Strugling to put the bird at constant FL and Speed

[Guest ivano]

Hi guys I hope someone can help on this one, I am I really new pilot for Airbus, and I am trying to put A330 in the air but really struggling, need your help. Problem; i have read the entire Pilot's Manual and i am failing in only one thing so far, Get the Auto Pilot working, i have managed to switch on the Engines, Insert the Fligth Plan and put the Bird Airborne, but ,i could only reach that stage. i have got some questions and i also would be glad if you could explain to me the right procedure for the AP. let me start with what i can't do; 1-once i am airborne i can not control my speed , i am able to control my altitude all of those i have done it manually. what happens next is that the plane overstresses or stalls. 2- my speed/mach is inactive as it appears ---. 3- i am able to set my altitude but have to set the vertical speed manually, after the plane is airborne it does not follow the alt, as the AP even though is On. Questions 1-On the FCU panel i have got HD/TRK and V/S/FPA which one should on? 2-Still on the FCU panel i have the HG and hPa which one should it be on? 3-On the EFIS panel i have got the Navaids selectors 1 and 2, which should be on? and shoul it be set for ADF or VOR? 4-Concerning th FD, is it ok for the fd to be On at same time as the AP.? wht should on first? If one is on wht should off? 5- The last question is as i roll the rwy, i see a mssg on the PFD, that is on the left corner which reads SPD Select and it appears in Red. So in general i would appreciate if could give me the procedure for engaging the AP. Thank you Ivano GarridoMaybe there is or there should be a tutorial on how to go about it.

[Guest vrandar]

Phew, lots of questions. It might help to have a look at the MCDU and flight tutorials in the British Airways Virtual Speedbirdonline Airbus hangar in my sig below. Although they are for the A320 family (and are rather old) much of what is there is nevertheless relevant due to the common flightdeck.Let's have a look at your setup first because your question 5 shows that you are not setup properly for the takeoff.You said you've got the engines going which is good. And you have loaded your flight plan. Make sure you have set your departure runway (Line Select Key 1 Left -LSK1L- on the F-Plan page) and SID (Standard Instrument Departure). You will then see on the F-PLAN page the altitude constraints in magenta on the right. Lets assume that an early one says FL060. You should set this as your initial altitude on the FCU: right click to the right of the Alt knob to increase in '000s and to the left to decrase, left click for '00s of feet until you have 6000. Click on the PERF page and you will see empty orange boxes for your vSpeeds. To save you calculating these PSS have programmed in a handy quick-entry method: Right Click at LSK1 and V1 will be automatically entered for, right click LSK2L for Vr and right click LSK3L for V2. If you do not do this you will not have set your vSpeeds and you will get the red SPD Select Message you mentioned. Then left click (i.e. press) the SPD knob on the FCU. This will ensure you get V2+10 shown at the top of the speed tape on the PFD in magenta. You need this because after takeoff you should try to stick to V2+10 as closely as possible until acceleration altitude.Press the right LSK next to one of the waypoints/fixes in the fF-PLAN page that is below FL100 and make sure that at LSK2L it says 250/FL100 which will prevent you overshooting the speed limit of 250 below 10000 feet. If you are online and ATC give you a "no speed restriction" you can delete this.You should now be setup for takeoff.Your Question 1: your FCU should show HDG and V/S. I normally only use TRK and FPA on approaches where I am trying to control the flight path angle. Have it on HDG and V/S but don't worry too much about V/S at this stage. Make sure your altitude is set in the FCU window and either 1) press (left click) for managed mode where the altitude will follow any constraints set in the MCDU or 2) pull (right click) for selected mode where you have control. Think of managed mode as long term control and selected mode as short term changes.Your question 2: If you are in the USA you will probably use HG (Inches of Mercury) for the QNH. In Europe we use hPa (hectopascals). 29.92 hg = 1013 hectopascals.Your question 3: these are shown on the ND for information.Your question 4: yes it is. I just leave the FD on and rarely if ever turn it off.Right, now back to the speeds question. You were ready for takeoff, engines on and stable, autobrake set to max, flaps 1+F, TO Config pressed and no blue warnings. Make sure the MCDU shows the Takeoff page (press the Perf) key if it doesn't. This reminds you of your vSpeeds. Lets assume you are going for a TOGA thrust takeoff. So you will press the numpad + key 3 times and MAN TOGA will appear in the top left of the PFD in white. At 80 kts check that everything appears normal and autothrust is showing green on the FCU.Rotate at Vr and pitch so that you are holding v2+10 as closely as possible (the magenta triangle on the speed tape of the PFD). If you seriously shoot through V2+10 you will experience a sharp pitch up when you activate the autopilot. 3 seconds after takeoff retract the gear.Follow the F and S indicators on the speed tape of the PFD to retract flaps and slats. When to activate the autopilot is up to you but until yu are comfortable flying a SID manually I would recommend activating the autpilot around 400 feet. When LVR CLB flashes in white above the speed tape on the PFD press the numpad - key until the thrust levers are in the CLB gate on the pedestal. If you were at TOGA it is 2 presses of the - key, one if you were doing a FLEX takeoff.Enter your altitude as necessary in the FCU and press (left click) the Alt knob so you are in managed alt. Don't touch the speed knob, it isn't necessary at this stage. IOt is correct that it is showing --- as that is the indicator managed mode. Autothrust will be on and you won't (or at least shouldn't) overspeed. If you find you are losing airspeed, particularly above about FL250, you can right click the left of the V/S knob and reduce your rate of climb and thus increase your airspeed again. But go back to managed (i.e left click) the Alt knob as soon as practical.This is just the very beginning of the flight and of course there is much more to learn when you get to descents and approaches. But for the time being practice the early phases of the flight a few times until you are comfortable taking off and starting the climb and are familiar with what the instruments are telling you. Do it offline (i.e not on VATSIM) and you can press the pause key to give you time to scan the instruments.Come back with any further questions or if I didn't explain anything clearly enough.