PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Air Asia Indonesia Lost Contact from Surabaya to Singapore
Old 4th Dec 2015, 02:53
  #3576 (permalink)  
polka_dot_jersey
 
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New Gulfstream G500/600 aircraft will have linked Active Sidestick technology. Each pilot will be able to see and feel what the other pilot is doing (or even what the AP is commanding).

It's a no-brainer evolution.
Beyond the advantages of linked controls from an awareness of what the PF is doing, consider the following (from the article):

Sidestick characteristics—breakout forces, force displacement gradients and soft stops in each axis—are programmable and can be tailored by the aircraft manufacturer. “We offer an active stick with a feature toolbox that provides a wide range of parameters that can be tailored,” says Taylor. These include the breakout forces required to move the sidestick from its null position, “so the pilot has to pull, say, half a pound before it starts to move, to prevent inadvertent inputs and provide an obvious centering feel,” he says.

Soft stops are vertical sections of the force displacement gradient that provide tactile feedback on aircraft limits. “These are miniature walls that move back and forward and cue the pilot to impending limits. At 10 deg., the pilot may have to put in an extra 5 lb. of force to get over a mini wall,” says Taylor.
Imagine on 8501 (and AF447 for that matter), that in addition to triggering the stall warning the alpha limits triggered a stiff tactile resistance to continued back pressure on the sidestick. Would this have possibly cued them to quit yanking back on the stick?
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