Originally Posted by
pitz
Of course not. I was told at one time that they must hand fly an approach every month (or was it 90 days) to retain currency, but other than that, they can rely upon automation. "Visual" approaches usually are quicker (cheaper) than doing the full procedural ILS approaches, and are hence preferred when possible. The glidescope is still set up in the FMS just to maintain sanity though (ie: make sure they're aiming at the right runway, for example).
Just in time for needing more ramp crew for the 737's with their non-containerized loadings. I wonder how well that's going to work out, lol. Not looking forward to rain soaked bags in the summer, that's for sure.
80-84 hours a month at 7 hours each way, sounds about right. Probably with a bit of domestic thrown in there. Do you count an overnight flight as working 2 days?
Yes, he counted it as 2 days. Nice catch buddy.
I specifically asked about hand flying...so if CAT 3 autoland is available, they can and will use it, even if conditions don't warrant it. He was adamant that there is no policy to hand fly any approach.