We'd like to follow up on this post because we've been given what we suspect to be exactly the same task by our university (in conjunction with an aircraft manufacturer that I don't know if I'm allowed to name but rhymes with Hairmuss). We've got a detailed specification and a systems engineering approach and suchlike sorted out so our questions are more along the lines of ergonomics. As current or prior MPA crew members would you prefer to be seated at the consoles in a single line or two lines back to back?
Should the mission planning area be near the consoles? Near the pilots? Out of the earshot of everyone so you're not distracted?
Are observation windows particularly useful now that we have good EO turrets? Would you prefer a slightly bubbled window to improve the view out or a smidge more speed/range?
How long is a typical mission for you and how much of that time would you spend resting/working?
Would you mind having to hump 100-odd sonobuoys out of the aircraft individually (through a tube), could you manage if there were 30 tubes and you just had to reload them occasionally, would your lives be far easier if they were all in tubes and ready to go? How much speed/range would you trade in for that?
Do you mind if we put the toilet near the consoles or should it be as far away from the crew areas as possible, next to the emergency ditching seats?
Maintainers, what do we need to do to make your lives easier? How long would it take to reload a sonobuoy tube on the ground? A torpedo in a bay? A missile on the wing? What's the limiting factor on turnaround time (assuming a fresh crew) and what would you recommend to reduce that?
That sort of thing. On your aircraft, which design decisions worked and which did not? Who were you jealous of for their nice features? Who did you take the piss out of for their piece of crap?
I appreciate that's a lot of questions but ultimately the better our responses now the better our future designs will be. Think of it as an investment in being able to shake your stick at the new youngsters and say that things were tougher in your day!
Thanks,
A bunch of grateful students