B-2 Spirit Cockpit Video
As a former C-17 Pilot I can attest that it was a little strange switching seats and using your left Hand on the stick, but after a few hours one became acclimated faster than anticipated. Air Refueling, being perhaps the most sensitive to this change, surprisingly wasn’t an issue either. Most squadron pilots had no issue with it.
In the day of FBW, no not really.
They don’t on any FBW Airbus either. Arguably a noteable issue in the fate of AF447.
Do any B-2’s have the third seat? Recall early plans included a third seat and hatch for training and other contingencies.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, I still can’t fathom why Airbus would ever consider unlinked cotrols. Very troubling.
Yes, a major contributor to the Air France Airbus 330 that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009, i believe.
A bad workman, or perhaps 'ouvrier', blames his tools.
But surely it did not help when the Air France left seater, and the non flying main pilot that came to the cockpit, had no idea the confused relief pilot in the right (I believe) seat was pulling the whole time as they were falling like a leaf. A conventional linked yoke/stick would have provided instant tactile and visual clues. The other 2 non flying pilots would have seen he had the stick in his lap.
Yes crews need need to know their systems and modes, but things like sticks that do not move, throttle levers that don’t move, trim wheels that don’t move, etc just seem to take away clues.
Yes crews need need to know their systems and modes, but things like sticks that do not move, throttle levers that don’t move, trim wheels that don’t move, etc just seem to take away clues.
Quite. If there is a system that encourages confusion and one that removes confusion, to design into the aircraft the system that encourages it is surely the very definition of a design flaw.
Utter rubbish! Thousands of flights are made every day with non-linked FBW side-stick controlled Airbus aircraft - it is only the dimwits who don't bother to learn about the system, or to understand the discipline of take-over of control methodology, who have problems.
A bad workman, or perhaps 'ouvrier', blames his tools.
A bad workman, or perhaps 'ouvrier', blames his tools.