What does the 'Bus FD actually *do*?

[FirmamentFX]

Hi everyone,

What is the point of the Flight Director on the Airbus? As far as I can tell it simply generates guidance commands which are then sent to the PFD. Am I missing something deeper...?

Cheers,

Martin

[WindSheer]

Hi,
The flight director on the 'bus' is the same as most other a/c.
Ie. The flight directors position is commanded by whatever mode is in use, Heading select/Alt, or the FMGS (FMC on the Boeing) giving both horizontal and vertical commands.
If the autopilot is in, it will follow the FD bars, if not then the Pilot Flying manually follows them!
Cheers!!

[FirmamentFX]

Many thanks WindShear!

Martin

[Superpilot]

As far as I can tell it simply generates guidance commands which are then sent to the PFD. Am I missing something deeper...?

You're not missing anything at all, perhaps not appreciating it?

[FirmamentFX]

Originally Posted by Superpilot

You're not missing anything at all, perhaps not appreciating it?

Thanks for the info. It just seems odd that it needs an entire subsystem to do that. I would have thought the DMC/EFIS would have handled it.

Cheers!

Martin