Airbus 320 tutorial flight

  • While we are awaiting the official tutorial I decided to create a quick and dirty one for those who are interested. ;) It is pretty basic and mainly shows the steps that are mandatory. I myself might use a few more steps here and there but those aren't really needed. Let me know if I made any mistakes!

    The attached screenshot shows all buttons and knobs that will be used and also explains (and shows) all used abbreviations!

    The Airbus 320 has become a lot more realistic with the last update. Due to this the tutorial has become quite a bit longer than my previous one. It may seem complicated but in the end things are quite simple thanks to the Airbus automation!

    Depending on your previous flight (plane used, location, etc.) some options may already be turned on or off: just make sure things end up exactly as I show. Or: start a flight with a different plane and a different flightplan on a different location, quit Aerofly FS 2, restart the computer, start Aerofly and set up this tutorial flights as described below: that should give you the same situation as I had when I wrote this tutorial.

    Edits since the initial post

    1. Preparation - step 1: added (thx to Ray)
    2. Take off - step 3: edited (thx to Ray and Jan)

    3. Numbering changed: every phase now starts with 1 (thx to Jan)

    4. Approach - step 9: changed Autobrake MED to LO (thx to Jan)
    5. Preparation - step 6: added (thx to TheSailer and Jan)

    6. Screenshot updated to show the added F/CTL button

    7. Added an abbreviated tutorial for those who don't need all the extra informa tion

    8. Preparation - step 1-2: switched the steps and added Strobe light off

    9. Taxi and Landing - Changed the order and timing for the various external lights (thx to DaveCT2003 on AVSIM)

    For more information about the additions or edits: read all posts in this topic! ;)

    Flightplan

    KCIC (Chico Muni) RWY13L > KSFO (San Francisco) RWY19L (which has an ILS)

    Position the Airbus 320 on KCIC's parking spot (there only is one)

    Preparation

    1. Turn off the ILS on the EFIS control panel and the Strobe light on the Overhead (in the lower left corner)

    2. Since this flight is in the USA QNH should be set to inHg (inches of mercury) instead of hPa (hectopascal), so click on the black circle around the QNH knob to switch 1013 hPa to 29.92 inHg. For flights in Switzerland you can leave QNH at 1013 hPa. 29.92 (or 1013) is the default barometric setting for the sim right now: if you accidently TURN the QNH knob and hence change the number, make sure to set it back to 29.92 (or 1013) again!

    3. Turn on the FD on the EFIS control panel

    4. Make sure SPD and HDG on the FCU show three lines and a dot on the right

    5. Set the desired altitude on the FCU by rotating the ALT knob (use 22.000 for this tutorial) and make sure ALT shows a dot on the right

    6. Press the F/CTL button on the Pedestal to show the Pitch Trim in the middle off the SD (lower ECAM), set trim to -0.7UP (by turning the trim wheel towards you) and turn off F/CTL again

    7. Set Flaps to 1 on the Pedestal

    8. Arm the Ground Spoiler on the Pedestal (click on speed brake lever or push it all the way up: make sure you see the white part at the bottom of the lever)

    9. Set the Autobrake to MAX

    10. Press the T.O. Config button on the Pedestal and check everything is green on lower left corner of the EW/D: if not, check the appropriate setting and press T.O. Config again. Everything should look now as it is on the screenshot!

    Taxi

    1. Set the Nose light to Taxi on the Overhead

    2. Taxi to the runway (in this case you have to make a rather unrealistic immediate sharp 180 turn to the right, then taxi all the way to the end of the tarmac and then left)

    3. Before entering the runway turn on the Strobe light on the Overhead

    4. Lign up with the runway

    5. Turn on the Landing Lights and set the Nose light to T.O. on the Overhead


    Take off

    1. Push the throttle full forward to the TO/GA detent

    2. Note that A/THR on the FCU turns on automatically

    3. Rotate (pull up the nose gently) when you reach the velocity of rotation (VR) which is shown by the magenta triangle (133 kts) (see the speedtape on the left side of the PFD)

    4. Try to follow the FD directions (the green cross on the PFD that appears after take off)

    5. Gear up at positive climb

    6. Turn on AP1 on the FCU

    7. When the top of the PFD shows CLB in a white box, to the right of MAN TOGA in a white box, pull back throttle to the CLB detent (slowly pull it back until it 'ticks' into the CLB detent)

    8. Flaps up when speed reaches the S on the speedtape

    9. Disarm the Ground Spoiler (click on the speed brake lever)

    10. Turn off the Nose light

    Climb

    1. Below 10.000 ft (see the altitude tape on the right side of the PFD) the maximum speed will be 250 kts automatically

    2. When passing 10.000 ft turn off the Landing Lights

    3. Note that above 10.000 ft the speed will go up to cruising speed automatically

    4. At 18.000 ft (this altitude depends on the country you are flying in!) QNH 29.92 (or 1013) in the lower right corner of the PFD will start flashing: pull back (right click) the QNH knob on the EFIS control panel: the display will change from 29.92 (or 1013) to STD and the PDF will show STD in a yellow box.

    5. At a certain moment you will see a blue arrow beside the flightplan on the ND: this is the TOC (Top Of Climb): when you reach this you will start cruising

    6. Relax and enjoy the scenery ;)


    Descent

    1. At a certain moment you will see a white arrow beside the flightplan on the ND: this is the TOD (Top Of Descent)

    2. Before reaching the TOD set the desired ALT on the FCU (use the destination altitude + 2000 ft: use 2000 for this tutorial)

    3. Just before reaching the TOD press the ALT knob on the FCU to start the descent

    4. If you forget to do this the PFD will show DECELERATE after a while: press the ALT button ASAP if you see this!

    5. When the PFD shows MORE DRAG use the Speed Brake on the Pedestal (drag the lever down) to slow the Airbus down until the message disappears and then drag the lever up (Note the green dot on the altitude tape: it shows if you are below or above the altitude you should be at at that moment)

    6. At 18.000 ft (again this is depending on the country you are flying in!) STD in the lower right corner of the PFD will start flashing: push the QNH button on the EFIS control panel: the display will change from STD to 29.92 (or 1013) and the PDF will show QNH 29.92 (or 1013)

    7. When you get near 10.000 ft the speed will go down to 250 again automatically

    8. After passing 10.000 ft turn on the Landing lights and the ILS on the EFIS control panel

    Approach (depending on the approach the timing of step 6 and 7 may be different)

    1. At a certain moment you will see a magenta circle on the ND: this is the deceleration point where the plane will slow down automatically for the approach

    2. When the speed reaches the green dot on the speed tape set Flaps 1

    3. When the speed reaches the S on the speed tape set Flaps 2

    4. Lower the gear

    5. When the speed reaches the F on the speed tape set Flaps 3 and Flaps 4

    6. Make sure that when you reach the final waypoint, the one that is 10 nm out of the landing runway, you are below the magenta diamond (which represents the Glide Slope) on the altitude tape!

    7. When the magenta diamond gets close to your current altitude turn on APPR on the FCU. This should happen when you have passed the last waypoint and are already flying towards the landing runway

    8. Turn on AP2 on the FCU: the PFD will show CAT 3 DUAL at the top

    9. Turn on the Nose T.O. light, arm the Ground Spoiler and set Autobrake to LO

    Landing

    1. Take note that just before landing the top of the PFD first changes to LAND and at the last moment to FLARE

    2. At the callout of 20 ft pull back the throttle completely

    3. At touchdown use the reverse thrust to slow down faster (which can only be done if you have assigned a button to it!)

    4. When speed reaches 70 disable the reverse thrust and when speed reaches 40 briefly tap the (toe)brakes to disable the Autobrake

    5. Turn off the Autopilot by clicking on the little red button on the sidestick

    6. When leaving the runway turn the Strobe light off, Landing Lights off, set the Nose light to Taxi, set flaps up and disarm the ground spoiler

    7. Taxi wherever you want to taxi to and enjoy a succesful flight!


    ABBREVIATED TUTORIAL

    For everyone who knows what they are doing and don't need the additional information in the tutorial: here is an abbreviated 'checklist' which only shows the mandatory steps. For some this one may be easier to follow. ;)


    Flightplan

    KCIC (Chico Muni)) RWY13L > KSFO (San Francisco) RWY19L

    Position the Airbus 320 on KCIC's parking spot

    Preparation

    1. ILS off and Strobe light off

    2. Set QNH to inHg if needed

    3. FD on

    4. Set altitude

    5. Pitch trim to -0.7UP

    6. Flaps to 1

    7. Arm Ground Spoiler

    8. Autobrake to MAX

    9. Check T.O. Config

    Taxi

    1. Nose light to Taxi

    2. Before entering runway Strobe light on

    2. Lign up with the runway and turn Landing Lights on and Nose light to T.O

    Take off

    1. Throttle at TO/GA or FLEX

    2. Rotate at VR

    3. Gear up at positive climb

    4. AP1 on

    5. When PFD shows CLB throttle at CLB

    6. Flaps up at S

    7. Disarm Ground Spoiler

    8. Nose light off

    Climb (step 2 may come before step 1)

    1. At 10.000 ft Landing Lights off

    2. At transition altitude QNH to STD

    Descent (step 4 may come after step 5)

    1. Before TOD set desired ALT

    2. At TOD start descent

    3. Use Speed Brake if needed

    4. At transition level QNH to 1013 hPa or 29.92 inHg

    5. At 10.000 ft Landing Lights on and ILS on

    Approach (depending on the approach the timing of step 5 may be different)

    1. Flaps 1 at green dot

    2. Flaps 2 at S

    3. Lower gear

    4. Flaps 3 and 4 at F

    5. APP on before intercept Glideslope

    6. AP2 on for Autoland

    7. Nose light to T.O.

    8. Arm Ground Spoiler

    9. Autobrake to LO

    Landing

    1. At 20 ft throttle full idle

    2. At touchdown reverse thrust

    3. At 70 kts disable reverse thrust and at 40 kts disable Autobrake

    4. Autopilot off

    5. When leaving the runway Strobe light off, Landing lights off, Nose light to Taxi, flaps up and disarm Ground Spoiler

    • Official Post

    15. Takeoff = Rotate (Vr)

    I was about to write that, yes. Start the takeoff rotation (pull up the nose gently) when you reach the velocity of rotation (VR).

    During the initial climb phase you should pitch for a speed of V2 (magenta triangle) plus 10kts. The autopilot will do that for you if you engage it.

  • Thanks for the corrections! I edited the tutorial in a few places. I added QNH as an addendum because this would require an extra step at the start of the tutorial and then I would have to renumber everything. 8) This tutorial is also meant for newbies so I don't want to make it too complicated. (EDIT I edited the tutorial as Jan suggested in the post below.) I had my doubts about adding VR to the tutorial (too advanced for newbies) but did it anyway: a bit of education won't hurt anyone.

    The initial climb and rotation rate tips are a bit too advanced for this basic tutorial: I am sure that those who are interested in this either know this or will read all the posts here. ;) BTW When you try to follow the FD (as described in step 16) doesn't that automatically make you fly at the right speed and degrees/sec? (I am no expert on this: all I know I only learned by flying the Aerosoft Airbus way back in my FSX/P3D days. ;) )

    Edited once, last by J van E (July 29, 2017 at 9:47 PM).

    • Official Post

    ...then I would have to renumber everything. 8)

    Why not restart the numbering in each phase?

    (would make it a lot easier to expand later on and it isn't that problematic for other to reference: climb step 5. Or descent step 3.... IDK... Just saying step 42 is wrong, then later on you add in another step, everything is offset... just my thoughts)

  • Why not restart the numbering in each phase?

    (would make it a lot easier to expand later on and it isn't that problematic for other to reference: climb step 5. Or descent step 3.... IDK... Just saying step 42 is wrong, then later on you add in another step, everything is offset... just my thoughts)

    Clever, It will make the tutorial look shorter too LOL I'll do that right now and put the QHN info at the right spot.

    • Official Post

    Another thing worth mentioning: Typically the autobrake in the A320 is set to LOW for landing. Even in Innsbruck this is usually enough unless you have a very heavy load. In real life they use LOW most of the times to avoid break wear. You can always refill the fuel tanks when you use more reverse to slow the aircraft down but you have to do maintenance to replace the brakes. Also if you were to use MED your brakes would become quite hot and even with the brake fan they might not be cool enough when you want to take off again. This would cause a delay and easily outways the shorter landing distance and possibly taxi if you use MIN brake.

    Keep in mind that MED is the maximum strength you can set for landing and it slows the aircraft down quite rapidly. The MIN setting is what is set automatically in the Aerofly FS 2 when you set the aircraft into the final approach.

    • Official Post

    2. No. Because during the t/o the pitch bar is in a fixed fly up location. How fast (or when) you are pulling the nose up doesn't affect the pitch bar.

    That is true and the according to FCOM the maximum pitch used for guidance is 18 degrees in the first segment (is implemented). With TOGA thrust 18° pitch still accelerates you, so you reach -S speed quicker but you're speed is not anywhere near V2 anymore you're a lot faster. If you're flying manually you can pitch it up further but if you think about passenger comfort you also have to lower the nose soon with that steep climb attitude. (this is advanced stuff)

    I'd follow flight director guidance for now, even with FLX takeoff and our "low" takeoff mass of 60t this accelerates you in the first segment and you don't have to lower the pitch that much, once you reach acceleration height (SRS switches to CLB and managed speed switches to 250kts). So you can retract flaps soon and are clean asap. If you had you pitch up high and speed low you would have to pitch forward softly, this takes time, then you have to accelerate, again takes time, then you finally reach -S speed and are still close to the airport because you were flying so slow at the beginning. That also means you used more fuel with flaps extended even above acceleration height. One could also argue that you could start to gently easy the nose down before the acceleration height.

    Sometimes, in the sim, I do a low pitch takeoff and first segment. TOGA the thrust, lift off at V2 (not VR as usual) then retract the gear but don't raise the nose and do a very shallow climb out, retract flaps at -s speed reduce the thrust to MCT and then gently pull up to maintain 250kts. I found this gives me a very fast rate of climb and is the quickest way to get up to 10000ft. Sure you wouldn't be able to do this in real life if you had people living near by and it would reduce engine life. But it's a lot of fun.

    • Official Post

    Thanks for your tutorial JvanE. Well done.

    Please add the important step to check the trim (set to green range as required) before takeoff.

    I think for the current configuration around 0.7UP works quite well and makes it easier to rotate. I've made that change last minute and it didn't make it to the public yet. So a bit of nose up trim will be added in the takeoff configuration (click on runway) in the future.

  • Well,

    all I can say going through this thread is that I just want the Future of AEFS2 goes Bright !

    Jan's and Ray's contributions remind me so much of their enthusiasm with MS FLIGHT ... It was contagious, and Jan did some really nice work for the user community back then.

    And, let's not forget that we have among us a real driver ( bbrz ) whose contributions are Precious!

    Thank you guys! You're really - finally! - driving again my attention and will towards AEFS2, even if I am so disappointed with flight simulation other than Aerowinx PSX, DCS and IL2 Battle of... that it will take some time for me to decide to push AEFS2 again to my tiny SSD disk :)

    Limited by Main Thread...

  • Rotation.....that's a difficult part IRL because since the last few years loadsheet/trim errors are happening much more often.

    This means that you can't simply pull back on the sidestick with the same force all the time.

    Sometimes you are making a very small input and the nose immediately starts rising (and you have to immediately push the stick forward again to stop the rotation) and on the other hand you are sometimes pulling the stick back almost all the way to get the rotation just barely started.

    Precious info bbrz

    Limited by Main Thread...

  • Thanks for your tutorial JvanE. Well done.

    Please add the important step to check the trim (set to green range as required) before takeoff.

    I think for the current configuration around 0.7UP works quite well and makes it easier to rotate. I've made that change last minute and it didn't make it to the public yet. So a bit of nose up trim will be added in the takeoff configuration (click on runway) in the future.

    Good one! Totally didn't think about that! I will have a look at it and add it to the tutorial!

    EDIT

    The tutorial has been updated once more. I added most of the (more importan) changes to the beginning. Take note I also updated the screenshot!

    Edited once, last by J van E (July 30, 2017 at 1:52 PM).

  • This is a worthwhile tutorial. I vote for a sticky.

    @JvE: many thanks. Please correct the checklist preparation item 8. Autobrakes should be MAX setting at takeoff not LO.

    You're very welcome! And refresh your browser: ;) that LO was indeed a mistake I made while editing the post (I wanted to change MED to LO in the Approach phase and accidently changed it in the Preparation) but I corrected it a few minutes later already. ;) Oops LOL I now see I also made that mistake in the abbreviated list... Thanks for the heads up, it is corrected now! (This is getting too complicated LOL)