Originally Posted by error401
The engineers set up a mockup of their cockpit in plain daylight outside. Then sit there from 05:00 LT in the morning and stay put for 8 hours. Do the same from 14:00 LT until 22:00.
Get your secretary to bring a cup of coffe every hour and inquire about your well-being every 20 minutes. (you will be amazed to find out how badly placed door surveillance can be.) Do the same and simulate the automatic door opening failed so one has to get out of the seat every 20 minutes or so without hitting aircraft controls.
ABSOLUTELY!
I have spent enough hours on the flight deck to know how damn tedious the little things are. I even dismantled the flight deck door during one flight as it wouldn't open at all from the inside! The joys of old aircraft...
Originally Posted by error401
I assume that the handling of controls in normal and abnormal situations is not an issue and always has to be possible.
Um. I suspect this depends on the definition of 'handling of controls'. By definition in a fly-by-wire aircraft there is a computer between you and the control surface, so providing the computer (at whatever level of redundancy it has dropped to) is still working, then you will still retain control in all situations yes. This also implies it will respond as a fully fledged control system, with all the flight-envelope protection etc that the 'top level' provides.
As I understand it, the A380 has completely removed mechanical connection, using 4 channels of computer to provide the neccessary level of redundancy to meet the safety requirements.
On our little tiltrotor, it may turn out that we do not have the space / weight to provide 4 seperate channels - the conceptual designer has imposed a weight limit of 64kg on the entire avionics system. Yes, we laughed too...