LDG and NOSE light switches to the most upper position.
• Check that the SEAT BELTS and NO MOBILE switches are ON or AUTO.

On the ECAM the takeoff checklist should now be shown. If you see any amber caution or red warning instead of the checklist check if you can fix the inoperative system or clear the caution/warning by clicking the CLEAR label on screen or by pressing the illuminated CLR button in the pedestal (aft of the engine ignition).

• Press the A/BRK pushbutton to arm the auto brake for a rejected takeoff
• Check that there are no cyan (“no blue”) items are remaining, apart from T.O CONFIG TEST.
• On the pedestal ECAM control panel press the T.O CONFIG test button.

The checklist should now be all green, “no blue”. If a caution or warning has appeared you can clear it by clicking the CLEAR text on the screen or by pressing the CLR buttons on the ECAM control panel. Follow the instructions that the caution or warning gives you to prevent the warning from showing up again during takeoff.

We have taxied to the runway and now enter it and line up with the runway centerline. Because the aircraft is quite long the cockpit is far forward and we need to “overshoot” each turn on the ground. Using the taxi camera makes this a bit easier on the desktop version.

When lined up reset all displays for flight:

• Rotate the ND range to 10NM or higher
• Rotate the ND mode to ARC (or as preferred)
• Turn off the taxi camera by clicking the TAXI pushbutton.
• Verify that you are indeed on the correct runway.

Increase the thrust to 50% N1. If you look at the thrust levers this corresponds to roughly the position between the T and the H of the label “A/THR on the base of the throttle quadrant.

• When both engines have spooled up to the same thrust level (stabilized)
• Move both thrust into the FLX/MCT detent to set takeoff thrust
• Maintain the runway centerline with gentle rudder inputs
• When reaching the decision speed a callout “V1” can be heard.
• Shortly after we pass the rotation airspeed, gently pull up to lift the nose into the air
• Lift the nose to around 15° pitch
• Follow the green flight director commands to maintain a safe airspeed during initial climb.
• Retract the landing gear.

• Engage the autopilot when you are above roughly 400ft.

At around 1500ft above the runway we reach the thrust reduction height (THR RED) and acceleration height (ACCEL). On the primary flight display (PFD) a white LVR CLB text starts flashing, reminding us to set the thrust levers to climb thrust.

• On the the autopilot panel, if the airspeed is no longer shown as three dashes you now need to increase the selected airspeed to e.g. 250KT. Otherwise keep it as is.
• Pull the thrust levers into the CLB detent to activate the Auto-Thrust (A/THR).

After accelerating above the -S speed on the PFD:

• Retract the flaps
• Disarm the ground spoilers by clicking or tapping on the lever once.

The autopilot keeps climbing to the altitude we’ve set in the autopilot panel (AFS CP) and if we have entered a route before departure it will automatically follow it at this time. Otherwise it will fly straight ahead until we rotate the selected heading knob and pull the knob to activate the selected heading mode.

Check out our tutorial for the Airbus autopilots to learn how to steer use the autopilot.

If you are flying without a route, or without a destination airport set then the automatic cabin pressurization system then does not know to which cabin altitude it needs to pressurize, so manual control is required.

If the cockpit assistance feature is enabled then this is handled for you, but if you have switched that assistance off you now need to take action.

When the amber caution CAB PRESS LDG ELEVN FAULT is shown:

• In the overhead panel select CABIN ALT MODE to MAN. You can also click on the label on the System Display (SD) for cabin pressurization as a shortcut.
• In the overhead rotate the CABIN ALT TRGT knob to set the target cabin altitude. You can also use the mouse wheel or drag the finger over the system display.
• Click on the CLEAR text or use the ECAM panel CLR button in the pedestal to clear the caution

Keep the altitude at around 6000ft during cruise and then set it to your landing airport field elevation when you start to descent.