News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Fighter pilot breaks down every button in an F-15 cockpit [video]. Parent comment

Re:Fighter pilot breaks down every button in an F-15 cockpit... by Animats on Wednesday July 01, 2020 @08:28PM (#23708547)
Notice what's not there. There are very few controls related to aircraft system management. Fuel quantity and hydraulic pressure are about it. No voltmeters, ammeters, fuel flow rate, etc. Didn't even see an exhaust gas temperature or engine RPM gauge.

The fighter pilot needs to be focused on fighting the enemy, not managing the hardware.

For comparison, see the job of the B-29 flight engineer.[1]

[1] https://youtu.be/R5D1f_1XU8w

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Fighter pilot breaks down every button in an F-15 cockpit... by stevehawk on Wednesday July 01, 2020 @08:55PM (#23708754)
I don’t mean to squash your point, but I don’t believe a lot of those bits matter on a turbine vs piston. But you are absolutely correct, any plane with a FADEC or equivalent allows for the pilot to dedicate brain power to other things and it’sa great luxury, if not safety device (because the pilot can focus elsewhere).
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Fighter pilot breaks down every button in an F-15 cockpit... by Animats on Thursday July 02, 2020 @12:46AM (#23710093)
Right. In newer planes, there are lots of warnings of system troubles, but not much that has to be constantly checked. In early F-15s, there was a panel with 16 cautions and warnings that could light up. That's probably on one of the screens now.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Fighter pilot breaks down every button in an F-15 cockpit... by mschuster91 on Thursday July 02, 2020 @03:16AM (#23710753)
> The fighter pilot needs to be focused on fighting the enemy, not managing the hardware.

And in contrast to a civilian airliner, when shit hits the fan, the pilot can eject....

[ Parent | on HN ]