19 minutes ago, cowpatz said:

It also needs a big "W-T-F" button/ flashing red warning light that when pressed turns it into a normal aircraft. 😉

LOL!!!!!!!

On 8/4/2018 at 1:41 PM, Chock said:

Yup, it really is, the 737NG is a much more basic aeroplane than the A320. Don't forget the amount of attempts various developers of flight sim add-ons had at making an A320, resulting in either disappointing failures, or in some cases, no finished product at all. Recall in fact, how many people were of the opinion that it wasn't even possible to make a 'study level' A320 for a base sim such as MSFS until FSL managed to pull it off and prove otherwise, making what is beyond doubt, the most complicated and detailed flight sim add-on aeroplane there is for FSX/P3D.

Back with the real aeroplanes and by way of example, let's take something as fundamental as opening the cargo doors...

On a Boeing 737, you press the button in on the door handle, the handle pops out, you turn it and can then push open the cargo door, upwards and inwards. Done. It's all basic mechanical latches and springs, it's simple and it does the job.

Now let's do that on an Airbus A320...

On an A320, you push a button on the door latch handle to unlock the latch flap, then push in the flap on the latch to reveal a grab handle, then pull the latch handle out and up (remembering to keep your other hand on the door whilst doing so to prevent the door from popping open and then dropping down under its weight and smashing you in the face, this hurts, that door is massive), then when the latch handle is up as far as it can be raised, you go underneath the fuselage, press in a button to open up an access cover, then use the lever in that access panel to operate the motor of the door under hydraulic power. If there is no power to the aircraft from the APU or a GPU, the doors won't operate because they use the yellow hydraulic system, so then you'll have to open an access cover just to the rear of the wing under the fuselage, in there you'll find a pump lever which will allow you to manually pump hydraulic pressure to the yellow system in order to crank the door open. Does that sound simpler than the 737? 😄

Now of course not much of that matters to a pilot up on the flight deck unless they have a warning light saying a cargo door is open, but It's pretty much the same for everything else on the A320 as opposed to the 737 in terms of systems complexity and as a result, the operational knowledge a pilot needs, and this is as you'd expect from two designs which have their origins two decades apart from one another (737-100, first flight 1967, A320, first flight 1987).

I like both the A320 and the 737, I work on both of them in real life and enjoy faffing about with both of them in flights sims too and both aeroplanes have their merits, but there is no way a 737 could be regarded as being as complicated as an A320. As a result of that, the ethos behind them and how they are crewed is somewhat different. You might say that you pilot a 737, but you operate an A320. There's no less skill required to do either, but the emphasis of the skills required to do either is somewhat different between the two aeroplanes.

 

Alan's post threw me off at first, but reading all of it I have to say it's one of the best posts of his that I've seen.  Nice job, covered the subject matter exceptionally well!

As a retired submariner, being a "systems" guy not only comes naturally, it's part of who I am.  For this readon, I learn heavily towards Boeing and especially the MD-80.  I just like being able to configure and fly the aircraft how i choose rather than how the software wants.

Several years ago I had to start learning the Airbus, and while she does pretty much relieve me on much of the work load I'm accused to, the learning curve to understand what was happening and why was greater than I thought it would be!

These days I have a true appreciation for a well modeled Airbus, Boeing, MD, the Dash and CRJ, as well as other aircraft. aircraft.

 

Thanks again Alan for a terrific post!