Ibby wrote:

Your statement was obvious nonsense from looking at the picture of
a real airplane.

Afraid MX is correct on this one.

His original statement was there are only a dozen or so switches and
buttons.

If you look at the entire panel, there are a lot more then that.

The overhead panel on 737's and
747's handle the IRS's (Inertial Referencing System, these are like
GPS), Hydraulics Systems, Battery and Electrical power system, fuel
control systems, engine autostart systems and continuous ignition if
visible moisture is present,anti-ice, pressurisation and air
conditioning systems, fire control system and internal and external
lighting controls. They do NOT control the atitude and etc of the
aircraft and require little input after takeoff. The Flight
Management Computer controls the majority of the flight by taking
control of the autopilot and autothrottle systems. The Mode Control
Panel which has 13 buttons, 4 knobs and 2 switches for the Flight
Director and Autothrottle are really all that is required for input to
manually over-ride the active flightplan in the FMC.

Airline pilots use this method when vectored into an airport by ATC,
or when given specific headings to follow or altitude and speed
restrictions

Ibby

--
Jim Pennino

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