The cockpits of old – with a bewildering multiplicity of levers, buttons and analogue displays – are long gone, phased out beginning in the 1980s in favour of digitised systems known as EFIS, comprising a bewildering multiplicity of liquid-crystal displays along with and joysticks and soft keys to manipulate them.
This revolution was essentially threefold. First was cockpit design, of course. Second, it changed the way pilots and co-pilots worked
Rathke
A few of you may have had the privilege of visiting the flight deck of a commercial airliner, and found yourself fascinated by the myriad levers, buttons, and other mechanisms surrounding the captain and co-pilot. After seeing that instrument panel, have you ever wondered what kind of training a pilot has? Of course, they must have a flight license, but how do you study for it? How long does it take? Are there other requirements along with flight training itself? Here's a quick explanat
Patrick Smith’s column, Ask the Pilot is almost always an acerbic look at the airline industry with its many foibles and Alice in Wonderland rules and regulations.
But the regular contributor to Salon, the award-winning online news site, also provides helpful insights into basic questions such as: Are Pilots Ever Afraid of Crashing or what do all those bells mean during a flight. Human stuff that’s reassuring and informative.
Recently he took the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
