4400hrs A320/21/330
2500hrs 757/767
1500hrs 777
A few years ago in the process of collecting a new build A320, I had the chance to speak with an airbus flight acceptance pilot in Toulouse over a particularly fine glass of Merlot. I can confirm that his view was that the FBW family of aircraft started with the A320 was borne out of a desire to mitigate the need for thousands of hours of experience, and was in essence the VW beetle for cheap short haul travel.
Nothing I've seen in the time I flew the Aeer Boos changed my mind.
It is an aircraft built to a lower specification in terms of durability and required build quality, it is an aircraft designed to operate with less human input and is thus from the engineers who designed it safer.
It's also worth noting that many of these same very clever engineers were heavily involved with technical response to the Air Inter incident, most allegedly refuse to this day too accept that their clever machine human interface was as fallible as it has proved to be.
In my opinion the 320 family and siblings IS designed for the third world in the sense that it removes the aviating from aviating and so is suitable for low houred, low experienced and less thoroughly trained pilots.
Standing by for in coming
