Airbus vs boeing flight deck

[him225 51]

Anyone else feel airbus cockpits have much more outside looking area than the boeing ones?

On the downside the displays seem more difficult to read on the airbus, perhaps due to the use of green fonts.

[WingZ 547]

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=boeing+stearman&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUpLT7gd_aAhUM2LwKHXzcAIwQ_AUICigB&biw=1707&bih=628#imgrc=YVVaYR8d7xnKMM:

[John_Cillis 2,406]

It is a good question, a good broader question is why some cockpits have the instruments take up so much of the viewing space.  In my car I have a great view of the road ahead, but I found while I was taking Light Sport Lessons the view forward was more restricted than I expected, and my CFI Jason Bullard kept imploring me to look out and not at the panel (he knew I was a sim pilot and told me as he was before me, it was a habit he had to break out of).  I think I took up Trike flying as a revolt against the claustrophobic confines of a cockpit, went from one extreme to way another, with nada to look at other than the ground below you and air all around you, except for the wing above you.

And I have to imagine how hard it was for the Concorde pilots to fly with their long extended nose, it must have been quite a challenge.

John

[him225 51]

26 minutes ago, Cactus521 said:

It is a good question, a good broader question is why some cockpits have the instruments take up so much of the viewing space.  In my car I have a great view of the road ahead, but I found while I was taking Light Sport Lessons the view forward was more restricted than I expected, and my CFI Jason Bullard kept imploring me to look out and not at the panel (he knew I was a sim pilot and told me as he was before me, it was a habit he had to break out of).  I think I took up Trike flying as a revolt against the claustrophobic confines of a cockpit, went from one extreme to way another, with nada to look at other than the ground below you and air all around you, except for the wing above you.

And I have to imagine how hard it was for the Concorde pilots to fly with their long extended nose, it must have been quite a challenge.

John

ok so it is actually about the displays size, I thought plane makers might have it standard for the content they display to keep the text size to a same for good readability.

It is indeed more fun/at ease to fly the airbus even in the sim, with its large looking area than the b.

[Captain Kevin 586]

3 hours ago, Cactus521 said:

And I have to imagine how hard it was for the Concorde pilots to fly with their long extended nose, it must have been quite a challenge.

As for take-off and landing, the nose actually droops, so they can have better visibility. Once airborne, I guess there's not much to see anyway.

[n4gix 4,947]

9 hours ago, Captain Kevin said:

As for take-off and landing, the nose actually droops, so they can have better visibility. Once airborne, I guess there's not much to see anyway.

Yeah, there really aren't granite clouds at those flight levels...

[ACR 10]

If you think the forward visibility is bad in some airliners, you should look at some fighter cockpits.  There are some out there with minimal forward view besides through the HUD, and a couple slivers of space on either side of the HUD.

 

[n4gix 4,947]

Those two were designed long before "ergonomic" entered the lexicon and were apparently engineered by a committee of folks who missed most of the "team meetings."

"OMG, we must tack on this fram-widget somewhere!"

It reminds me of how Harley-Davidson motorcycles are apparently built. <running fast and ducking flying bricks>

[BlueStar 323]

1 hour ago, n4gix said:

Those two were designed long before "ergonomic" entered the lexicon and were apparently engineered by a committee of folks who missed most of the "team meetings."

Bill,

Of all the cockpits I've been in and or jumpseated on I always thought the L1011 had the best one from a pilot standpoint.  It was obviously designed by a pilot with a pilot in mind.  I was on the "10" at the time and I thought "Wow, this is nice."

[KevinAu 441]

I know the F-4 didn’t have the best forward visibility, but come on, that’s a picture of the rear cockpit you posted there...

[ACR 10]

Good catch!  I totally missed that it was the rear.  I was trying to think of where it came from!  That explains the layout...

But, how about the SR-71?  This one is from the front seat this time!

 

[busdriver 258]

Interesting, personally, I prefer a little less glass, to reduce my exposure to UV, but I also slather on loads of sunscreen when I fly. However, the tint is better on the Airbus than the 737 I use to fly, as I would often get a mild sun tan/burn flying the Boeing.