Thanks for the link, BOAC. I had seen the thing two years ago when looking here for rumors and facts and opinions from "professional" pilots concerning the AF crash. I didn't post here then, but prolly should have joined the fray.
Despite one poster's complaint here, I have been compelled to add my 2 cents worth as I had experience with both FBW and "modern" cockpits/avionics. Granted, my background was military, but I assure you that several here prolly fly with the Guard or Reserve. point being, the AF crash will certainly raise questions as to FBW and the human interface with the plane. Anyone disagree?
Call me a dinosaur, but I adapted, maybe even prospered. From cables/pulleys/pushrods to hydraulic valves operated by the stick ( zero feel from the control surfaces) to a complete "electric jet" whose performance was only made possible by a FBW system.
On the cockpit side, I went from a fairly sophisticated interceptor with an awesome autopilot and avionics suite for its time to a completely manual, pushrod system and no autopilot or radar for four years, and then to a cosmic jet - the A-7D. Then to the F-16.
The human interface in the cockpit of the 'bus is sure to become an issue after this Friday, ya think? Trust me, I prolly flew with an inertial system and other things before many here. The jet, A-7D, had a HUD that displayed speed, altitude ( radar or baro), AoA and the magic flight path vector with associated pitch lines. It had a projected map display coupled to the nav system and a super ground radar we could use for bombing, navigating and avoiding storms. See the article about the map by Capt McAdoo ( gums in his earlier years with all his teeth, heh heh) here:
http://sluf.org/misc_pages/fwr_winter_1973.pdf
The Vought human factor folks did an awesome job, and we WERE NOT overwhelmed with a deluge of data or confusing failure messages/warnings/cautions when things turned to worms. The biggest thing was reduced pilot workload. Navigation capability was a quantum leap ahead of all other military jets at the time, as was bomb delivery capability. We still carried our circular slide rule and paper maps, but they were for emergencies.
Apparently, some folks are concerned about the human interface in modern airliners, and I go with the folks that desire/demand a better interface. I fully understand the change from "flying" to "managing systems". But I don't understand a cockpit that can overwhelm the crew with a plethora of warnings and cautions and beeps/chirps/etc. And I also don't understand a cockpit that does not supply a straightforward means of reverting to basic flight control laws upon demand by the humans in the cockpit.
Somebody show 'bird how to change the size of his graphics! Doggone page is now a thousand characters in width, gasp.