Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> Add a display that shows the current positions of both control sticks

Yes! From the article: "As the plane approaches 10,000 feet, Robert tries to take back the controls, and pushes forward on the stick, but the plane is in "dual input" mode, and so the system averages his inputs with those of Bonin, who continues to pull back.

If this is true, it's insane. What does it mean to "average" the inputs of both pilots if one is full forward and the other one full back?? It should say "conflicting command; make up your mind".

The article alludes to the old system where the stick was just the one same stick for both pilots: no possible conflicts there.

The new planes should have a way to emulate that.



I was shocked that new airplanes use joysticks are just simple inputs and don't give (some) feedback on the current state of the current control surfaces or the state of the other joystick.

This seems like a "feature" of analog controls that you'd want to take forward to fly-by-wire systems.


For me the 'averaging' of two controls seem totally bizarre. One pushing forward and one pulling back and the computer thought that was OK?

My fear of flying is reaching new heights.


Maybe this is a good thing if a more experienced pilot needs to 'hold the hand' of the other ofr some fine tuning manouvers, but when the commands are opposite from each other than it realy makes no sense that it decides to average them out and in doing so, basically respondes to none as desired (possibly having the operator use more force to get the desired response).

The analog stick seems much more reliable in this way, only one source of control of the aircraft, period.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: