What is the Airbus A320 ECAM and how do you use it?
The Airbus A320 ECAM, short for Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor, is the aircraft’s system-monitoring and warning display. In real aviation and flight simulators, you use it to watch engines, fuel, hydraulics, electrics and alerts, then select the right system pages and follow the displayed actions when something needs attention.
What does the A320 ECAM include?
ECAM is a system, not just one screen. In the A320 family, simmers usually mean the two centre displays and the ECAM control panel beneath them. If you want the wider cockpit context, our guide to the main A320 cockpit controls and displays shows how ECAM fits alongside the PFD, ND, FCU and MCDU.
The simple rule is this: ECAM monitors the aircraft. It is not the MCDU, so you do not use it to enter the route or performance figures, and in most simulators you operate it with the ECAM panel buttons rather than by tapping the synoptic like a tablet.
| Part | What it shows | How you use it in a sim |
|---|---|---|
| Upper ECAM (often called E/WD) | Engine indications, warnings, cautions and memo lines | Scan it during start, take-off, climb and cruise for anything abnormal. |
| Lower ECAM (System Display) | Detailed pages such as fuel, hydraulics, electrics, bleed, pressurisation, flight controls and wheels | Let it auto-switch, or call a page manually when you need detail on one system. |
| ECAM control panel | Page keys and message controls such as CLR, STS and TO CONFIG, depending on aircraft model | Use it to bring up the page you need and manage messages without hunting around the cockpit. |
How do you use the Airbus A320 ECAM in a flight simulator?
You use the Airbus A320 ECAM mostly to confirm aircraft state, catch problems early and call up a detailed system page when needed. A mistake we see constantly is people clicking through every page with no purpose; in normal operation, ECAM already auto-presents much of what matters.
- Power the aircraft properly. If the centre screens are dark, the aircraft usually lacks electrical power rather than having a broken ECAM. Use the aircraft’s normal power source sequence and wait for both displays to initialise.
- Check the obvious before engine start. Review fuel, doors, wheels and any memo items that matter on your aircraft model. This pairs naturally with programming the A320 MCDU/FMS, because route setup and aircraft-state checks belong in the same cockpit flow.
- Use the take-off configuration check. On aircraft that model it, the TO CONFIG function will flag common take-off issues such as incorrect flap, spoiler or parking-brake state. If nothing appears to happen, your simulated A320 may not model that function in full.
- Let auto-page switching do its job. During start-up, taxi and flight, the lower ECAM often changes pages automatically to match what the aircraft is doing. Seeing ENG, APU, WHEEL or F/CTL at the right moment is normal behaviour, not a fault.
- Scan the upper ECAM, do not fixate on it. The upper display is part of your normal instrument scan for engine parameters, cautions, warnings and memo items. You monitor it like the rest of the panel rather than stare at it continuously.
- Select pages manually when you need detail. If you want to inspect one system, press its page key and read the lower display. For a full in-sim workflow, our step-by-step A320 flight workflow in Microsoft Flight Simulator shows where ECAM fits from turnaround to landing.
What does ECAM show when something goes wrong?
In a well-modelled A320, ECAM prioritises the alert, calls up the relevant system page and may present action lines or status items. Red warnings are more urgent than amber cautions, and green indications usually confirm normal status.
One beginner error is clearing messages too quickly. Read the alert title first, note which system page appeared, and only then use CLR or move on. If the upper display shows STS, there is extra status information to review on the lower display.
Why is my ECAM not working properly in the simulator?
Most ECAM problems in flight simulators come down to aircraft complexity, power state or button mapping rather than bad technique.
- The buttons do nothing: some simpler A320s only animate the screens and do not simulate every ECAM key, and the controls may be on the panel rather than the display itself.
- The lower screen will not change pages: an active warning may have auto-selected a page, or the aircraft may only support a limited set of synoptic pages.
- The screens stay dark: the aircraft is probably not electrically powered yet.
- No abnormal checklist appears: many default or lighter A320 models simulate normal pages better than full failure logic.
- The page changes by itself: that is often correct, because ECAM auto-switches with flight phase and system activity.
Do you use ECAM instead of a checklist?
No. ECAM is a monitoring and alerting system, not a replacement for checklists or for understanding Airbus procedures.
We recommend keeping a written flow beside the sim while you learn, then using ECAM to confirm the aircraft is in the state you expect. If you want a simple reference to keep open alongside the cockpit, this Airbus A320-200 checklist download is a useful companion.