Simulator session.

Disclaimer: 

▪︎This content is Not an official document and does not represent the views of Airbus or any other aviation authority.

▪︎The information provided may be incorrect or misinterpreted and should not be relied upon for decision-making. 

▪︎Always refer to official documents and consult with a qualified aviation professional before making any decisions based on the information provided in this blog post.

▪︎The information provided in this blog post is based on personal study and review.

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Simulator maneuvers

As you know, pilots need to undergo simulator checks every six months. During simulator training and checks, there is one thing the check rider does not always consider. Since the simulator is expensive equipment and costs money for the simulator, instructors, etc., pilots are allocated only the minimum amount of time to train and for the check ride. Sometimes, the check rider or instructors put the trainee in the middle of a maneuver without proper briefing and preparation time.

Of course, the trainee can always ask the instructors for time to prepare or request holding or vectors for preparation (if the instructors were acting as ATC). However, sometimes the trainee ends up spending valuable time in the simulator doing FMGC work and going through the briefing, resulting in limited maneuvers at the end of the session. Therefore, it is essential to prepare in the simulator briefing room before entering the simulator.

There is only one chance in the simulator check – no excuses. Imagine you are in a screening session after being chosen as a candidate for another airline. After engine failure maneuvers and other landings, the instructor puts you on a 1500ft downwind and asks you to do a visual maneuver. You did not have proper time to adapt to the nearest visual indicator and could not allocate enough time to identify the landing runway, except that you just see the runways.

ATC (instructor) suddenly asks if you have the runway in sight, so you say yes, and the simulator is running. Even though you usually perform visual maneuvers confidently, being put in such a situation can lead to forgetting something, such as configuration or checklist items.

Once the maneuver is done, it's done. Even if they give a second chance, their impression is already made. Even if you try to explain why you forgot something, it's too late. In the simulator, time is limited, and once it's done, it's done. The instructor might not give a second chance, and even if they do, your score would likely be lower.

 

 

 

Consider everything as if it were a real situation

- do not assume the simulator instructor might have assumed a situation that does not require other actions.

 

 

For example, after a one-engine go-around maneuver, the instructor puts you on a 4nm final and wants you to complete the landing. You might think that since the go-around maneuver was completed, the instructor might want to see the one-engine landing maneuvers, so he put you on final to save time.

Suddenly, you get an APU fire warning on final, and you decide to continue and plan for evacuation on the runway if the fire does not go off. You finish the maneuver, but the instructor says you did not declare a mayday call for the APU fire during the debriefing.

Yes, in real life, you would have declared a mayday to get assistance sooner. But in this simulator, you assumed the instructor wanted to see an evacuation maneuver, so you did not think about calling mayday. However, if the instructor was expecting a mayday callout and wanted to give a low score for not doing so, there is no excuse.

Your syllabus probably states to consider every situation as in a real flight, and this cannot be your reason. Do not assume the checklist is complete, even if you are suddenly moved to final. Do not assume ATC is already aware of the situation because the instructor put you there. Do not consider that the landing clearance was received, even if the instructor suddenly moved your position to final.

After confirming and declaring, askto the instructor(ATC) until they get bored or even bothered. This will help make a good impression on the instructor that you always care about even the little details.