Dear Mr Airbus...

[F4F]

I have been operating the 320 series Bus for a number of years now. Like any airplane, it has pros and cons...

In order to contribute towards the next generation of 320s, here a couple of suggestions:

- sidesticks are fine, but gimme a mechanical link between the left and the right side (it works in the GA airplanes...)
- gimme a kind of DIRECT LAW from 1000' down, so I can fly the bird in turbulence, and not the other way round
- don't gimme a FLARE mode (other aircraft do fine without...)
- gimme a moving levers A/THR system
- gimme a A/THR system where I don't have to LVR CLB and "retard, retard" position the levers
- gimme an FMGS that won't throw me out of DES or CLB mode when leaving NAV for HDG
- gimme an FMGS that will automatically take the 2nd AP online when APP is activated
- gimme an EFIS Control Panel permitting simultaneous selections, like CSTR and WPT together
- gimme complete glass checklists, no more of this after ECAM Actions QRH or EFB work
- gimme left and right independent tilt on the WX radar, permitting better analysis by using L and R ND displays
- gimme a braking system using 2 hydraulic systems when applying pressure, redundancy at hand (normal and alternate provide no advantage)
- do not gimme the ashtrays... there are (hopefully) no pilots smoking on the FDK these days
- gimme a well positioned hook for the handmike, no more bending in the dark
- gimmie a handmike that doesn't weight and look like a truncheon
- gimme FIRE lights that are integrated into the MASTER switches
- gimme some real reading lights permitting a brief in a normal seating position
- gimme...

Well, your turn gals & guys ;)



live 2 fly 2 live

[fantom]

How do you spell "neanderthal"?

BTW, F4F: if you have not flown the mighty Phantom, I suggest you reconsider your username. If you have: best wishes.

F

[Loose rivets]

You spelled it correctly. Why do you want to know...going to apply for a larger brain? :8

Their brain sizes have been estimated to be larger than modern humans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human)',

[SmokeAndNoise]

You're right about the reading light and the simultaneous cnstr/nav/wpt/apt selection!

How about a mcdu that scrolled in the logical direction using the up/down arrows? :}

SAN

Edit: ...just remembered the WORST thing about the bus: You need to wear thick wool socks not to get cold feet in the winter :(

[Lemper]

dear F4F,


..........gimme a break!

[Clandestino]

C'mon guys and gals, dont take the bite, this fellow is a troll. He's aking for indepent tilt on LH and and RH wx displays and therefore shows such a lack of understanding of how the WXradar works that he for sure can't be a CPL, let alone ATPL.

And now for the benefit of the fellow planespotters and similar enthusiasts:

the WORST thing about the bus: You need to wear thick wool socks not to get cold feet in the winter

Not me, it seems that your thrifty employer failed to tick foot warmers box in Airbus order form. Those babies can fry your feet, if left on for too long.

- gimme a well positioned hook for the handmike, no more bending in the dark
- gimmie a handmike that doesn't weight and look like a truncheon

It might have something to do with the fact that I'm 6' 1'' and so long armed that I can easily reach refuelling panel from the RH seat without even moving it backwards, but I don't have problems mike position (nor its size). Again, if someone has to do with the truncheonoidal mike, perhaps fault lies with the thrifty airplane owner.

- gimme a kind of DIRECT LAW from 1000' down, so I can fly the bird in turbulence, and not the other way round


I've seen the guys hitting the lateral sidestick stops in 9G14 crosswind and I used no more than half stick in 22G30. Now that just seems to confirm what I was taught at the sim: if you're hitting the stops, you're fighting yourself and not the wind.

- gimme some real reading lights permitting a brief in a normal seating position


Or spectacles, so you can read your charts when they're on traytable or window chartholder - I have no problems with lighting in those places.

How about a mcdu that scrolled in the logical direction using the up/down arrows?

Airbus MCDU is of the 1987 vintage. In 1987 I had ZX Spectrum that definitevely had no scroll keys. When screen would fill up with text, it would ask you "scroll?" Pressing N or break would leave you at this screen, pressing anything else would move you one screen further. The point is that there was no widespread standard in 1987 whether arrow down means screen down or text down. Airbus choose the opposite of what Bill Gates' slaves chose for their windows OS couple of years later.


And what do I wish for? Well - more captains that know they're flying the electric Airbus and don't try to fly it as if it were the beloved B732/MD81/Tu-134 of their youth.

[Admiral346]

- sidesticks are fine, but gimme a mechanical link between the left and the right side (it works in the GA airplanes...)

what for? - I judge where the airplane is going, not how the other guy is working his joystick

- gimme a kind of DIRECT LAW from 1000' down, so I can fly the bird in turbulence, and not the other way round

what you are experiencing is called "Pilot induced oscillation", and can be overcome by letting go, have the airplane settle, and then fly the corrections with small inputs

- don't gimme a FLARE mode (other aircraft do fine without...)

I personally liked the thing flaring on autoland, anything else would have made the landing a bit hard... or are you refering to the transition from normal law to direct law on manual landing?

- gimme a moving levers A/THR system

I learned on the airbus, and have never missed it, that maybe different coming from a different type

- gimme a A/THR system where I don't have to LVR CLB and "retard, retard" position the levers

I think, setting climb power, and closing the throttles on landing are helpful when operating aircraft...

- gimme an FMGS that won't throw me out of DES or CLB mode when leaving NAV for HDG

?

- gimme an FMGS that will automatically take the 2nd AP online when APP is activated

agree, but might cause mismatch errors when on CAT I and the signal gets distorted by taxiing aircraft...

- gimme an EFIS Control Panel permitting simultaneous selections, like CSTR and WPT together

you can, just press them simultaniously

- gimme complete glass checklists, no more of this after ECAM Actions QRH or EFB work

Our QRH consisted of opt lvl graphs and the like, and a few very large print Smoke Checklists, to be able to read them if cockpit smoked up - your company might not have all the mods...

- gimme left and right independent tilt on the WX radar, permitting better analysis by using L and R ND displays

I have it now in the CRJ, and it doesn't help the tiniest bit

- gimme a braking system using 2 hydraulic systems when applying pressure, redundancy at hand (normal and alternate provide no advantage)

ok, fine

- do not gimme the ashtrays... there are (hopefully) no pilots smoking on the FDK these days

I smoke

- gimme a well positioned hook for the handmike, no more bending in the dark
- gimmie a handmike that doesn't weight and look like a truncheon

see above post

- gimme FIRE lights that are integrated into the MASTER switches

the fire push buttons are huge, and lit, and the little fire lights are right in front of the master switch... I don't agree at all

- gimme some real reading lights permitting a brief in a normal seating position

there's at least 3 different lights - see above


I liked flying the A319,320,321,332,333,342,343,346...
but I grew up on them, so maybe that's what makes me not miss linked controls or moving throttles...

Nic

[Dani]

If you never have seen any other cockpit, how do you want to know what's best?

In fact, the Airbus cockpit still is state of the art, and I rather wish that some B-products would improve before any Airbus would. If you watch the A380 cockpit, you can safely assume that this is the way Mr. Airbus has gone.

I agree with F4F that there are some weak points, like the flight deck lighting or some of the FMGS's CDU logic. And I know that some people still don't get used to the FBW logic. Some of F4F's propositions are available today as an option. But the best of all about an Airbus cockpit is the space you have, the comfort.

As someone who has flown different kind of modern cockpits, I would like to see, all on the FMGS:

- copy into scratchpad
- prompts at the end of the line page to go directly to the next logical page.
- A useful PROG page
- scroll direction the other way around

And:
- Head-up Display
- A table for the Jump Seat!


Dani

[Farrell]

Handing reading lights for the bus are available here....

http://www.airbusdriver.net/ click through the menu to Airbus Night Light

......you'll need to buy a few though, as you are guaranteed to forget it from time to time, making a lovely gift for the next crew.

[FE Hoppy]

Handing reading lights for the bus are available here....

Just don't get caught with this un-certified modification fitted!!:=

[yoohoo748]

Clandestino wx radar.

MD 83 that I flew was rigged like this. left sweep was tilted for captain, right sweep was tilted for FO. Not a bad rig... once you figured it out. Less time spent tilting, more time avoiding wx. I can't recall wx radar model, but it sure did what F4F was suggesting.

Cheers.

[Dream Land]

New Airbuses have auto scan radar, works great! I agree it needs better lighting, the folks in business class have better lighting. I would prefer A330 type shades for the wind screens too. I hate the annoying interphone call, 777 style much better. As far as the rest goes, I love it. :ok:

[Caudillo]

Just don't get caught with this un-certified modification fitted!!

Looks more like a clip with a little mirror on it than an "uncertified modification" to me. Hardly as if he's tinkering with the rating of the engine now is it?

[Dream Land]

Hardly as if he's tinkering with the rating of the engine now is it?But just as illegal, lol. :=

[tom775257]

1) Sort it out so in climb the aircraft doesn't porpoise around in a feeble attempt to maintain an airspeed while heavy and approaching cruise altitude. This would mean I don't need to pull V/s, select a sensible V/S and select speed higher to keep climb thrust to prevent us from bouncing between 0fpm to 1500fmp while the speed and pitch attitude goes up and down like a pro's knickers.

2)Now this would be luxury! Peltier element in the cup holder, with a three way switch - cool, off, hot. This would mean my coffee can stay warm for more than 30 seconds. Oooh and cold drinks in summer. Nice!

[Right Way Up]

C'mon guys and gals, dont take the bite, this fellow is a troll. He's aking for indepent tilt on LH and and RH wx displays and therefore shows such a lack of understanding of how the WXradar works that he for sure can't be a CPL, let alone ATPL.
Obviously the 747-400 has never taken its ATPl exams. :8
Very useful feature imo.

[PENKO]

Clandestino, seperate WX-radar controls are perfectly possible. Instead of sweeping twice, the capt gets a left-right sweep at his selected angle, the fo gets a right-left sweep etc.

Anyway, comfortwise the Airbus is leagues ahead of Boeing (320>737). However, the reading lights in the Airbus are a misdesign. In a 737 you can swivel and adapt these lights in anyway you like, wide beam, narrow beam, high intensity, low intensity, red light, white light.
The bus reading light has none of this...it only shines in one (almost useless) direction with the weakest intensity, weaker than a candle.

Also agree with the CSTR, ARPTS, WPT selection. Why can I not show both on my ND? Boeing does it.

Why not descend at top of descent automatically, like when cleared at pilots discretion to a lower level? Boeing does it.

And I will never understand the geometrical descent paths. Why on earth not descend at 1000 fpm until intercepting a proper descent path after passing an alt constraint which leaves you low on profile? Boeing does this marvelously (but does some real scary stuff if you do not descend at TD).



Once again. This is not intended as a Boeing vs. Airbus. Both have some wonderful and some awkward stuff.

[TyroPicard]

I would like a MDA symbol on the Altitude scale of the PFD.
TP

[Right Way Up]

Also agree with the CSTR, ARPTS, WPT selection. Why can I not show both on my ND? Boeing does it.
Early airbuses allowed it. In fact you could have all 5 buttons on at the same time. := However I think it caused failures so they restricted to one button at a time.

[Maz11]

To all those asking for seperate Wx radar tilt controls for each side, its more than possible, we have it on all our 320/21s. So its more to do with your company putting its hand in its pockets to get a better radar system fitted.

[Admiral346]

Hey Dani,
I am flying CRJs now as a Captain - so I do have an idea what other modern aircraft look like.

And you know what? I like those little CRJs. They are great. Teir FMS has their own advantages but also disadvantages.

Go ahead and write a putdown on them, and I will comment too.

I just have never flown a boeing, but then I might some day. I might even like them, despite of their looks.

See ya

Nic

[Cardinal]

I like F4F's list. Pay attention, TLS!

[bflyer]

I wish i can have a wll lit cockpit when i need to and a well dimmed cockpit when i need to
HOLD the ahtrays...some of us still smoke in the cockpit

[autoflight]

How about additional sidestick aileron central detent force when large backstick forces applied. When captain is PF. go-around backstick gives tendancy to roll right and when co-pilot is PF, go-around gives tendancy to roll left.
Sitting in a chair practicing pulling straight back is great idea, but when the pressure is on, all that practice is limited advantage.
How about FMGC recognising that airways have limited lateral dimensions? Try a left turn ar ABBAS on way to Damascus (just less than 90 degree turn) with a strong southerly. FMGC will command an early left turn (with limited bank angle) resulting in exiting the airway in the turn. Pilot intervention is required to remain within the airway, ie making a compulsory fly over point about 6 miles short of ABBAS that will result in a higher angle of bank that will keep the aircraft inside the airway. Alternatively go to HDG mode until close to ABBAS. Such additional considerations by crew should be unnecessarry on a relatively modern aircraft.
FMGC recognises time strangely. Even at 59 seconds past a particular minute, FMGC does not take account of any of the extra 59 seconds. ATC asks for an ETA and the FMGC could be up to 59 seconds late. Obviously the program was written by a computer nerd who was not a pilot and who could not think enough inside the square to do it to the nearest minute!

[Hunter58]

@Dani

HUDs on A320? Still on the option list, but only ordered by Air Inter and removed (or disactivated) after the aircraft were taken over by Air France. Talk to your CFO, he is the reason you don't have one...

[Fil]

It seems that some of these GIMME's are Boeing features however the Boeing products have just as many of their own GIMME's too.

This was touched upon above with a ? but not answered:

- gimme an FMGS that won't throw me out of DES or CLB mode when leaving NAV for HDG

A Boeing feature, or should I say a Honeywell feature on the Boeing spec FMS and not on the Airbus spec FMGS...same manufacturer makes them for both A & B.

Boeing eqivalent keeps the aircraft in V-NAV (Boeing CLB/DES) when HDG SEL is engaged, whereas Airbus's change to Open CLB/Open Des when HDG is engaged. Actually a point IMHO to the Boeing way as it try s to keep to the planned vertical profile even when off the LNAV/NAV routing. However there are an equal number of frustrations, such as why when FLCH is engaged (certainly on the 777) the Speed Intervene (Selected Speed window opens)? AIrbus keep to the FMGS/FMS speeds, ie slow down below 10,000 etc. Win one---lose one.....your CEO/CFO pays his/her money etc etc

[ground_star]

Dear Mr Airbus,

Please can you explain this mess at TLS

http://p102.ezboard.com/fconcordesstfrm2.showMessage?topicID=6471.topic

Regards

GS

[eight16kreug]

Ask any guy who came up from a neanderthal cockpit and Mr Airbus' cockpit is heaven if just for the airconditioning.

As an aside, how do you keep the smoke/smell from getting into the pax compartment? We drop the cockpit temp a few degrees, close all the vents and put a trash bag under the door. Or is there another tech log thread for this?:)

[Dream Land]

The rheostats, potentiometers, dimmer control things for the lights are poor, why can't they use a better quality part, we have lot of bad ones (FCU and overhead) in our fleet.