The One Where V1 Cuts Shake Things Up
Today was my second day in the full-motion trainer, and overall it felt like a definite step up in intensity compared to yesterday. We spent about six hours in the sim—exhausting, but also jam-packed with valuable lessons. The pace was brisk from the start: we jumped right into an ILS CAT II approach followed by a missed approach, picked up a few small errors along the way, and then circled back for another CAT II to a landing.
From there, we moved on to an RNAV departure without autopilot or autothrottle. I did it twice, and the difference was night and day between the first and second attempts. Initially, I was so worried about over-controlling that I ended up chasing the flight director. On the second run, I became more assertive—really “owned” the airplane—and kept the bars centered much more smoothly. After that, it was time for an RNAV approach. We landed, but not as precisely as I’d like, especially with a slight crosswind that pushed me off the localizer and centerline.
Next came a few visual approaches at night, which can be tricky if you rely too heavily on a PAPI you can barely see. I ended up dipping below the ideal glide path and touched down a bit short of the thousand-foot markers. We also practiced PRM breakout procedures, which were a little chaotic at first. The biggest challenge was figuring out the timing to clean up, when to call for the autopilot, and how to sequence each step without rushing or forgetting something. By the end, we had a workable flow.
The real highlight—and headache—of the day were the V1 cuts. Getting used to the sudden loss of thrust on one side is tricky, especially when you have to manage rudder inputs precisely and make tiny adjustments in pitch and bank. I realized I was not scanning my instruments enough; I kept fixating on the “hockey sticks” and let my heading wander. Once I started integrating the HSI more and remembering to apply aileron input as needed, it started to click—though my climbouts were still a bit wobbly.
Since we were the last session of the day, we got a bit of extra time in the sim, but by hour six I was definitely feeling the fatigue. Looking back, it was still a solid day of training: I made progress on the RNAV departure, fine-tuned my approach control, and got valuable reps in with the V1 cuts. Tomorrow promises even more excitement—word is we have max crosswind landings to look forward to. Here’s hoping I’m up for the challenge.