Ten years ago, while an L-1011 instructor at Delta Air Lines, I had some
rather interesting situations when dealing with pilots that were Captains
on the DC-9, DC-8 & B-727 transition to L-1011 Captain, and in many cases
Transoceanic as well. Many pilots never heard of TCH prior to the L-1011;
on certain approaches in the L-1011, if TCH were ignored, you could very
well get your feet wet. Damage to the approach lights & landing gear was
another possibility. The autoflight system was another major
consideration. Basic autopilot in one aircraft, part-time flight director
in another, one aircraft without an auto-throttle system, L-1011 with a
complex autoflight system with pitch & roll modes and even an FMS (basic,
antiquated yes, but an FMS nevertheless). Top all this off with triple
INS with an INS/FMS interface, other L-1011's with no FMS to be flown in
triple-mix and of course learning a new way to navigate "across the pond"
to different countries each having their own unique "ops specs". Not a
simple transition, I can assure you! Approach brief - discuss automation,
"we never talked about it before, what is there to discuss?" Training our
transitioning pilots was not an easy task! Before they went out to the
line, they were trained until above average performance was observed. To
successfully complete IOE, again, tremendous hard work and performance
noted!
On the MD-11, I have found that most upgrading to this equipment have
B-767 experience. Many times, this helps since they have had exposure to
glass, automation, wide-body experience, transoceanic operations, etc.
Then again, I do run into many pilots that can't seem to let go of the
B-767, and constantly try to compare every task in the MD-11 to the way
they did it in the B-767, and let me tell you, in a case such as this, I
would rather train a pilot right off the "steam gauges" from scratch that
never even saw an FMS. "Why did they take away my green arc on my map",
can be heard 127 times in 3 weeks! Face it, the MD-11 is not your
father's Oldsmobile!!!!!
Has anyone ever run into these situations? Do you feel it is easier to
train a pilot with experience in glass & automation as opposed to
training a pilot transitioning from a B-727 with no previous
glass/automation experience to speak of? Would anyone like to see any
pre-requisites before transitioning to an aircraft such as the MD-11? If
additional training is required prior to this transition, should it be in
automation? Should it be in CRM? Both??
As a pilots career progresses to the point where after he/she has 25 - 30
years experience with the company and is checking out as Captain on an
aircraft such as the MD-11, what experience/exposure should the ideal
pilot have to make the transition as smooth as possible and to be able
to complete every flight AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE?
If anyone finds this interesting, I would love to hear their comments
concerning both AUTOMATION & CRM. Many thanks!
Lonny M. Regan