VISIT TO THE A320 SIMULATOR
On the morning of 2nd October 2013 , I was in a state of joy. It was my time to get my hands on an A320 Simulator. Waking up early on a holiday is not always an eyecandy , but waking up early today was worth it. I quickly had some tea, got dressed in casuals, kept a uniform in the bag, and jumped into the cab along with my dad. I had excitement in my blood, and flying in my mind. Like any other pilots going for training, we were picked up by a standard white cab sent by the airline to take us to the FSTC (Flight Simulator Training Center).
Upon arrival, I see two huge simulators standing 2 1/2 stories high, I never really imagined them to be that huge.
Upon arrival, I see two huge simulators standing 2 1/2 stories high, I never really imagined them to be that huge.
We were greeted by our instructors and fellow classmates, followed by a cup of coffee, and later the flight briefing. The briefing was really interesting. We were told that we'll be doing failures today. Engine failures before and after V1, pan pan pan's , mayday's , just the way I like it.
Going towards it, I get my eyes on a Boeing 737 simulator, which was inflight and was being used for training by SpiceJet. My Airbus was the latter one. Stepping into the simulator, I have a brief look at the way it was made. Such elegance, such beauty, and such class. Everything was set to cold and dark, and we we're being given another briefing. Soon after the briefing, we were ready to kick the tires and light the fires. The simulator was made by Lockheed Martin, a world renowned aircraft and systems manufacturer, and the software being used was a Prepar3D. We lighten up the huds, spawn on Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (ICAO:VIDP) and start. We start with the before takeoff checklist, take ATC Clearance "Delhi Tower, ifly001 request clearance for takeoff", "ifly001 you're cleared for takeoff." With excitement we push the throttles ahead and start rolling. We first started with engine failures before V1. Right before reaching V1, the simulator simulated a situation of an engine failure, and we pulled back hard on the throttles. Applying hard breaks, we finally get the aircraft to a halt and start engine damage checklists. Later after a number of sessions, we went to failures after V1. Oh yes! This is the part where you get to fly the baby and land it back.
So moving on, we revved up the engines,and were ready to face it. Right after crossing V1, our Eng.No.1 failed. We continued and took off. Right after takeoff, one person had controls, and one person was looking after the engine. "Engine Main Off", "Check!" , "Fire Arm", "Check!", "Discharging agent one", "Roger" . The flight was full of excitement. We declared a "pan, pan, pan" . For those of you wondering , a "pan,pan,pan" is an emergency call used for general/smaller emergencies than that of a "MayDay!" Call. We we're given priority and we're headed back to Delhi, via a left hand pattern. Finally the runway in sight, we touched down, and excelled in the exercise. The second time we were expecting everything to be normal, but no, the aircraft had to act weird. We cam in too high for the second approach , and had to go around. Going around with one engine is possible, but is not a recommended when you have the ECAM displaying the message "Land ASAP!" we went around and came in for another approach, as we touched down , our second engine caught fire, and we ended up looking like this:
The Situation was handled affectionately by the crew. After landing a "MayDay" was declared. The aircraft was not even at full stop at that time. We declared a mayday and stopped on the runway. Six seconds after handling the situation, the alarm inside the cockpit suddenly goes off, which indicated that we immediately need to evacuate (Trust me, its very loud). "Tower, ifly001 mayday evacuating on the runway", "roger ifly001 services are on the way" ; and we ended the simulation. Next up was a leasure flight. Just fly around and land. It was quite a long time since I got my hands on a Fly-By-Wire aircraft, so it was quite a little task to handle this baby.
P.S. Sorry for the blurry pic, its always in motion.
P.S. Sorry for the blurry pic, its always in motion.
It was a joy for me to get my hands on her. The new Fly-By-Wire system implemented was really nice. After taking off, I took a left hand pattern to get back to Delhi Airport. On my way, I did see the Quatab Minar and Lotus Temple , the eye in the sky. I soon was lined up for the runway, and after lots of excitement and fun, I was ready to land. I was having a little hard time following the FD, but I touched down right on the centerline , and later stopped at the runway. That was one of the best moments of my life.
Finally after touching down, it was time to go back. The 4 hour session was over, and I regretted it. I wanted to fly more, but in the end , it was a great experience. After shutting down the sim and greeting a goodbye, the four of us moved towards our cabs and carried on our way.
All in all, it was an A-W-E-S-O-M-E Experience for me .
I would love to go back there and fly it again.
Finally after touching down, it was time to go back. The 4 hour session was over, and I regretted it. I wanted to fly more, but in the end , it was a great experience. After shutting down the sim and greeting a goodbye, the four of us moved towards our cabs and carried on our way.
All in all, it was an A-W-E-S-O-M-E Experience for me .
I would love to go back there and fly it again.