CONF, is it that your opinions are set in concrete and you are in denial? I have a lot (and I mean a lot) of experience on conventional control systems and around 4000hrs Airbus. I believe the 330/340 generation is head and shoulders above the 767/747 generation and are a significant step forward. As I have mentioned in previous posts I cannot compare 777. I believe however that control wheels will go the way of the old wooden wheels on the tall ships of old. Boeing commercial are shackled by their own history. Unfortunately there is no other American manufacturer of airliners. There should be.
20 years later still no airliner manufacturer to follow the Airbus sidestick philosophy !?
I wonder why? And I
really wonder why when I see 744 pilots trying to acheive a constant 2.5deg rate of rotation to the takeoff attitude with often variable results due to feedback producing changing control column forces as the aircraft rotates through the 10deg area. Ugly!
I could go on and on.
CONF, if you believe that there is no further development in aviation (single pilot or even no pilot) then I will let you reflect on the fact that as a young first officer I flew on two occasions with a Flight Navigator, once even with a Radio Operator, and many times with Flight Engineers. Most of these gentlemen are now engaged in other pursuits. One of the first uses for military aircraft was visual recconaisance. This fine art is now entirely (in modern armies at least) in the hands of pilotless aircraft and the miriad of sensors with which they can be equiped. These drones do a better job than the O1-A or OH 1. Alas, believe me, they do, they really do! So - NEVER SAY NEVER!
Once again, happy landings.