FD
 

What is the best for you:flying the FD as a cross bar or with the Moustache ?

Cross bar.

Cross bar,no discussion:E

isn't it funny? I've heard of the crossbar for flight directors, but we (USA) don't call the other one a moustache. Some of us call it a "HOWARD JOHNSON ROOF".


I can' t stand the crossbar flight director. I like the other one, which we call, "howard johnson's roof".

It is also called, more properly, the single cue, vs the dual cue.

the dual cue being the crossbar.

I've flown both, the single is so much better. More precise.

by the way, howard johnson's roof, refers to a chain of restauarants and or hotels called Howard Johnsons popular in the USA at one time.

I started out with the single cue and then my company switched to the crossbar one. In my opinion it is at least as precise as the other option, and it has the added bonus that you still have a director if one channel (lateral, vertical) doesn't work or is not switched on. Upon switchin from boeing to airbus the flight path director entered the picture and works as well.

My wife flew the 146 at Mesaba years ago, they called the single cue "The crotch".

I liked the one on the E-170/190 best. It's FPV-based.

Civvies fly single cue, mil guys fly dual cue. I prefer the dual cue, you can separate out the cues; but the dongle cue is the standard. Now. FPV cue is the best! especially with a HUD.

Never flew military, however the majority of my time, including flight training, was flown in dual cue config. And now the non precision approaches are flown in FPV cue, however sadly not with a HUD.

I always called them the "V" bars. I've flown both extensively and prefer the "V" bars to the "crosshairs".

Arent they more like "^"?:p

Do any operators specify which you are to use?

Yes, by fitting one type or the other to their aircraft.

We can select crosshair, V bar or HUD cue FD's on my type. Only proviso is that both seats have to display the same type.

I prefer V bars now.

I've flown both, but most have been the single clue, never the less, I really don't have a preference.

OK465, I think that when we got N27 it had the dual clue FD installed and the Kingair 200 that was stolen from us had a dual clue as well. That was changed to a single clue on N27 when the cockpit was overhauled and all that telephone wiring that the FAA had installed for test projects was removed.

Basically I think that one is most comfortable with what one is used to, if military you are more likely to prefer the dual clue and if civilian, you prefer the single clue.

I agree that it's just familiarity. Previous job if the aircraft even had an a/p installed always had single cue 'eyebrow' style. Now I fly with the dual cue cross-hairs. At first I found it a bit strange particularly with roll commands but now it's second nature.

The problem with any FD is they cause tunnel vision and instrument scan goes out of the window. They can also be very distracting. A competent instrument pilot does not need a flight director to tell him what to do.

I agree.

Seeing we are talking about flight directors, did you ever fly a straight Citation 500, one of the early ones?

That had to be the easiest FD I have ever flown. Hell, you could take a 10 year old that was a good video game player, put them in the left seat of a Citation 500, have them shoot an ILS while you sat in the right seat to handle the power and I'd bet a beer the kid would be able to fly it down to minimums.

But I understand that the FDs in the early Citation 500s were a maintenance nightmare and that is why there are few if any left.

c-P, OK465,

Strangely, the FD in the C-5 was just about identical to the original Citations. It had the "eyeball" thingie when the ILS was captured, little lights inside for the markers. Yes, a maintenance nightmare, now all gone.

We had the ability to select either crosshair or V bar, but no direction was given as to which you were to use. What reason might there be for both seats to select identical presentation? Ours was a glass cockpit should that have any impact.