What are Airbus's Golden Rules for pilots, and how do they apply in flight simulation?
Airbus’s Golden Rules tell pilots to fly, navigate and communicate in that order; use the appropriate level of automation; understand the Flight Mode Annunciator at all times; and act when the aircraft does not behave as expected. In flight simulation, they mean prioritising control, monitoring modes and simplifying automation early when confusion starts.
In Aviation & Real-World Flying, these rules are operating priorities rather than an A320 checklist or switch sequence. They support, but do not replace, the aircraft’s Flight Crew Operating Manual, Quick Reference Handbook, checklists or an operator’s procedures.
What are the four Airbus Golden Rules?
The concise Airbus framework contains four rules:
- Fly, navigate and communicate—in that order. Maintain attitude, thrust, airspeed and flight path before correcting the route or dealing with a lengthy radio exchange. Appropriate task sharing is part of this rule in a multi-crew cockpit.
- Use the appropriate level of automation. Maximum automation is not always appropriate. Use managed guidance when the flight plan is correct and predictable, selected modes for tactical control, and manual flight when direct control is safer or clearer.
- Understand the FMA at all times. The Flight Mode Annunciator on the Primary Flight Display shows what the autoflight system is actually doing and what it has armed for later. An FCU selection is only a request until the FMA confirms the mode.
- Take action if things do not go as expected. Do not wait for confusing automation to correct itself. Select a simpler mode, disconnect the autopilot, hand-fly or go around as the situation requires.
The rules are deliberately broad. They apply across Airbus operations, although individual aircraft types, software standards and simulator add-ons can present modes differently.
Why do some Airbus Golden Rules lists have eight items?
Different lists reflect older expanded wording and the later consolidation of related principles into four rules.
The expanded version also emphasised that the aircraft can be flown like any other aircraft, keeping one pilot’s head up, checking FMS information against available raw data, taking over when necessary, and backing up the other crew member. Those ideas have not become bad practice; they sit naturally inside the four-rule framework.
How should the Golden Rules be used in an Airbus simulator?
In a simulator, use a simple control loop: decide the required flight path, make one control or automation input, confirm the FMA, and then verify the aircraft’s response.
| Situation | Appropriate response | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Correct flight plan and stable managed flight | Continue with managed guidance while monitoring the FMA and trajectory | The automation is reducing workload and following a verified plan |
| ATC vector, shortcut or late altitude change | Use selected heading, altitude and a suitable vertical mode | Selected modes provide immediate tactical control without hurried MCDU editing |
| Unexpected turn, climb or descent | Confirm the FMA, then select a known basic mode or hand-fly | The actual flight path takes priority over diagnosing the automation |
| Unstable or badly configured approach | Go around | Trying to rescue the approach by adding more automation increases workload and risk |
Managed modes are useful only when the programmed route, constraints and aircraft position are correct. Our practical guide to A320 managed and selected autopilot modes explains the FCU push-pull logic and the mode changes to expect.
How do you monitor the Airbus FMA correctly?
The FMA—not the FCU knob or MCDU page—is the authoritative indication of the autoflight modes that are active and armed.
Check it after every autopilot, flight-director or autothrust command; every FCU push or pull; altitude capture; approach-mode selection; and thrust-lever detent change. A useful simulator habit is to read each mode change aloud, even when flying alone.
- Active modes: Confirm which lateral and vertical modes are controlling the aircraft now.
- Armed modes: Check what the aircraft intends to capture next, such as a navigation path, localiser or glide path.
- System status: Verify autopilot, flight director and autothrust engagement separately.
- Aircraft response: Confirm that bank, pitch, thrust and speed are moving in the expected direction.
On many Airbus displays, active modes appear in green and armed modes in blue, with other colours used for constraints, capabilities and warnings. Exact presentation varies by aircraft and add-on. Our A320 cockpit display explanation shows how the FMA relates to the PFD, FCU, MCDU and ECAM.
What should you do when Airbus automation behaves unexpectedly?
If the aircraft diverges from the intended flight path, stabilise it first and troubleshoot only after control has been restored.
- Identify the mismatch. Compare the required flight path with the FMA and the aircraft’s actual movement.
- Choose a known mode. Selected heading and altitude modes can remove uncertainty more quickly than editing the flight plan.
- Reduce automation if necessary. Disconnect the autopilot and establish a safe attitude, thrust setting and flight path manually.
- Check the underlying cause. Once stable, inspect the FCU target, push-pull selection, flight-plan discontinuities, thrust detent, assistance options and duplicated controller bindings.
- Abandon an unstable approach. Apply the published missed-approach procedure rather than continuing while heads-down or uncertain about the modes.
The autopilot and autothrust are separate systems. Disconnecting the autopilot does not normally remove autothrust, so confirm the A/THR indication and manage the thrust levers deliberately. If an approach has already deteriorated, use a disciplined A320 simulator go-around procedure instead of trying to rebuild it close to the ground.
Which Golden Rules mistakes are common in flight simulators?
The most common simulation errors come from assuming that an input has produced the intended mode.
- Turning without pushing or pulling: The target changes on the FCU, but the aircraft remains in its previous managed or selected mode. Confirm the result on the FMA.
- Programming before flying: The simmer spends too long in the MCDU while speed, altitude or lateral path deteriorates. Stabilise first, then edit.
- Adding more automation: Repeatedly pressing mode buttons usually makes a confusing situation harder to diagnose. Make one input and check its result.
- Ignoring energy: A selected vertical mode may satisfy an altitude target while allowing speed to rise or decay. Monitor thrust, pitch, speed and distance together.
- Blaming technique for missing simulation logic: Simplified aircraft may not reproduce every Airbus mode. If the expected FMA never appears, use a supported basic mode and investigate the add-on after the flight.
How do the rules work for a solo simulator pilot?
A solo simmer can preserve the intent of Airbus task sharing by separating flying tasks from programming tasks and avoiding prolonged heads-down work during critical phases.
Prepare the route and expected FMA changes before departure, brief the next mode before selecting it, and complete longer MCDU changes only during low-workload periods. Pause can be useful while learning a procedure, but relying on it conceals workload problems that the Golden Rules are designed to expose.
Structured flows also reduce the temptation to fix omissions at the worst possible moment. Following a consistent A320 normal checklist and cockpit flow leaves more attention available for the flight path, automation and FMA.