My Newest Type Rating

[busdriver 258]

Well, I passed! While there are some differences in the way the short bus flies compared to the 330, thankfully it wasn't as drastic as going from the Boeing to the Airbus like I did 10 years ago!

I'm home after a 3 day IOE trip, and excited to hold a line with international trips next month, plus 16 days off! I'll be around, and happy to answer any Airbus questions, or international (Atlantic) questions anyone may have.

Cheers,

-B

[188AHC 2,138]

Congratulations, Bill. Now you can add the 330 to your resume. What's next 380?😊

[busdriver 258]

Thanks Rick! I'm seat locked to the 330 for at least 3 years, so depending what comes up next, I may just stay on the 330 until I retire, or move to the 787 if it comes to my base.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

330's are awesome, enjoy your time with it

[jmdriskell 178]

I really enjoy reading the posts from current real world aviators as their posts lend reality to the world of aviation simulation.  Now let's hear it from Hummer drivers.

Jim Driskell

[FDEdev 955]

7 hours ago, busdriver said:

Well, I passed! While there are some differences in the way the short bus flies compared to the 330, thankfully it wasn't as drastic as going from the Boeing to the Airbus like I did 10 years ago!

Congrats! 👍I'm one of the very few pilots in my company who transitioned back to short/medium range after 11 years of LR flying because I really missed the flying part.

2-3 landings a month was way too little for me to enjoy flying.

Did they ever improve the A/T on the 330? Many years ago it used to be really bad in turbulence with constant hunting and serious over/under speed e.g. during the approach.

The most important advantage when switching from the 320 to the 330 is the less noisy cockpit 🙂

Edited August 24, 2019 by FDEdev

[A340Bangla 40]

Congratulations to your new rating !

Im my professional life (now retired) I have accumulated about 4 million miles - as a passenger of course - most of them on the A330. I have always enjoyed that plane. Now my favourite is the A350.

[jcomm 5,939]

Congratulations!  It's one of my preferred aircraft when plane spoting @ LPPT :-)

Air Portugal now has the NEO version, but I don't think crew like it that much...

Would really like to have a good simulation for it.

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by jcomm

[rocketlaunch 614]

So jealous, I love the A330. It would be a dream to fly it. Congratulations.

[stans 703]

Congratulations on attaining your A330 type rating!

[busdriver 258]

10 hours ago, FDEdev said:

Congrats! 👍I'm one of the very few pilots in my company who transitioned back to short/medium range after 11 years of LR flying because I really missed the flying part.

2-3 landings a month was way too little for me to enjoy flying.

Did they ever improve the A/T on the 330? Many years ago it used to be really bad in turbulence with constant hunting and serious over/under speed e.g. during the approach.

The most important advantage when switching from the 320 to the 330 is the less noisy cockpit 🙂

Both ATHR and the autopilot have been improved greatly with what Airbus calls "autopilot robustness."

Having done the traditional 2-4 legs per day, I'm ready for a break! Although I will still end up with a few domestic trips, thankfully it wont be the crazy pace of the past.  

[FDEdev 955]

That's great news about the AP and A/T!  Don't get me wrong, flying LR was a great experience and I don't regret a single minute. 🙂

Edited August 24, 2019 by FDEdev

[HighBypass 2,339]

Congratulations, Bill! The A330 is a lovely looking airliner.

Clear Skies!

[John_Cillis 2,406]

On 8/23/2019 at 2:21 PM, busdriver said:

Well, I passed!

Cheers,

-B

Thank goodness you did not pass out after getting the rating, study and exams are tough at any age.  But I will have tears in my Beer thinking about the joy you must have now, tears of joy, lol....  I bet the relief was worth the trials and tribulations!

 

John

 

[Mace 1,927]

On 8/23/2019 at 4:21 PM, busdriver said:

Well, I passed! While there are some differences in the way the short bus flies compared to the 330, thankfully it wasn't as drastic as going from the Boeing to the Airbus like I did 10 years ago!

I'm home after a 3 day IOE trip, and excited to hold a line with international trips next month, plus 16 days off! I'll be around, and happy to answer any Airbus questions, or international (Atlantic) questions anyone may have.

Cheers,

-B

Congrats on the 330 type rating!

Question about North Atlantic Tracks (NAT) -- assume you guys use them most of the time?   I've gone transatlantic two different times with Lufthansa, and I've noticed Lufthansa seemed to fly a NAT track eastbound, but westbound it looked like they took the great circle routing instead, probably because of winds (maybe westbound was a track routing also, but it didn't look like it to me).  Have you ever seen that before, flying the NAT eastbound, but using a GPS/GC routing west?