Gord Beaman wrote:
"miket6065" wrote:
snip


Probably was
that the pilot didn't have a direct linkage to the engine. It seems in the
wings were the flight engineers and the pilot spoke into speaking tubes
giving orders about power settings. This was almost as dangerous as the
glider idea and Karl complained bitterly. Finally the pilot had some direct
power control on the engines.



I doubt that this is correct...on the Canadian ASW aircraft (the
Argus) the pilots didn't operate the engines either, they never
touched them, and we flew that aircraft for over twenty years
with the flight engineers operating them...no accident was ever
attributed to that fact.

I think the difference is the FEs and pilots were together in the
cockpit of the Argus, not connected only by Gosport tubes (or
whatever the Germans called them).

I think there are still crewed aircraft around where the pilot can
reach the engine controls but normally the FE operates them... not
that I have any time in heavies myself, just hearsay.