Originally Posted by
RunSick
When somebody that ACTUALLY FLIES THE PLANE says something like "it is hard to see what the PF is doing on an Airbus" ... consider that this person has been there for real and is telling you his real life experience.
Thanks for the heads-up. However, I have to take some pains to point out that what I'm saying isn't just coming from theoretical book learning, but also from long conversations I've had with pilots who fly the FBW Airbii. Many of them started out worrying about that aspect of the design, but quickly grew to realise it wasn't as much of an issue as they'd feared. Some never had an issue with it. Some still don't entirely feel at home in that flight deck - but acknowledge that it may be down to their own perceptions rather than the flight deck layout itself.
@CB - there's a flipside to the incapacitation scenario - namely that if your opposite number slumps over (or otherwise fouls movement of) the control column, then you have to shift their weight from it. In an upset scenario, that's going to be extra difficult, but in the FBW Airbus, you just push a button and it is no longer an issue.