Climbing Manual Mountain

I had the pleasure recently of instructing some ground school for eight brand new A320 pilots.

Full of enthusiasm and keen to learn.

Not yet bitter and cynical like some… ahem… older colleagues I can think of - go play golf Brian! 😆

This excitement soon changed to concern when they realised just how many pages the manuals had.

Welcome to the Manual Mountain - something like 12,000+ pages the last time I checked!

Thankfully there is a way to make climbing Mt. Manual a little easier.

And that’s what we are talking about this week.

Manuals 101: Who Writes This Stuff?

There are two main sources for the manuals:

1. Airbus who publishes the technical manuals for the aircraft.

2. Your operator (airline) who publishes manuals that cover SOPs, policies, and day-to-day ops.

Following ICAO guidance the regulator (CAA, EASA, GCAA etc.) approves these.

This means they should look similar across operators.

You’ll usually find them in your EFB, tablet, or online portal.

Some are PDFs. Some are wrapped in fancy software.

All of them (should) fit into one of the above two categories.

WHAT’S WHAT

The Manuals You’ll See Most

This is not an exhaustive list but here’s the core manuals and what they’re for.

I’ll also flag whether they’re critical now, or something to ease into later.

Airbus Manuals:

Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM) — Think of this as how the aircraft works (system descriptions) and what you do to fly it (procedures).

It also covers ECAM logic and limitations.

Start here during your type rating (probably alongside CBT), sim prep, or any time you need to understand how things work, or what you need to do.

Need-to-know rating: 10/10 👩🏼‍✈️ Essential early on.

Flight Crew Techniques Manual (FCTM) — This is the how to fly it manual. It explains Airbus's flying philosophy, techniques, profiles, and handling guidance.

Use it to make sense of why the SOPs are structured the way they are — and to sharpen your handling.

Need-to-know rating: 9/10 📚 Best used alongside the FCOM. Essential for sim phase.

Quick Reference Handbook (QRH) — Your emergency and abnormal checklist set. Includes paper-based or EFB versions of non-normal procedures, resets etc.

At some airlines the normal checklist is also in here - This you need to know off by heart. The rest you just need to know where things live, and how to navigate.

Need-to-know rating: 7/10 🚀 Normal checklist - learn it, the rest - where to find it.

Minimum Equipment List (MEL) — The MEL tells you what can be inop and still legal. (btw legal doesn’t always mean safe!)

You’ll need to know how this works (look for the ‘how to use’ section!) but is normally used as a reference. There is some info at the start that is good to know like repair intervals.

Need-to-know rating: 5/10 🕒 Important, but not urgent.

Configuration Deviation List (CDL) - Think MEL but for aircraft parts. Which bits can be missing? Static wicks, engine strakes, beaver tail fairing (that’s a real thing I swear!)

Need-to-know rating: 2/10 🗺️ Just know how to navigate it.

ALMOST THERE…

Operator Manuals:

Operating Manual Part A (OM-A) — The policy manual. Covers legal framework 🥱, fatigue, flight time limitations, fuel policies, command/FO responsibilities — all the high-level stuff.

OM-A fills in a lot of the gaps left by OM-B and FCOM. Section 8 is a personal favourite.

Need-to-know rating: 8/10 🤓 A slow burn, but important.

Operating Manual Part B (OM-B) — This is your airlines procedural foundation. It tells you what your airline expects you to do: SOPs, flows, callouts, non-normal handling, and flight deck discipline.

Think of it as a layer that goes over and above the FCOM procedures.

Need-to-know rating: 10/10 ‼️ Study this like your job depends on it - because it does.

Operating Manual Part C (OM-C) — Aerodrome briefs and airfield-specific data. Includes limitations, special procedures, and planning notes for specific airports.

Initially low-urgency, but don’t skip it before flying somewhere new.

Need-to-know rating: 3/10 growing to 6/10 📍 Use it when you need it.

Operating Manual Part D (OM-D) — The training manual. It covers what you’ll learn during any training courses at your airline. Things like command courses or operator conversion courses (the thing after your type rating) are all in here.

Great for a look before a course, but not much day-to-day operational use unless you’re a LTC/TRI/TRE.

Need-to-know rating: 2/10 📖 Useful, at points.

Introducing: The Manual Mountain System™

Hopefully you’re still with me.

Now let’s bring some order to the chaos.

Think of the manuals like climbing a mountain. There are three levels.

🏕️ Basecamp: What You Need Now

This is your survival kit.

If you’re starting your type rating or heading into sim, you’ll need:

• FCOM - Aircraft systems, procedures and limitations

• OM-B - Normal procedures, flows and SOPs

• FCTM - Normal procedures - how to fly it

Start with these.

🧗‍♂️‟ The Climb: Build Your Understanding

Once you’re comfortable at Basecamp, start climbing.

• QRH - Learn the checklist and how/where to navigate the rest.

• MEL/CDL - Used as reference, so understand how to use it.

• FCOM - Deepen your systems knowledge.

This is about building depth and context.

You should also start looking at the abnormal handling sections in FCOM, FCTM and OM-B.

⛰️ Summit: Zooming Out

At the top, you’ll find the bigger picture:

• OM-A - Airline policies and the legal framework

• OM-C - Aerodrome-specific info

• OM-D - Training reference

You won’t need these daily, but they round out your operational mindset.

Sim Prep in Practice: Emergency Descent

Here’s how the system works in the real world.

Say you’ve got Emergency Descent in the next sim.

• FCOM: Learn the logic behind the systems and ECAM. How do things work normally and abnormally? What triggers it? What protections are in place? What exactly does "EXP DES" do? Go deep on the knowledge.

• OM-B: Review the SOPs. Normal and abnormal. Who does what? What are the calls? When does the oxy mask go on? (hint: right away, or you might struggle to do the rest!) Armchair fly the profiles if that works for you.

• FCTM: Understand why it’s designed that way. Descent rates, autopilot usage, crew coordination. Fill in the gaps and learn the HOW.

Then, if you can, a quick branch out to the other manuals to check for anything related there.

Now, instead of chasing random iPad links, you’re using the manuals together.

You have purpose and structure. 🏆😏

Side note: How do you know when you understand a topic well enough?

One technique to use is to imagine you’re explaining it to a class of students.

If you can do that, you’re probably good to move on. 👍