Automation: Boeing vs. Airbus

[The_Russian]

For those of you who have flown both, how would you compare the automation in both to each other with respect to pilot input abilty? For further clarification: What did you prefer, in-the-loop or out-of-the-loop automation systems?

What would you change in either aircraft to make it more "user-friendly" or safer to use?

and,

How do you feel this will affect future pilot training and overall ability?

 

[lineflyer1]

For those of you who have flown both, how would you compare the automation in both to each other with respect to pilot input abilty? For further clarification: What did you prefer, in-the-loop or out-of-the-loop automation systems?

What would you change in either aircraft to make it more "user-friendly" or safer to use?

and,

How do you feel this will affect future pilot training and overall ability?

I have only flown the Boeing 737 and it has too much automation!

 

[PreContact]

Boeing's Got It Right

Love the 757! Flies great hands-on, hands-off~!

 

[grog_sit_reserv]

Fifi is the laziest autopilot ever... which is fine because I'm the laziest pilot ever.

I love Fifi even though she calls me a retard just before the end of every flight.

 

[boxjockey]

At CX most guys who fly the airbus seem to like it, even though most say it takes some time to get your head around the computers. I guess it can also be quite easy to get wrapped up in checklist-land. The -400 is really easy, as it is about as automated as a CoffeeMate 2000.

box

 

[BiffF15]

I flown both the A320 and the 757 / 767. The Bus is the safest plane I have ever flown hands down. It's automation isn't perfect but is better than the 75-76 however it takes longer to become comfortable with.
Take the above comparison with a grain of salt as the technology spread between them as it's a bit of apples and oranges due to the time between airframe launches and fly by wire.

 

[GogglesPisano]

The A320 series automation takes a little getting used to but it hand flies like any other airplane -- although with a stick and with the added comfort of having neutral static stability when control pressure is released.

The systems automation is hands down superior to anything else I've ever flown -- although you are not as "in the loop" with what's going on behind you as you are in an older airplane.

The 737-800 I just checked out in hand-flies the best. The MD11 flies the worst and has the slowest FMS imaginable -- but that's a whole other thread.

The 737 vs A320 statistics are a wash ... http://www.airdisaster.com/statistics/

 

[Chronic Jetlag]

design philosophy

The main difference between Airbus and Boeing is the design philosophy. In a nutshell, the pilot has ultimate control in a Boeing whereas the plane retains ultimate control on a bus.

 

[sat74]

The MD11 flies the worst and has the slowest FMS imaginable -- but that's a whole other thread.

Yeah, I remember back in the day that my Atari and Commodore 64 ran faster than the MD11 POS FMS!!! Watching that thing go blank for eons while it calculates blows my mind!

 

[XShuttle]

I have several thousand hours in both the A320/A319 and B737-300/500. The Guppy has much better automation. The A320 won't even start a VNAV descent on it's own. The Boeing hand flies much better and the Guppy is much better in gusty winds. That said the A320 has a much more comfortable cockpit and the stick is great.