Originally Posted by
rudderrudderrat
I don't know if you are referring to some incident (link?) which I don't know about.
EgyptAir 990 possibly. Full forward in the RHS and full back in the LHS led to split elevators - I think Boeing changed the design after that.
In that case, you'd have to do as Airbus now do - only one pilot at a time flies the plane.
Strictly speaking I think all airliner ops are only supposed to have one pilot at a time flying the plane, are they not? You can usually spot documentaries and programmes that have done their homework versus those who haven't because the latter will have both pilots with hands on the yoke in cruise even when nothing is untoward.
I know you and others perceive the feedback loop as essential, but I'm not sure it is as essential as you believe it is when an airliner's flight surfaces are fully-hydraulic. A lot of people give Airbus a hard time on the KISS principle, but in the case of the control setup, theirs is a lot simpler than the yoke systems of other manufacturers. From an engineering standpoint there's a lot more points of failure in a backdriven feedback system than the spring-driven feel of the Airbus sidestick design.
Originally Posted by
mm43
The disadvantage is as usual - extra complexity and weight.
Not to mention some of the disadvantages of the yoke system that have already been mentioned (e.g. dual input becoming a strength contest between pilots, lack of positive override).
The short version is that for every "might have made things better", there's a "might have made things worse" - *if* you're looking at things dispassionately, and all other things being equal.
Is tactile feedback necessary or is the yoke a crutch? I feel sure I've said this before, but notwithstanding the brilliant job they did saving as many people as thay managed to, the Captain and F/O of UA232 kept forcing their yokes forward and left even when it was having no actual effect on the flight surfaces. I suspect the answer is somewhere inbetween.
Just to point out a few indisputable facts:
- Northwest Airlines Flight 6231 (B727) - PNF had yoke in his lap during stall, did nothing.
- Birgenair Flight 301 (757) - PNF had yoke in his lap during stall, did nothing.
- Air Florida Flight 90 (737) - PNF had yoke in his lap during stall, did nothing.