While on the subject of flight directors. The RAAF bought several new HS 748's in 1966. Two for the No 34 (VIP) Squadron at Canberra. The rest for the School of Air Navigation at RAAF East Sale. Around the same period the RAAF also bought two BAC One-Elevens and three Mystere Falcon 20's. The RAAF were talked into putting (I suspect by an enterprising Collins salesman) the Collins FD 108 into each of these aircraft.
In the case of the HS 748's, a difficulty soon arose integrating the Collins FD 108 system with the British Smiths autopilot system. What was originally planned as a four week 748 conversion course at Woodford, Cheshire (a pretty airfield in those days) finished up as a five month English holiday on full allowances for the two RAAF crews of the VIP Squadron (four pilots, two navigators and various maintenance personnel).
That holiday included a one day course at Weybridge courtesy the Collins flight director people. We were given lots of pretty brochures during the two hours of lectures in the morning. At lunch time it was down to the local pub for a slap-up extended lunch and unlimited grog. End of the Collins Flight Director course.
The HS 748 was not exactly a high speed turboprop. There was no way you needed a flight director system. The instrument panel that came with the prototype HS 748 G-ARAY was well laid out including the standard "Six Pack" of flight instruments. Not like the abortion of a cockpit layout as in the Viscount. I think the Viscount had Sperry zero readers back then. But someone must have conned the RAAF procurement officer into buying the Collins FD 108 for the RAAF HS748's
I say that because I believe the initial procurement chappie was an elderly Wing Commander with previous Dakota transport flying experience. He had been behind a desk for years. Not his fault he wasn't a current pilot and knew SFA about the advantages and disadvantages of flight directors.
We soon learned that blind reliance on flight director guidance could be a trap. Back at the squadron there were pilots who loved the FD 108 gimmicks like automatic 45 degree intercepts of the localiser and the fun of flying the "little aeroplane" into the V-Bars of the FD system. These pilots became addicted to using the FD and became multi-fingered switch flickers. Others soon realised their basic instrument scan in IMC was gradually being degraded because of the compelling presence of the flight director. So they simply switched it off.
The same situation exists today where basic raw data instrument flying skills have gone the way of the dinosaur leaving pilots to rely totally on FD guidance even on a sunny day. A few of us dinosaurs could see this coming way back in 1966.
Last edited by Centaurus; 14th February 2020 at 11:59.