wrote in message
Cap'n Doug, if you're reading this... I recall clearly, on the one
occasion I was in an A320 flight deck, that the AutoThrottle's
variations weren't reflected in corresponding changes in position of
the throttle. So when you guys want to manually override at some stage,
does the throttle, upon first touch, automatically move itself to the
position where the AutoThrottle has been up to that instant?

With the autothrust off, the FADEC measures the lever angle and sets the
power accordingly. The autothrust function disconnects if the levers are
moved aft of the climb detent. Power is set conventionally with the
autothrust disconnected.

Over-eager pilots new to the Bus occassionally manage to bump the thrust
lever ever so slightly out the detent at inconvenient moments. For example,
coming over the middle marker, the autothrust has N1 set at about 1.05 EPR
(27% rpm) even though the levers are in the climb detent. Bumping one of the
levers just aft of the detent will tell the autothrust to disconnect and the
FADEC will measure the angle and assume you want climb power. When trying to
land on a wet, short runway with limited visibility and a strong crosswind
at max landing weight, having the engines go to climb power is terribly
inconvenient.

D.