Originally Posted by
galaxy flyer
The philosophy before the MD-11 looks to be scatter stuff around. They ran out of room in the DC-9, so when they released they needed a standby compass, they put on cockpit back wall and used a mirror to view it.
Well not exactly correct. It was the same on the DC-8. The “whiskey compass” was far back in the ceiling and each pilot had a small mirror on top of the glareshield. The DC-8s I flew came from several different primary operators and were very different in setup. The overhead panel in one could be mirrored in the next one, i.e. items that were at the front of the panel in one, were at the back in another one. Engine parameters were also different as to which parameters were on the center instrument panel or on the F/E panel. Worst config were the ex Air Canada airplanes that they tried to change to a 2 man cockpit (never worked) with parts from the F/E panel scattered around the pilot stations. Fun time, but when you took one airplane out and another back on the same day, it meant some looking around and adjusting.