Originally Posted by DozyWannabe
Could well be, takata - but the point is we don't know, I'd suspect most B777 pilots don't know *exactly*, and the question is - would you bet your life?
This is not really the question about making any bet.
I think that the constant comparison between A & B is fairly displaced and most pilots here have moved on on this subject. The fact is that it seems that there is some obvious differences when driving such aircraft, controls, autotrim and CG computing, being of course part of the equation.
Now, it isn't anymore about judgement but understanding. Airbus concept is not that bad but may certainly be improved: there is still quite a wide margin before considering it "near" perfect, whatever Boeing is doing on its own side.
Actually, some point of view developed here about Airbus a/c is based on a "conventional aircraft" with fanzy added systems, and some people are trying to figure out how much it is useful or could be useless/dangerous in certain cases. While in fact, the starting point for this design was not a "conventional" but a "protected aircraft" which may eventually lose some of its systems until the point that it will look very much like such a "conventional aircraft".
Then, it is in fact possible that in the middle of this reversion, you'll be left with an "hybrid" aircraft which is not what any kind of pilot (Airbus or others) is very likely used to. While an Airbus pilot, used to those systems, would preferably keep whatever is still working rather than to reverse to a fully "conventional a/c", another pilot would prefer to get it directly "conventional" because it is also what he is much more used to.
Nonetheless, one of the issue that I'm starting to understand, is that Airbus "protected" systems are now in use for about 25 years. Basically, all the documentation was at first aimed at those pilots converting to their systems from "conventional" a/c. Now, they also don't explain how it feels like to fly such "conventional a/c", but rather the opposite. In turn, there is not that much emphasis about how to do in "conventional" configuration, which was certainly ok at the time, because everybody knew to fly it like that.
Is it still the case today?
If you look at those two young F/O (less than 40), they obviously never flew anything else than Airbus (A320 and A330/40) after their basic training. Hence, what would be the point to say in FCOM: if you are in direct law, you are now flying a "conventional aircraft"... when they may have no idea about what it is really like?
Some questions I'm asking myself at this point.