Smitty Two wrote:
Let's be careful with our choice of words, lest we cast murkiness
instead of illumination.
[snipped]
Many pilots love the simplicity, elegance, and nostalgia of "steam
gauges" -- the old, individual, three dimensional, panel-mounted
instruments. And, many also have no objection to updating some of that
stuff with LCD displays, particularly if the newer technology can do the
same job with substantial savings of cost, time, weight, and complexity,
while offering increased reliability.

In *that* endeavor, you have my blessing. But I'd restrain the idea of
pushing a left turn button on the panel that sends a radio signal to
some little motors in the wings and tail to make the control surfaces
move, to your nighttime "dreaming."

Yes proper nomenclature is really important. But in fact, I do mean
both the instruments and the controls. They should be brought as deep
into the digital domain as possible. Again, as an electrical/software
engineer (but not a pilot), I am biased. When I look into the cockpit
of an aircraift, I see opportunity for greater efficiency almost
everywhere. Certain questions that must be asked about conventional
instruments and controls would simply never get asked in the digital
domain.

Semiconductors fatigue. Their parts don't vibrate. They are not as
susceptible to variations in moisture and other environmental factors.
If I were to go dig out an old 1984 IBM PC from my schools computer lab
closet and flip the switch, it might not start, but that would be due
to rust on the mechanics. I could take the board out, put it in a
non-rusty case, power it, and it will boot. And it will compute up to
4.77 million instructions per second thereafter, and continue to do so
for 1000 years provided I did not drop or fry it.

This is why I believe that heavy metal will eventually give way to a
lightweight composites and plastics. The value proposition is just to
great to ignore.

It would be much more exciting if someone were to just do much of it at
once rather than spread the transition out over 50 years.

-Le Chaud Lapin-