CoolP, what a silly looking airship. A train wreck in slow motion. The placement of the prop must have lost a lot of thrust.

JayG had it right. When something like an engine failure or tire failure on takeoff, there would always be the "Oh Sh#% period." (Actual term we used in the industry) Depending on the alertness of the crew this period could last 4 to 5 seconds. These valuable seconds was the time it took for the crew to recognize the problem and start doing something about it. The reaction to an engine failure before V1 could take all of five seconds - all the while moving at around 200 feet per second. The crew had to be prepared for anything and by doing a pre-departure briefing the crew could heighten their awareness for the unexpected.

For example: The Captain and F/O discuss the takeoff and review what would result in an abort. After the 707 and 727 era planes, the industry redesigned the cockpit so that if all was OK, the cockpit would be "dark" - no warning lights visible. This would make it easier for the pilots to be alerted to something that would need attention. Only critical items would be alerted during this takeoff phase. This made it clearer for the operating crew to make a decision. Also, the briefing reinforced the important items that could cause an abort and shortened the Oh Sh%# period. Instituting the "sterile cockpit" was another big factor in situational awareness. No unnecessary talk below 10,000 feet.

On takeoff, the flying pilot would set the initial thrust and call "trim throttles." As soon as the thrust was trimmed the Captain would place his hands on the top of the thrust levers, poised to close them. The F/O would remove his hands from the throttles. As V1 was approached, the Captain would bring his hands down and hold the throttles from being closed. This moving of the hands was just one more step in avoiding an abort after V1. Little things like that went a long way toward preventing a goof during the Oh Sh%& period.

Lou  

My father's United friend was flying his last trip before retirement, and from London to Chicago, they referred to his flight not as United 1744, but as Captain Odom the whole way. they said "Captain Odom cleared for takeoff, etc." That isn't a normal occurence, but it was something very special for him.

Humans in the cockpit!
And here is where we have that lovely say: To err is to be human.

CoolP wrote on Aug 31^st, 2011 at 10:25am:

LOL.Thank goodness most computers are not like HAL. If I am ever able to get into space, I do NOT want HAL9000 anywhere near my spacecraft!

CoolP, heres an interesting article on 'skill's, kinda long but interesting....

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gdmYSGPD7TdQa-QsiKHXDoTd_uaA?d...

ANDS= Accelerate north-decellerate south
Us old school guys have to stick together! 

You are right about the current training, it concentrates on avoidence instead of recovery. You remember the stink when the FAA pulled Hovers medical? After the entire US population of pilots raised holy hell he got it back, he is one amazing pilot.

CoolP, my take is that flying a plane is more art than science.

If all the fancy stuff is working - fine. But when the fertilizer hits the fan and all the funny, sissy, glass thingies go T.U. maybe a little basic old school stuff would save the day. Case in point - the Air France Airbus that was lost off the coast of South America. I know that all hell broke loose and things were not making a lot of sense, but if the pilot just placed the nose on the horizon and set a power setting like cruise, the plane would most likely fly. In the 707 and 727 we had a - LOSS OF RADOME procedure where the airspeed would be unreliable. Attitude and power setting were the primary tools to keep the greasy side down. It worked in the 707 and it works in a Cub. When the glassily stuff came on the scene the little procedure went bye bye. Too bad, it may well have saved that flight.

As for the lean training, it's all about money! Putting a pilot in class cost money. If you can put the class on slim-fast and save a week or two you have saved a bundle. I wonder just how much the bean counters really save since most airlines are self insured for part of the liability in a crash. One bad crash could more than wipe out the savings of a week or two less training. In the sixties, going to a different plane took several months of training. You would have three or four weeks of classroom, then maybe a week in the procedure trainer and maybe two weeks in the simulator followed by some IOE line training and then a check ride. When the glass-e planes came along the class was clipped to seven or eight days and then maybe a few sessions in the trainer and a couple of days in the sim and before you knew it you were solo... wow!

No more teaching systems, because there was nothing you could do to fix the darn thing anyway. The glass was pretty simple - when it worked. And even though the cockpit now had only you and the other pilot you didn't need to know how it works, just how to use it. No more nuts and bolts. If you asked in class - "How does it work" - you were told, "Just Fine!" So little by little the pilot is relegated to a button pusher. Even the plane calls you a "retard" on landing, as if you never flew a plane before. What an insult!

Now I don't think you need to know how to build the plane in order to fly it, but knowing what is going on couldn't hurt!  

Just my opinion...

Want to try explaining the northerly turning error?