F-35 cockpit vs. legacy Gen4 types

[DaveRindner]

I love all the buttons and switches and sliders inside cockpits of DCS: modules. That is on hi fidelity PFM/ASM and detailed working controls. The clutter is pretty.

One of my favorite cockpits, not yet in DCS , is Sepecat jaguar.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=gzXEBnmh&id=CA31D39078362183DA17E1C858FDF5959A2C9B62&thid=OIP.gzXEBnmh_IKBFJSnACO_sgHaE8&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fc1.staticflickr.com%2f9%2f8056%2f8128878207_4e2815b3a3_b.jpg&exph=683&expw=1024&q=Sepecat+Jaguar+cockpit&simid=608011713331334063&selectedIndex=5&ajaxhist=0

 

AV-8B cockpit

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=TY22mIf%2f&id=896BA4C3219AD31CD720A0C57290F3904C38DB57&thid=OIP.TY22mIf_ZbtLAXSFUIpy0QHaHe&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.boeingimages.com%2fDocs%2fBOE%2fMedia%2fTR3_WATERMARKED%2f6%2f3%2f5%2f0%2fBI46645.jpg&exph=1024&expw=1014&q=AV-8B+Night+Attack+cockpit&simid=608053486121651515&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0

 

Looks insanely complex in real world.

 

Then there is F-35 cockpit.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=mTbgpooW&id=2DDC9C953DAE4CFF8D1C50D6EE3EC2765BD977C0&thid=OIP.mTbgpooW3uvyhkSaC1UF1AHaE_&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F99%2F36%2Fe0%2F9936e0a68a16deebf286449a0b5505d4.jpg&exph=416&expw=618&q=F-35+Instruments&simid=607989495459352149&selectedindex=2&ajaxhist=0

 

 

Nice and clean, I thought. Then realized that the side panels of cockpit are covered , for security.

[wasserfall]

The F35 is a mockup in this photo

[schroedi]

I don't think that touchscreens are a good idea in a fighter plane. In a car it is quite easy to hit the wrong button because of the movement of the car, this isn't much different in a plane, especially during turbulences and you have to constantly look at the point where your onscreen button is. Whith haptical buttons you can push them without looking at them because you can feel them.

[MustangSally]

I don't think that touchscreens are a good idea in a fighter plane. In a car it is quite easy to hit the wrong button because of the movement of the car, this isn't much different in a plane, especially during turbulences and you have to constantly look at the point where your onscreen button is. Whith haptical buttons you can push them without looking at them because you can feel them.

 

 

Well I'm pretty sure that the LM engineers have thought of that and from all accounts the pilots seem pretty impressed.

 

 

300 F-35's now in operation and thousands of flight hours - I doubt it's a problem!

[gavagai]

I don't think that touchscreens are a good idea in a fighter plane. In a car it is quite easy to hit the wrong button because of the movement of the car, this isn't much different in a plane, especially during turbulences and you have to constantly look at the point where your onscreen button is. Whith haptical buttons you can push them without looking at them because you can feel them.

 

Research has been done in this and you are correct. A human can reach for a button or knob without looking. Pointing on a screen requires visual focus.

 

The point of the F35 displays is that they can be customized according to pilot preference (on the ground hopefully).

[beppe_goodoldrebel]

IIRC F35 have a voice recognition software , so you can actually do things without using hands.

How many and how I have no idea.

 

EDIT:

[sk000tch]

I don't think that touchscreens are a good idea in a fighter plane. In a car it is quite easy to hit the wrong button because of the movement of the car, this isn't much different in a plane, especially during turbulences and you have to constantly look at the point where your onscreen button is. Whith haptical buttons you can push them without looking at them because you can feel them.

 

Both civil and military aviation has moved to glass cockpits from vacuum tubes, mil has had huds and mfds for a while but full glass cockpits have been around in civilian were civilian first (see B787 Ana suite for example, or cirrus for GA). It takes some training to transition, but I’ve never heard a single person say glass wasn’t better from a performance aspect (functionality, SA, etc). It is quite literally the equivleant of analog vs digital.

 

That said I get what you’re saying, the million switches and vacuum instruments in traditional cockpits have a certain charm. I’ve had an Oregon ANG f-15 pilot say he has more fun seat of pants flying a super cub at 100kts over mulnomah county farmland (with a quiet radio) than the eagle. His point was just more about the joy of flight, and how modern military aviation (since 60s70s) the pilot stuff is a very small slice of your workload relative to everything else going on. Though I’m not sure I buy it (I’d give my left nut to run some time in a f-15), but I think your point is similar. There’s a lot of nostalgia in aviation for a reason. There are a lot of cool historical planes, but arguing that the modern tech is not better from a functionality standpoint is just dead wrong.

Edited November 9, 2018 by sk000tch