Rabbit and 52049er, I don't have any problems with strong language, and here it's me who starded with it. On the contrary, I like that!
I'm not rated on the Airbus, but I've got some thousands hours on glass cockpit, and a big A320 poster on my wall (once I was fascinated by it), so my opinion is not completely misplaced, and even if it were, it's the freedom of talking which brings intelligent and wise comments from experienced people - which I think is one of the goals of this forum - so please, don't even talk about RULES here - unless you want to negate one of the great and revolutionary aspects of the internet.
So I'll continue to say what I think and even to ask stupid questions, with the awareness that sometimes it can be wrong, too strong or wathever.
I hope your blood pressure can cope with it.
Very funny comments on cleaning PFD's and long arms! You really got my point.
Maybe you don't know that in the very early stages of design trend arrows didn't even exist. But when they noticed how difficult it was to fly with the new display, they added them.
They were an afterthought to try to solve a problem.
BTW 737ng can have the traditional display, glass cockpit yes, but with analog instruments and trend vectors on it (on a crt you can draw whatever you like).
My criticism here is against various tapes (speed and so on), not against CRT, which lack the information described in my previous exaple of the distant watch.
I'm criticising this new philosohy rather than Airbus, apart from being the inventor (I might be wrong) of this new trend.
BTW the " bloody VSI dial somewhere on the cluttered fascia" was so easy to use, even only with your peripheral field of view....
Regarding my being superior to the pilots who crashed that way in good weather on final, well, yes, I hope I'm superior to that.
Of course I was not there, my information comes from usual sources (books and whatever): after reading of an accident like that, MY blood pressure has got a problem!
To me the selling of something doesn't mean it's good, it's only proof that money comes first in our world!
In this case they've advertised the concentration of various instruments in only one CRT as an improvement for the pilots, but the true reason is, I think,
saving money ! (one CRT costs much much less that 5 mechanical ones).
I maintain the result is a step back, not forward, to the pilot: on a tape you must read the number to know your speed, while on analog a quick look gives immediately the awareness of the situation.
You can do the experiment on pictures, posters and so on: is the airplane of your site going fast or slow?
And with conventional thrust levers I know the amount of power
even without looking at the intrument.
Now you are gonna tell me
I'm supposed to look!
Of course, but with the dozen things I'm supposed to look at, the information coming through
my hand is a valuable one, isn'it?
I'd like to discuss in depth of the joystick with you, but it would take too long.
So, nice day to you also!
