The flight deck of the Airbus A380

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Dear-Regret-9476@reddit

Interesting that this photo is 21 years old, but this is still cutting edge technology in plane cockpits

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It’s cutting edge in airliners, because they’re certified differently and have other things to consider (fleet commonality, things like that) but by no means is this even close to cutting edge in aviation now. Go look at a G750 cockpit or something like that. They’re way more advanced than this. HUDs, IR cameras, etc…

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Kardinal@reddit

G700 cockpit

Thanks for this breadcrumb.

The G700 cockpit almost has the same polish and finish as a modern luxury car interior. It doesn't just look state-of-the-art, it's actually aesthetically beautiful and has a lot of cool factor.

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CroissantEtrange@reddit

They should have followed modern car designs, and replaced everything with one big touchscreen /s

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Aconite_72@reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/cbicqv/f35_cockpit/

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Vamp1r1c_Om3n@reddit

Always wondered how pilots felt about this massive change over the F18 or F16 cockpits

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lordtema@reddit

A Norwegian test pilot who went from the F-16 to the F-35 described flying the F-16 as similar to writing an essay by hand, while driving at 100 kph and said that the F-35 makes everything so much easier due to it`s sensor fusion.

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bruhmate0011@reddit

If it works dont fix it

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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-Owlette-@reddit

Kinda fitting since this particular plane (F-WWOW) is still being used by Airbus to this day as a test bed for new technology.

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Quiet_Finger_6223@reddit

I’m not a pilot but this must be one of the sexiest looking workspaces I’ve ever seen.

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Slice5755@reddit

I've got a question to pilots. For a cockpit like this A380 one, how the fuck do you remember what all the buttons do and what each random symbol that may pop up on one of those screens mean?

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Lawsoffire@reddit

Type rating gets you through everything needed but also a lot of the buttons seen in the picture is just the keyboard for the MCDU. Which is where you program things like the route, fuel, weight, takeoff and things like that. And its doubled on both sides. So is less "this button does X thing on the aircraft" and instead is just a keyboard and a numpad and some buttons that changes what screen it is.

Then the radio below that, and a few buttons there, but most of the "real" buttons are overhead, but they just follow a "if the light is off, its working as intended" philosophy.

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thesuperunknown@reddit

The PC-style keyboard is also for interacting with the FMGS (Flight Management and Guidance System), just like the MCDU keyboard.

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22Planeguy@reddit

Honestly, once you spend a lot of time in jets, all the controls and switches mostly just make sense. They all have labels and are in logical spots, generally next to switches that do similar or related things. Like for example, the left engine bleed air switch is to the left of the right engine bleed air switch and right below the air conditioning switches that run off of the bleed air system.

The cockpit designers of modern jets spend a huge amount of effort making very specific choices to make these cockpits as intuitive and functional as possible. Things like how pretty much every knob is shaped differently so you don't spin the wrong one accidentally, or that switches that have safety implications all require compound movements to actuate. 'Off' is down or towards the back and 'on' is up or forward as a rule.

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fr_hairycake_lynam@reddit

Switches are like underpants, when they're up they're on!

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Galf2@reddit

it's honestly pretty easy. I fly a lot of airbus in MSFS and I can tell you what everything does in this picture easily, it's all very well laid out, well described and well placed.

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walex19@reddit

Was gona say this. I fly airbus a lot in MSFS and I’ve actually had conversations with pilots when I get to go in the cockpits after real flights and they’ve been impressed lol

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NoTap8889@reddit

Type ratings xd they make absolutely sure you know them

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datnt84@reddit

a) It is your job to know this. b) They are not randomly placed but in logical groups c) They are labelled d) There is a nice manual just in case something malfunctions

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bluegrm@reddit

This video shows the flight deck at night, with take off from 4:30 onwards.

https://youtu.be/yY729woUs3g

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Twitter_2006@reddit (OP)

Thank you for sharing this,

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Imaginary_Grade_1716@reddit

Even pilots get a buff wow

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Toc-H-Lamp@reddit

Do you get certified separately for left and right seat?

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abfgern_@reddit

Dumb question but what if you are right/left handed and in the opposite seat? Do you have to fly the plane joystick with your weaker hand?

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tracernz@reddit

Out of order ISIS 2.

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Geek_Wandering@reddit

Them controls are no yoke.

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w_a_w@reddit

Is the flight deck any relation to the poop deck?

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WildKakahuette@reddit

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Geek_Wandering@reddit

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Lump001@reddit

Appreciate you

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Geek_Wandering@reddit

It ain't Reddit without bad wordplay.

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DonNadie2468@reddit

Someone else asked a related but different question...

Most people are right-handed. The captain is in some sense the most "important" of the two pilots. So wouldn't it make more sense for the captain's joystick to be to his/her right?

And even if it's not a big deal, why couldn't the designers just have kept the joystick on the same side (relative to the pilots) for both pilots rather than having a mirror image?

Finally, is there a more "grown up" word than "joystick" that is used in this context?

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juusohd@reddit

They are called sidesticks altho everyone seems to say joystick.

Flying with you non-dominant hand is easy. A couple sim sessions do it fine.

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crucible@reddit

Why have the put a keyboard on the tray?

That’s where you put your plate of steak and frites!

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hegroj@reddit

How does it feel to hold the stick on the left while being right-handed?

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walex19@reddit

I got used to this real quick even on MSFS! Thought it would be impossible but now it’s like second nature lol

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Alexthelightnerd@reddit

Manual flying is a both hands and both feet kind of thing, so it ultimately doesn't really matter what hand is dominant, they'll both be doing something. It takes a moment to mode switch when you fly something that's reversed or sit in the other seat, but that's about it.

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fly-guy@reddit

No huge issue. You get used to it rather quickly.

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hegroj@reddit

Pass the stickie on the left hand side

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radioactivenerd@reddit

What are the big colourless bulges on either side of the thrust controllers, below the keyboard things?

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RapidCyclist@reddit

It's basically a mouse with a track pad at the front (the side facing away from the camera).

The bulge is meant for the palm of your hand to rest upon and then you can use the track pad with your index finger.

With this, you can manipulate a cursor on the screen in front of the "mouse" and also use keys to switch to different screens, for example the ND in order to select a taxiway at your destination for the BTV (brake to vacate) function of the A380, so it will decelerate the aircraft for you to conveniently exit at this taxiway with a speed of approximately 10 kts.

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radioactivenerd@reddit

Wow I had no idea brake to vacate existed.

Thanks for the detail

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walex19@reddit

Yep. The 350 has it too. I use it on MSFS as well lol

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ComfortFun6426@reddit

It is meant to give your hand a firm position, when there is turbulence around , You press your palm against the bulb and manipulate the buttons with your fingers.

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TheEpic34@reddit

It's a mouse

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Quality_Cabbage@reddit

They're the keyboard and cursor controllers. They have a trackball behind them and a button on the outside, both not visible in this picture.

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travelking_brand@reddit

I just realized that the pilots need to be able to use the joystick with both their left and right hands.

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ShaemusOdonnelly@reddit

Kind of, but not really. When you start flight training, you will be flying with the stick/yoke in your left hand, because students are usually seated on the left in those small airplanes. Then, once you are fully licensed and start type rating for an airline cockpit, you switch to the right seat, flying with your left hand. But you will stay there for multiple years until you upgrade to Captain, which will then transfer you to the left seat and you will stay there as well. Pilots don't switch seats, unless there are any special conditions (Instructors, Relief Pilots on long haul etc.) and even then you get special training for this.

But it really isn't that akward. It's not like trying to brush your teeth with your non dominant hand. Its like driving your car with your right hand on the gear lever and the left hand steering the car - people seem to not have any problem doing that either, right?

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travelking_brand@reddit

Thanks for the info! I am bidextrous when it comes to a lot of things so not a problem for me i would guess.

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Logical_Ad_2758@reddit

Honestly nothing beats the airbus flight deck layout tbh. having an actual pull-out tray table to eat your crew meal instead of awkwardly balancing it around a yoke is peak luxury.

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Twitter_2006@reddit (OP)

I like Yoke of the Boeing planes and I prefer the brown cockpit instead of the Airbus' grey ones.

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PRISONER_709@reddit

Genuine curiosity, I don't get how the yoke is any better then the stick.

IMHO the stick is definitely better because it's designed to be used with a hand and you'll always do so, while the yoke it's designed to be used with two hands (two handles, one in each side) but you'll always use it with one hand.

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