Hello guys, I’m having trouble flying the updated A330. It seems very different than B777 that I’m used to fly. Do you have any tutorials that I can read or watch?
No tutorials to watch, but what specifically are you having difficulties with?
Normally, I’m doing 2000 as my accent, then 250 knots until 10000. Then, I usually increase my speed and lower my accent altitude until cruising. However, when I first tried the A330, when I reach my cruising, the engine power doesn’t go down and stays on 101% not like on 777.
The A330 is a sluggish aircraft, meaning it’s climb profile is quite horrible (meaning you cannot go using excessively high vertical speeds) and it’s cruise speed is exceptionally low (M0.80-M0.82 on standard long hauls)
I would try climbing a little slower (vs) and slowly increasing your speeds past FL010.
Also, make sure to step climb throughout the flight. Step climbing is crucial for the A330.
Hope this helps 😁
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Ohhh. I was having the same problem. I tried to climb out at 2500 VS and I was not gaining airspeed. Thanks
Yes, 2500 ft/min is not an ideal climb profile.
What I do is I maintain a vs of 2500 ft/min from take off through 5000 MSL, then reduce it to 2000 ft/min from 5000-FL010, and then 1500 ft/min or 1000 ft/min after that depending on what my initial cruise altitude is.
My initial cruise altitude is also quite low. Usually, I start around FL320 or FL340
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1500 to 1000 vs will work? What’s the initial climb suggestion that you can give?
Is 28000ft, 33000ft, 35000ft step climb good enough?
Yes, 1000-1500 ft/min vs is good beyond FL010.
For step climbing on a standard long haul (so a route that is done in the real world), an initial cruise altitude between FL300 and FL340 is normal. For your final cruise altitude, anywhere between FL380 and FL410 is normal.
Please note that cruise altitudes vary depending on your route’s direction (East vs west) and what region you are flying through (ex: Chinese cruise altitudes always end in 100 ie- 35100, 36100, etc). For westbound flights, though most regions, you are gonna have to maintain even altitudes, and for eastbound flights, you are gonna have to maintain odd altitudes.
For example:
I am currently doing Brussels Airlines Flight 602, from Mumbai-Brussels (9hr40mins westbound). My initial cruise altitude was FL320, and I am step climbing through my final cruise altitude of FL400. My cruising speed is Mach .80
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Here is a guide to step-climbing for anyone’s reference:
Thank you so much. I’m trying Rwanda to Dubai
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That’s a cool route!
Also, here’s the unofficial A330 profiles that were published today. I recommend taking a look through these as well to familiarize yourself with the airframe:
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Thank you! This is so helpful.
Video tutorial coming soon!
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Thanks for the tutorial, but after flying the A350 and the B777-300 for such a long time the A330 feels like it’s powered by hand dryers.
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I think you should practice a little bit. For example you should do some patterns, takeoffs and landings in order to understand how the aircraft works.
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Hi @Antonio_Tiong_III
I think this will help you understand.
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Yes, I will. Actually, I’m flying now from New Delhi to Singapore.
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