Interesting video on cockpit design philosophy

[NorthernKestrel]

On RAeS website today - a video presentation from Gulfstream test pilot on the human-machine interface and cockpit design...

Video - Evolution and the future of the flightdeck | Aerospace | The Royal Aeronautical Society (http://media.aerosociety.com/aerospace-insight/2012/03/23/evolution-and-future-of-the-flightdeck/6566/)

His comments on the next generation of pilots (expect "little or no training" needed) & technology are noteworthy...!

[ChristiaanJ]

NorthernKestrel,

1) Thanks for the link !!! Just watched all of it.

2) "His comments on the next generation of pilots (expect "little or no training" needed) & technology are noteworthy."
Listen again..... in that context he comments on the fact that the current generation will have been brought up in the "computer world" and so will have fewer problems than the previous generation in converting from the "round clocks" to the glass cockpit.
He still does mention the basic problem of basic flying skills getting eroded.

CJ

[NorthernKestrel]

Yes good point - the ease of adapting to new technology is much faster.

However I wonder if the previous generations of pilots (having rebuilt bikes, tinkered with cars etc) had a much more 'mechanically' curious approach to how an aircraft worked... (Yeager being a good example).

With the computer now driving much of the aircraft - do tomorrow's pilots need to have the outlook of a curious 'software engineer' to troubleshoot the systems when the Windows Blue Screen of Death does appear?

Or despite iPhones, iPads, and chipped cars are we just content now that if something does goes wrong, the answer is you get an expert to fix it for you?

[Tinstaafl]

I can imagine the what a fly on the wall at the expert's office would hear:

"Sorry. I don't do out calls to FL350. You'll have to bring it to ground level."

"Oh. You're on your way right now? Be here in a few minutes? OK. Park it on the lawn out the front."

[CONF iture]

Did I hear correctly in the first minute presentation :
"insert that technology into the airplane with the unique pilot in mind" ?

[barit1]

Sound to me like: "insert that technology into the airplane with the HUMAN pilot in mind"

[barit1]

Actually a good presentation, although I don't believe he really addresses the TK1951 or AF447 cases wherein a perfectly good aeroplane is lost due to faulty data coupled with faulty crew response.