Flying the Boeing after the lighter and slower ATR-turboprop, is it really so much more difficult?

My first six months at airBaltic have gone fast. I have already logged about 500 hours flying the line on the B737, which is a good start. I have also managed to survive without any major problems; the Boeing has proved to be a very reliable workhorse and fortunately I have learned to control it without big issues.

At London Gatwick, getting ready to fly back east.

 

Comparing with my previous aircraft, the ATR-500 turboprop, the B737 is about 40000 kg heavier, faster and has more sophisticated systems (even if it is an older type). For instance, the ATR did not have an Auto Throttle, which automatically adjusts the thrust lever position to maintain the airspeed selected by the pilot. On the ATR, we had to adjust the power manually, which made the workload a bit higher during the approach. Moreover, the Boeing also has a vertical navigation capability, which means that the aircraft will automatically fly a vertical path that has been programmed into the Flight Management System. On the ATR there was just a vertical guidance, but to follow it the pilot had to actively control the aircraft. So basically flying the heavier and faster Boeing is in some ways ways easier than flying the ATR, which is contrary to popular belief.

The front office of the B737 Classic. Oldie but goldie. 

In fact, some airlines, like Ryanair, frown on pilots with turboprop experience. I have to ask why?? The turboprop guys fly a lot of sectors and do not spend that much time on the flight level doing nothing. They fly with less automation and often in more challenging weather. They are the pilots who can fly the aircraft, not just manage the systems.

Of course, if Ryanair wants systems managers and not stick-and-rudder pilots, it is one way to go. But looking at the latest accidents, better stick-and-rudder basic manual flying skills might have saved the day.

And coming back to the airplane weight. Ryanair is currently struggling to find new pilots but at the same time they have a requirement of 1000 hours on an aircraft weighing more than 30 tons. So pilots with experience from business jets, turboprops, military jets are all out. If I think about my first flights on the Boeing (which usually weighs around 50 tons at take-off), I didn't find the bigger weight any issue at all. No runway overruns, no unstable approaches, no loss of control, not even near. My challenges have had to do with unlearning the previous aircraft and company procedures, but more about that in following blogs.

So what is it that extra special skill you get from flying aircraft more than 30 tons? Of course it is good experience, but is it really worth ruling out a whole lot of great pilots with experience on a little lighter aircraft? I mean, when you turn the autopilot knobs or punch the buttons on the FMS, the airplanes fly just the same whether they weigh 10 tons or 500 tons.

It is also "funny" how this industry is doing things like they've always been done. Take the level of automation, for instance. The larger the airplane, the more automation it has. That's the way it has always been and no question about it. It means that the guys flying the smaller commuter airplanes are often faced with higher workload during the approach than the pilots flying big planes. The thing is, the big boys might do the approach maybe five times a month, whereas the commuter guys fly (at the controls) the same amount of approaches in two days! And that is very tiring and you could really use some help from things like Auto Throttle or vertical navigation (VNAV). Still the big boys get all the gadgets! Of course, a large airplane is a lot easier to handle with all the automation, so in that sense it must be justified. But still.

The B737 Classic Primary Flight Display. This photo displays my personal ground speed record 584 knots (1082 km/h) in a strong tail wind. The green captions on the top are very important; they tell the automatic systems are doing. MCP SPD: the autothrottle is on and controlling speed selected by the pilot (the speed can alternatively be set by the Flight Management Computer). ALT HOLD: the autopilot is holding the selected altitude - this could alternatively be the vertical naviagation mode from the FMS (VNAV). LNAV: the airplane follows a the lateral path programmed into the FMS. CMD: autopilot is on.