August 21, 20187 yr At where I work we also cycle the PM's FD back on after switching both FD off (like on a visual approach or the visual segment of a non-precision IAP), as per what Ian said. I know that this is a fairly recent change (less than 2 years?). I was told the reason is that in the event of a GA, both FDs would come back on. But upon selection of any subsequent mode, like LNAV at 400ft or VNAV at acceleration altitude, the FDs would now disappear again at a somewhat critical time. So by having the PM's FD on, it would prevent both crew having no FDs. Hadn't heard about the thrust issues, but it certainly sounds possible. Problem we've had many times is that our sims at work (level-D) aren't always 100% accurate. So sometimes procedures will be validated in the sim only to find out that the airplane behaves differently. A learning experience all around.
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