The second day of training consists of “Line Operating Experience” or LOE. LOEs mimic an actual flight, but usually have some sort of emergency en-route. For example, this year we flew two flights, one from Newark to Cleveland and a second from Cleveland to Chicago. During our first flight our Thrust Management Computer (TMC) broke en-route.
That meant that we had to calculate the engine parameters manually and make sure that the engines did not exceed those parameters. It also meant that our auto throttle system were inoperative. While auto throttles are certainly not required, they definitely make our job easier, so not having them adds an extra bit of challenge. After dealing with our TMC issue, we executed a non-precision approach into Cleveland. Being that this was a simulator event we did not see the runway at the required height and thus had to perform a rejected landing procedure. After we leveled off, we discussed our fuel situation and decided that we had enough for one more attempt in Cleveland and would divert to Detroit if this attempt was not successful. Fortunately, the simulator weather had improved and we were able to land in Cleveland. Just as with an actual flight, we taxied to the appropriate gate and parked the ‘airplane’.
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