A321 night landing cockpit view

[Homer J Simpson]

Cool to watch. Just think about the code that it takes to run a modern airplane.

[GEuser]

Not another digital versus analog thread !, or should that be stated as it's funny imo that digital mimics those analog meters and pointers Ha Ha Ha  .

[vinicius.jlantunes]

Yeah, I was driving one of these cars where the speedometer is digital the other day - I didn't like it. If it has to be digital I would prefer a screen that mimics an analog meter and its needle.

p.s.: not trying to contribute to any digital vs. analog battle 

[Brumby]

Takes me back.

Did a bit of back-and-forth between Sydney and Melbourne last century - and rode the jump seat up front during landing on several occasions.

Forget the analogue/digital argument.  When you've got some flaky winds and you're close to the ground, the pilots are working every second.


Then 9/11 happened and all that went out the window.

[Halcyon]

If it has to be digital I would prefer a screen that mimics an analog meter and its needle.

Like the current dash of Volvo's cars? In real life it looks stunning.

[chickenHeadKnob]

 If you like this sort of thing (night landings) here are two:

Hong Kong at sunrise, stupid music instead of cockpit patter, might want to mute:     

Another Hong Kong dawn:     

Sorry that those old school 747's have steam gauges and not displays, some people just can't get enough blinking leds.
You will just have to haul out a dev board, put beside your computer display and blink the hell out its leds.

[ez24]

Cool to watch. Just think about the code that it takes to run a modern airplane.

What was on the left window ?  Are they playing Pokeman on it?  Good lord what next.

[ez24]

Takes me back.
..and rode the jump seat up front during landing on several occasions.

My jump seat experience was in a C-141 jet and the pilot and co-pilot argued over the setting of the de-icer.  The pilot was wrong but I kept my mouth shut and we still landed ok. Boy does time go by fast when landing.

[vinicius.jlantunes]

If it has to be digital I would prefer a screen that mimics an analog meter and its needle.

Like the current dash of Volvo's cars? In real life it looks stunning.

Yes, precisely. In my case it was a Honda Civic, same idea - the tachometer is analog like, but the speedometer is just the number. I would have preferred the speedometer to be like the tachometer.

[System Error Message]

The Future is very bright

[rx8pilot]

Me flying on final at night in the clouds (zero visibility) - pretending to check my phone while the autopilot does it's thing. The automation is awesome - not to replace the pilot, but rather give the pilots time to pay attention to things that cannot be automated. Like avoiding deer on the runway.

[Lukas]

Why do dashboard displays in cars always look like they've been designed by a three-year old? Why can't they look simplistic as the ones found on aircraft and locomotives? For reference: like this http://alert5.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Upgraded_CH_53_E_cockpit.jpg or that https://www.zusidisplay.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Grundbild_Nacht.png These may look dated on first sight, but will look the same in 10 years, whereas the interfaces found in cars these days will look completely out-of-style in 10 years.

[ez24]

The automation is awesome - not to replace the pilot, but rather give the pilots time to pay attention to things that cannot be automated.

Like playing Pokemon  on the runway   

[System Error Message]

Why do dashboard displays in cars always look like they've been designed by a three-year old? Why can't they look simplistic as the ones found on aircraft and locomotives? For reference: like this http://alert5.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Upgraded_CH_53_E_cockpit.jpg or that https://www.zusidisplay.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Grundbild_Nacht.png These may look dated on first sight, but will look the same in 10 years, whereas the interfaces found in cars these days will look completely out-of-style in 10 years.

Its to appeal to the 3 year old in you when you want to buy.

[rx8pilot]

Why do dashboard displays in cars always look like they've been designed by a three-year old? Why can't they look simplistic as the ones found on aircraft and locomotives? For reference: like this http://alert5.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Upgraded_CH_53_E_cockpit.jpg or that https://www.zusidisplay.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Grundbild_Nacht.png These may look dated on first sight, but will look the same in 10 years, whereas the interfaces found in cars these days will look completely out-of-style in 10 years.

Keeps people wanting to buy new cars.

[dannyf]

Why can't they look simplistic as the ones found on aircraft and locomotives? For reference

Because one is designed for trained professionals, and one for morons;

Because one has to display tons of information, and one not.

The question you should be asking is why cannot airplanes be designed so that the pilot need as little information to fly as car drivers do?

[LabSpokane]

Why do dashboard displays in cars always look like they've been designed by a three-year old? Why can't they look simplistic as the ones found on aircraft and locomotives? For reference: like this http://alert5.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Upgraded_CH_53_E_cockpit.jpg or that https://www.zusidisplay.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Grundbild_Nacht.png These may look dated on first sight, but will look the same in 10 years, whereas the interfaces found in cars these days will look completely out-of-style in 10 years.

FYI, that "simplistic" aircraft instrument panel displays on the order of two magnitudes more information than a car. It may not be obvious at first glance, but it's there.

The debate in the industry has been glass versus "steam gauges." Everyone was scared to death (rightfully based on how a/c electronics rely on antiquated electronics) that glass panels would be horribly unreliable. What ended up happening is that the glass panels and associated instrumentation turned out to be so good, few ever wanted to see a steam gauge again.

[LabSpokane]

Cool to watch. Just think about the code that it takes to run a modern airplane.

What was on the left window ?  Are they playing Pokeman on it?  Good lord what next.

Video camera with the viewer folded out and suction cup mounted to the windscreen.

[rx8pilot]

The debate in the industry has been glass versus "steam gauges." Everyone was scared to death (rightfully based on how a/c electronics rely on antiquated electronics) that glass panels would be horribly unreliable. What ended up happening is that the glass panels and associated instrumentation turned out to be so good, few ever wanted to see a steam gauge again.

Like me. Dual power buses, everything is redundant and there are still 'steam' backup gauges. On top of that, battery powered GPS, radio, lights, iPad, etc all add up to not needing needles. If things are so bad that all electronics in the aircraft have failed at the same time - you are no longer worried about navigation or turbine temps. I am talking about 'cheap' single engine planes. The A321 is an electronics/software masterpiece.

[BradC]

The question you should be asking is why cannot airplanes be designed so that the pilot need as little information to fly as car drivers do?

2 reasons.
- cars are VFR and only move in the horizontal plane.
- when a catastrophe happens in a car the driver needs one big red light that indicates "pull over somewhere safe" whereas a pilot needs enough information to both diagnose and work around the fault to actually enable him to pull over somewhere safe. Planes are complicated out of necessity rather than for the sake of it. Having said that a Cessna 152 is a lot simpler than my 28 year old car. It still needs more instrumentation for all the aforementioned reasons.

[LabSpokane]

The debate in the industry has been glass versus "steam gauges." Everyone was scared to death (rightfully based on how a/c electronics rely on antiquated electronics) that glass panels would be horribly unreliable. What ended up happening is that the glass panels and associated instrumentation turned out to be so good, few ever wanted to see a steam gauge again.

Like me. Dual power buses, everything is redundant and there are still 'steam' backup gauges. On top of that, battery powered GPS, radio, lights, iPad, etc all add up to not needing needles. If things are so bad that all electronics in the aircraft have failed at the same time - you are no longer worried about navigation or turbine temps. I am talking about 'cheap' single engine planes. The A321 is an electronics/software masterpiece.

You know times have changed when even Super Cubs have glass panels. 

[Lukas]

Why do dashboard displays in cars always look like they've been designed by a three-year old? Why can't they look simplistic as the ones found on aircraft and locomotives? For reference: like this http://alert5.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Upgraded_CH_53_E_cockpit.jpg or that https://www.zusidisplay.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Grundbild_Nacht.png These may look dated on first sight, but will look the same in 10 years, whereas the interfaces found in cars these days will look completely out-of-style in 10 years.

FYI, that "simplistic" aircraft instrument panel displays on the order of two magnitudes more information than a car. It may not be obvious at first glance, but it's there.

The debate in the industry has been glass versus "steam gauges." Everyone was scared to death (rightfully based on how a/c electronics rely on antiquated electronics) that glass panels would be horribly unreliable. What ended up happening is that the glass panels and associated instrumentation turned out to be so good, few ever wanted to see a steam gauge again.

My point was not about the amount of information displayed, just about the visual appearance. You won't find ugly gradients, gloss effects, "swooshes" and other graphical junk on glass cockpits and driver's desks. https://medium.com/@dnevozhai/car-dashboard-ui-collection-123ce3ab5303#.r86tpppxi Some of them are truly atrocious.

[Kilrah]

But it looks "modern" and "exciting" and that's what sells.... the "formal" / "boring" aircraft display is efficient but doesn't have any appeal.

Nowadays when we've got graphically elaborate GUIs in everything we touch, something minimal would just not make the cut with buyers.
Even aircraft panels make some effort to look a bit "better" for private-level aircraft with rounded icons, buttons, detailed gauges etc versus the extermely plain ones on an airliner. Same thing, the airliner's pilot  just needs to efficiently fly the thing he's provided, when the private plane's owner meeds to be attracted to buying it.
Same reason why an SR22 has a beautiful, super clean luxury car-like leather front panel but any "utility" plane just has tank-like robust metal panels.

[LabSpokane]

Why do dashboard displays in cars always look like they've been designed by a three-year old? Why can't they look simplistic as the ones found on aircraft and locomotives? For reference: like this http://alert5.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Upgraded_CH_53_E_cockpit.jpg or that https://www.zusidisplay.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Grundbild_Nacht.png These may look dated on first sight, but will look the same in 10 years, whereas the interfaces found in cars these days will look completely out-of-style in 10 years.

FYI, that "simplistic" aircraft instrument panel displays on the order of two magnitudes more information than a car. It may not be obvious at first glance, but it's there.

The debate in the industry has been glass versus "steam gauges." Everyone was scared to death (rightfully based on how a/c electronics rely on antiquated electronics) that glass panels would be horribly unreliable. What ended up happening is that the glass panels and associated instrumentation turned out to be so good, few ever wanted to see a steam gauge again.

My point was not about the amount of information displayed, just about the visual appearance. You won't find ugly gradients, gloss effects, "swooshes" and other graphical junk on glass cockpits and driver's desks. https://medium.com/@dnevozhai/car-dashboard-ui-collection-123ce3ab5303#.r86tpppxi Some of them are truly atrocious.

OK. Understood. I think there's no solution to cars simply because the market truly targets children of the buyers.

It's worth noting that there are *some* arguably gratuitous animations on the A321 cockpit, the most prominent being the artificial horizon. They made an effort to make that display resemble it's gyro-driven counterpart. In the past, the graphical implementations of the artificial horizon were more simplistic, but cheap computing horsepower has allowed the panel manufacturer this "triviality" because it's what pilots like a recognize from the good old days. I think it looks great and would prefer that, but it surely isn't necessary.