PDA

View Full Version : Japanese flying with mysterious gloves to make Screens Touch-compatible ?!


crjo
21st Jan 2019, 16:31
Hey there,

Recently qualified on the [amazing] B787, I've come across a weird rumor that some Japanese B787 pilots wear special gloves that enables them to use the Multi-purpose displays with touch (as originally intended by Boeing) instead of the dreaded trackpad...
Has anyone else heard of this?

AndoniP
21st Jan 2019, 16:42
Hey there,

Recently qualified on the [amazing] B787, I've come across a weird rumor that some Japanese B787 pilots wear special gloves that enables them to use the Multi-purpose displays with touch (as originally intended by Boeing) instead of the dreaded trackpad...
Has anyone else heard of this?

doesn't the 787 just have touch screen EFB displays? and their pilots wear gloves for hygiene purposes?

or do you mean special gloves, like Michael Jackson style?

crjo
21st Jan 2019, 16:59
Indeed.
The only Touch screens are the EFBs...
I was talking about the FMC screens. But your idea of hygiene gloves makes complete sense for the Japanese.
I'm sure this is where the rumor originated.

Sidestick_n_Rudder
21st Jan 2019, 18:07
I think it’s a bit less advanced than that. The Japanese have been wearing flying gloves ever since, on all airplanes from Mitsubishi Zero onwards :)

The problem is, however, that ordinary gloves don’t work well with modern touchscreens, like eg. iPad EFB.

To solve it, there are two solutions:
1) wear golf gloves with uncovered fingertips / cut a tip of your index finger in the glove
2) have special gloves that work with touchscreen.

I doubt, however, that there is a magical glove, which turns the 787 MFD into a touchscreen...

Sidestick_n_Rudder
21st Jan 2019, 18:10
P.S. if you ever fly to Tokyo NRT, you can get yourself a pair for ~$50 at a store in Terminal 1. They are actually pretty cool :E

Intrance
22nd Jan 2019, 08:41
Or you can go on most online stores and get a pair of touchscreen compatible gloves for $8. They will even look fancy in white and "parade/formal" style.

AndoniP
22nd Jan 2019, 08:57
Or you can go on most online stores and get a pair of touchscreen compatible gloves for $8. They will even look fancy in white and "parade/formal" style.

yep, these have been widely available for a long time now. they just have special fabric on the fingertips that work with any touch screens. I bought my brother in law a pair of north face running gloves that have these fingertip pads so that he can change music on his phone whilst running in the cold.

Hong Kong Dave
23rd Jan 2019, 15:50
Fancy ski / cold weather gloves have featured the special touch screen fingertips for some time also.

Ben_S
23rd Jan 2019, 17:54
Surely it would make sense to use touchscreen technology that is compatible with standard gloves. Volvo manage it in their cars.

ShyTorque
23rd Jan 2019, 19:34
There's nothing new about touch screen gloves...

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y290/shytorque/steptoe_328-1_zpsfy3xzk9f.jpg (http://s7.photobucket.com/user/shytorque/media/steptoe_328-1_zpsfy3xzk9f.jpg.html)

Banana Joe
23rd Jan 2019, 19:49
Many Japanese pilots wear gloves when flying for hygienic reasons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BGzATbiV-c

Check Airman
24th Jan 2019, 05:31
Many Japanese pilots wear gloves when flying for hygienic reasons.

Forgive my ignorance, but I've always wondered about that. Why is that? Are their cockpits dirtier than average?

Lady Voldenuit
24th Jan 2019, 06:00
Forgive my ignorance, but I've always wondered about that. Why is that? Are their cockpits dirtier than average?

Or the opposite, to keep it clean.

Say again s l o w l y
24th Jan 2019, 07:02
Forgive my ignorance, but I've always wondered about that. Why is that? Are their cockpits dirtier than average?

I doubt it. Think about this though, whilst the floor may get a quick Hoovering, how often do you think a cockpit actually gets properly cleaned? Is it

a) Never
b) Only in a month of Sunday's
c) After hell has frozen over

I know plenty who have antibacterial wipes in their bags and use them to give some of the surfaces they touch a clean up. Wearing gloves is not such a daft idea really.

SpringHeeledJack
24th Jan 2019, 07:39
Could you imagine the insurance/legal liabilities if your average cleaner was let loose on the cockpit without the knowledge of what could and could not be easily sanitised ? Perhaps only a job for a master mechanic or pilot....Btw I have a pair of outdoor gloves that allow the right-swiping of a smart-phone screen should one sight an attractive Yeti whilst in the mountains, though they're probably too warm for indoor use.

DirtyProp
24th Jan 2019, 12:01
Forgive my ignorance, but I've always wondered about that. Why is that? Are their cockpits dirtier than average?
Or maybe they know their colleagues better :E

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2077203/ba-pilot-suspended-over-alleged-cockpit-sex-photos-in-stockings-taken-at-38000-feet/

I would request to have the seat sanitized as well...

Joe_K
24th Jan 2019, 15:09
Forgive my ignorance, but I've always wondered about that. Why is that? Are their cockpits dirtier than average?

It's a thing in Japanese culture. Taxi drivers wear white gloves, police officers wear white gloves, the UPS delivery guy wears white gloves. Seems to be associated with a perception of professionalism, and there also seems to be a preoccupation with germs and cleanliness, cf. the surgical masks many people wear.