Regular Yoke vs. Side stick

[FR8mastr]

I bet the crew of Air France loved the side stick as well.
How much is that tray table worth when you cant tell the other pilot has pitched full nose up?

I personally have no problem with fly by wire, side sticks, and all other automated gadgets. But when you have no tactile feedback you take away a very important and vital part of "piloting" an aircraft. But who needs pilots anyway, we just need a two hundred hour system manager.

 

[Dan Roman]

The AirBus is a great airplane. I've only been in it a year and still learning, but the perspective that it's different from a "real" airplane is ridiculous. Every airplane is "different" I loved the DC3 and the 727. They were all "different", so is the A330 from the 767 I came from. But it's a kick to fly, and yes you can fly it just as much as any other airplane and my take is that those that say it's not like a real airplane either have never flown one or have and don't understand how the systems interact with "flying" the airplane. I fly the Airbus and get a kick out of using all the high tech support the airplane has.
And as fins said, it lands in a crosswind the same as any other transport airplane. You crab til you flare and then straighten the nose with rudder and a feed in a little opposite aileron. Does anyone really use the cross control method in a large airplane out there?

 

[Turtle21]

The airbus IS different. It's all wireless and ******************** and it does everything for you. Everything!! You are semi retired, but you still need note paper.. the note paper is to write a note to yourselves on each leg so you don't forget who is answering the radio calls.

 

[Dan Roman]

The airbus IS different. It's all wireless and ******************** and it does everything for you. Everything!! You are semi retired, but you still need note paper.. the note paper is to write a note to yourselves on each leg so you don't forget who is answering the radio calls.

Turtle, reread my post and you will see I said it is different. The point was, so what, ALL airplanes are different, big deal. I still enjoy it even though it's "different".
Now write a note to yourself to work on reading comprehension before you get too old.

 

[Turtle21]

Turtle, reread my post and you will see I said it is different. The point was, so what, ALL airplanes are different, big deal. I still enjoy it even though it's "different".
Now write a note to yourself to work on reading comprehension before you get too old.

Yeah, the part that is different is you don't fly anymore . But it's a comfy place to work!

 

[waveflyer]

I wasn't in the airbi long, but here's the advice I got: study in training like its the first jet you've ever flown- be a new hire commuter guy again as far as work ethic and learn the laws well- you'll love the plane if you do that-

In boeings, you can lean on your past experiences- do that in the airbus, and you won't fully understand the plane well enough to enjoy it-

Most issues are when airbus pilots are trying to fly it like every other airplane they've flown-
You do it a disservice-

Side stick, hands down- with appropriate critiques of feedback and being in the loop- but side stick is great-
And the airbus is a great hand flying airplane by all accounts-

Pilots who don't understand the airplane well rely too much on the automation- giving it an unearned rep

 

[eaglesview]

Yeah, the part that is different is you don't fly anymore . But it's a comfy place to work!

So you need a Yoke to fly?? Have you made the fighter guys aware of this.....they have a right to know.

 

[eaglesview]

I wasn't in the airbi long, but here's the advice I got: study in training like its the first jet you've ever flown- be a new hire commuter guy again as far as work ethic and learn the laws well- you'll love the plane if you do that-

In boeings, you can lean on your past experiences- do that in the airbus, and you won't fully understand the plane well enough to enjoy it-

Most issues are when airbus pilots are trying to fly it like every other airplane they've flown-
You do it a disservice-

Side stick, hands down- with appropriate critiques of feedback and being in the loop- but side stick is great-
And the airbus is a great hand flying airplane by all accounts-
Pilots who don't understand the airplane well rely too much on the automation- giving it an unearned rep

I agree, especially with the last paragraph. Some of the problems are company created. There are airlines out there that do not allow disconnecting the auto throttles except in day VFR. IMHO this is not a good policy.

 

[SMcC]

Tactile feel and being in the loop are really non-issues. In the airbus you learn to pick up on other cues to remain situationally aware. Vertical speed, airspeed trends, power changes, seat of the pants are all still there. Side stick and FBW is not some kind of mysterious magic. It's just a new way to do the same old thing.

If the plane is falling out of the sky like the Air France tragedy. It might be a good idea for the captain to get in his seat and take control. The right seater who was in control must have thought must have thought that full aft stick would save the day because he held it there all the way to the water. He was a low timer who apparently did not know how to recover from a stall. Basic airmanship was missing.

 

[SMcC]

Most issues are when airbus pilots are trying to fly it like every other airplane they've flown-
You do it a disservice-

I understand the point you are making here, but from what I have observed over the past few years is that the pilots that remain in touch with the basics and actually fly the bus like a regular old airplane end up flying it with great skill and having a hell of a lot of fun doing it. You have to be a master of the automation and a master with it all turned off.