Peter wrote:
The only thing of use that will be listening on 121.5 will be the F16 on your wingtip
I have often wondered, do you squawk 7500 when you have hijacked the plane? :-)
Given that this will surprise nobody, the question is ‘why is it being announced now?’
Presumably it’s a cheap way of making a lot of people redundant, and will cause no pilot shortages in the short to medium term.
Graham wrote:
For the AP, I will ensure HDG and ALT are illuminated and then press the AP button. If that doesn’t work I’ll fly it by hand.
Graham the autopilots don’t work quite like GA ones and the integrated systems make basics harder. Flying by hand is far less likely to be successful in my view.
I think the title of the thread steers us slightly away from the issue, (my 1st post included).
As Peter alluded to, regardless of natural ability and/ or above average academic ability, would you really be happy as a pax with a Pilot up front who has ‘fudged’ something to be there.
I certainly wouldn’t.
In many ways despite parts of the theory exams being irrelevant, much of it isn’t, and becomes a precursor to extending knowledge and understanding as the training and experience continues.
Anyone who clearly finds that the theory is too much trouble is showing a possible (likely?) tendancy for that attitude in other areas.
Where does it end? Fail some essential failure scenario in the sim session, and chuck the instructor another $500?
Did the guy actually complete his CPL/IR or if so
did he ever see a cloud?
Automation and familiarisation may see you through when everything works as planned but when it doesn’t that’s when the pro’s earn their hero badges.
I guess this has been going on for a long time and many many people knew. I wonder if heads will roll, or it will be quietly dummed down and a few weeded out of the system once the media moves to the next scandal.
“Graham the autopilots don’t work quite like GA ones and the integrated systems make basics harder”
Don’t most of Airbus new fleet now have GFC700? how much that is different from the one in a C182, DA42 or Cirrus?
JasonC wrote:
Graham the autopilots don’t work quite like GA ones and the integrated systems make basics harder.
This is true, but they will fly a heading and an altitude if you press the right buttons.
Anyway, it’s all a bit of a pointless divergence. What we’re getting at is what’s going on with these PIA guys, and I think the drift is that if you have enough familiarity then the ability to operate this stuff has nothing to do with some multiple choice exams you did many years ago.
It would indeed have been a bit off topic but I find it a bit sad that nobody who actually flies these things has described how the basics work, rather than just saying it won’t work. But AFAIK no airliner pilot has posted yet.
Its quite frightening really. In the past I have flown PIA as passenger,quite a lot.
Actually I found them to be much better than I had expected. I’m not sure I would be so keen to fly with them now, and even when they have got to the bottom of this problem and sorted it they will still have a big PR issue to fight.
As for whether or not ATPL theory exams are garbage or not, well you could say the same about logarithms, Latin, or even University or college exams in general.
Peter wrote:
The only thing of use that will be listening on 121.5 will be this on your wingtip
I never know when you’re joking or not…
All ATC units listen on 121.5.
Country dependent; maybe Sweden does 
