Cool attitude indicator

"Kev" wrote in message
oups.com...
The AI is an instrument that's overdue for better human engineering.

Almost everyone's had a moment of confusion figuring out which way the
plane was banking, because of the way the horizon moves but the
airplane "wings" stay level.


Regardless of the form of the instrument, there will always be a "momentary
confusion".

There are two mismatched lines... one "moving" and one "fixed". No matter
which form of AI is used, there is ALWAYS "momentary confusion" until we
understand WHICH ONE is it that our control input will affect correctly (to
bring into alignment with the other).

I believe NASA's done studies showing that if you simply had the
current AI's "wings" tilt towards the side you were turning, pilots had
no problem instantly understanding their situation.


I suppose that depends on how you teach pilots their relationship to their
environment.

If pilots feel themselves "fixed inside" the AIRPLANE, oriented in space the
same as is the airplane, then it makes more sense that they will feel at
ease "controlling" the FIXED line and matching it to the movable one.

If they feel themselves to be fixed relative to the earth, and therefore
controlling the aircraft from "outside", like a video game or an RC model,
they will feel at ease controlling the MOVABLE line to match it to the fixed
one.

I have flown an aircraft, and I have flown a model. In both cases I have had
no trouble understanding which "line" I had to control, but also in both
cases I have experienced that momentary "confusion".

I could be wrong but....
....I would think that from an unusual attitude in VMC, a pilot's first
reaction would be to try align his dashboard (fixed relative to pilots
vision) with the horizon (movable relative to pilot's vision). Why this
should be different in IMC, requiring the opposite form of AI, you can
explain to me.


By the way, I am assuming that Jay really meant to have his laser line
projected onto the windshield as a HUD, not onto the panel.... on the panel
its just an wider version of the current AI, isn't it???