The A320 Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode Matt has a look at a case study to highlight the importance of not delaying the implementation of the engine fire procedure.

For extra information on the topics covered today you can also listen to The A320 Podcast epsiodes 13 and 43.

In this episode, Matt looks at EGT overlimits with a case study, background tech, some methods we can use to prevent it as a flight crew and how to deal with it if we experince it.

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This week we start a new series looking at the Auto Flight System in detail. In this episode we cover some general information and the computation of position

There are 4 main recognised sections to the non-technical skills in aviation.

- Situational Awareness,

- Decision Making,

- Leadership and workload management and

- Crew Cooperation.

This episode is about Crew Cooperation.

Crew Cooperation requires the following categories of skills:

- Encouragement of participation

- Consideration of Others

- Supporting of Others

- Conflict Resolution

The scenario of the week is a reflection on yourself. How do you think other crew members perceive you and your actions? Try and think of two situations you've been in where CRM skills were required, one were you feel you did well and one were you would do things differently if it happened again.

vionics Smoke - One smoke detector is fitted in the air extraction duct of the avionics ventilation system. When this detector senses smoke for longer than 5 seconds it signals the ECAM to display a warning,

A single chine sounds

The master caution lights on the glare shield light up

The ECAM displays a caution

The smoke light on the EMER ELEC PWR panel lights up,

And The blower and extract fault lights illuminate on the ventilation panel.

If the smoke is detected for longer than 5 minutes, the caution can be cleared but it remains latched and can be recalled.

When on the ground a dual Flight Warning Computer reset will unlatch the condition.

Each lavatory has a single smoke detector in each compartment and it is fitted in the extraction duct grille. When the detector finds smoke, it sends a signal to the CIDS which then transmits it to the FWC to produce an ECAM warning in the flight deck. The CIDS system generates an indication in the cabin to alert the crew.

In each waste bin there is an automatic fire extinguishing system, these operate automatically when triggered by heat. There are no controls or indications for these extinguishers. The only way to check if they have discharged is by looking at the bottle pressure gauge.

Cargo Compartments - Cavities in the cargo compartment ceiling panels each hold 2 smoke detectors. Each detector is linked to one of the 2 detection loops. The forward cargo compartment has one cavity and the aft cargo hold has 2 cavities. The CIDS receives signals from the detectors and transmits them to the ECAM which displays a warning in the cockpit. the CIDS system has dual channels.

Smoke in 1 cavity activates the cargo smoke warning if; Both smoke detectors detect it, or one smoke detector detects it and the other is inoperative.

If the aircraft is fitted with Cargo ventilation and the smoke warning is activated in either compartment the associated isolation lives automatically close and the extraction fan stops.

A fire extinguisher system protects the FWD and AFT cargo compartments. One fire bottle supplies 3 nozzles, one in the FWD compartment and 2 in the AFT compartment. The bottle has 2 discharge heads, one for each compartment. In essence this means 2 pipes leave the fire bottle, one to the FWD and AFT compartment. The pipe in the AFT then splits to discharge in 2 different areas while the pipe in the FWD compartment can only discharge in 1 area.
When the DISCHARGE pushbutton is pressed for either compartment that action ignites the corresponding squib on the fire bottle, which then discharges the agent into that compartment. If you fire the bottle in the AFT compartment and subsequently receive a warning for the FWD compartment the bottle will be empty. Only 1 compartment can be extinguished. When the bottle has discharged, the amber DISCHARGE light comes on.

A summary of the QRH smoke paper checklist

- As soon as smoke is perceived, call for the paper checklist and do the initial actions.
- initiate a diversion and start descending to FL100 or MEA
- Re-enter the paper checklist and work through though procedure while descending.
- at anytime necessary, apply the REMOVAL OF SMOKE/FUMES checklist.
- If the Fire become out of control, land asap.

Aircraft Fire Protection Systems for the Engines and APU provide Fire and overheat detection and extinguishing systems (as opposed to just fire or smoke detection like in other systems).
The engines and the APU each have their own fire and overheat detection systems. These consist of:
Two identical fire detection loops (A and B) which are mounted in parallel and a Fire Detection Unit or FDU.
The fire detection loops have three sensing elements for each engine. They are found in the pylon nacelle, in the engine core and in the engine fan section
There is one sensing element in the APU compartment.

The Fire detection unit processes all the warnings and cautions originating in the sensing elements.
There are 4 things that will cause a fire warning to appear:
- a fire signal from both loop A and B,
- a fire signal from one loop when the other is faulty,
- a break in both loops occuring within 5 s of each other (flame effect), or
- a test performed using the control panel.
We get a loop-fault caution if :
- one loop is faulty,
- both loops are faulty or,
the fire detection unit fails.

Scenario of the week

Imagine that as you taxi out you get the engine fire warning. Run through the ECAM we've just read out and then think about all the different things you need to consider. You've got ATC, Fire crews, cabin crew, passengers, the company and of course each other to sort out. How will you prioritise them all and what can you ask each group to help you make your decision?

This week is part two of our fuel episodes. If you didn't listen to last weeks episode then go back and download it before listening to this one. 

This week's scenario is one that is commonly given in the sim for assessments and checks. Fuel leak. So in the climb, before you've done a fuel check, you get the fuel page come up with the right wing tank fuel quantities pulsing. What checks do you make initially? Think about information gathering from all your resources. Then how are you going to manage the situation? This is a common scenario because it requires a range of skills to be demonstrated because theres checklists to do, possible single engine handling, faliure management, diversions and all under the time pressure caused by lack of fuel. Head over to our facebook page facebook.com/a320podcast and leave your thoughts on there.

Happy New Year!

Well we've had a couple of weeks break, now we're straight back to it and this week is a good one. Fuel. Theres more to this system than you would imagine actually. 

Here is a summary of the fuel's journey from tanker to engine/APU

Fuel enters the aircraft via the Refuel coupling or (hose connector) on the right wing. There is also the option to have one installed on the left wing if so desired.
The amount of fuel required is selected on the Fuel panel on the right hand side of the fuselage. There is also the option to have a second panel fitted on the wing next to the hose connection.
From the refuelling connection the fuel is carried along the length of both wings in what Airbus call a gallery. It basically a pipe with valves and outlets along it to deliver fuel to the correct places.
Each wing has an inner tank, an outer tank and a surge tank. There is a centre tank in the fuselage. Fuel can be delivered into the outer tanks or the centre tank.

Out of interest, the rough refuelling time at a standard pressure is about 17 min for wing tanks and 20 min for all tanks.

From here, there's then three options for where the fuel can go. One of the two engines or, the APU.

The fuel can be delivered in two ways. By fuel pumps or by gravity feeding. There are a total of six main fuel pumps, two in each of the inner tanks and two in the centre tank. Each pump supplies fuel to the engines.
There's a crossfeed valve which allows fuel from either wing to feed either engine. Then as we reach the engine we have the low pressure fuel valve, which can stop the fuel flow "to the engine. It's closed by either the engine master switch, or the ENG FIRE PUSH pushbutton.

Scenario of the week - What procedures do you have to follow if you are gravity feeding and where are they found?

Thanks, and remember - Fly Safe

As its nearly Christmas we thought we do a more light-hearted episode. This week we discuss the film Sully.

Scenario of the week - Departing your home base, you lose both engines at 2800ft. What will you do?

Hydraulic systems can suffer from a number of abnormal situations. Pump low pressure, reservoir overheat, Reservoir low air pressure and reservoir low level. The electric pumps on the blue and yellow systems can also overheat. All of these will lead to the ECAM requesting that you switch off the pump. If this occurs to the green or yellow systems the PTU, if it is available, will transfer power, not fluid, between the systems recovering the affected system. The blue system can not be powered by the PTU. If the PTU is not available or the procedure ask you to turn it off, the failed system will not be powered. This leads to a single system failure.

In the case of a single system failure the aircraft will remain in normal law so all the associated protections are available. Certain flight controls will be affected based on which system has failed but ultimately Aileron, elevator and Rudder control surfaces will remain powered so controlling the aircraft will be conventional. Flaps and or slats will be slow depending on which of the systems has failed, we covered these in the original hydraulics podcast so it maybe worth having a listen again to refresh your memory. Certain spoilers will be unserviceable.

Things start to become more interesting when 2 hydraulic systems fail. When this occurs the Autopilot will be lost so priority must be given to flying the aircraft and stabilising the flight path, the aircraft will also revert to alt law in 2 of the cases, so this, as usual, means direct law once the gear is extended. The ECAM will display LAND ASAP red, this is a timely reminder that you are now operating on a single hydraulic system, why have we lost 2? what happens if we lose the last system? We will cover all 3 cases of Dual hydraulics failure in some detail shortly but lets just broadly go over what you can expect for each case. If you remember these as a guide.

G+B = Handling Problem
G+Y = Braking Problem
B+ Y = As the green system is available this is the least demanding of the 3 scenarios

Airbus designed the summary pages to give us all of the information we need to help us during the cruise, approach, landing and if necessary the Go around. in the FCOM Pro-ABN-01- Use of Summaries section, more background information is provided. it states that the summaries are QRH procedures created to help the flight crew to perform actions. In ANY case the flight crew should apply the ECAM first, this includes the STATUS page. This is an important point, it is all too easy in a high workload situation to divert our attention to performance calculations and other tasks before completing the ECAM. The ECAM’s for dual hydraulics are not actually that long and the status page will give you valuable information as to the state of the aircraft increasing your situational awareness.