A Look Inside the New Air Bus A-380 Cockpit

Check out this link of the inside of the new AirBus A-380 ( via Dark Roasted Blend ). How cool is that? Use your mouse to zoom in and out and rotate around to see virtually every detail of the entire cockpit. Just look at all those controls!

I have a question, though: Where is the little button that triggers the public address system? I always wondered that. It must be a small one. Or it could be all computer controlled. The pilot might just say something like, "Computer, message to passengers," and all he has to do is start talking.

Is that an ash tray that the pilot has (left arm of his chair)?

When doing air travel, isn't it cool to catch a glimpse of the cockpit when you board the plane? You walk inside and there's the nice lady greeting you. Turn your head left a bit, get a sneaky peek, but not for too long, see, because that nice lady is scrutinizing you. (I'm always careful not to be too obvious with that out of the fear of being suspected of something really bad.) Take a quick look, then turn right and keep on moving. Seeing all that technology lit up like that gives me a small sense of security. I am reminded that a lot of planning and design went into the technology, that the flight crew has extensive training and experience in all aspects of flying, and that they know precisely how to respond to any in-flight glitch, from a faulty indicator light to a wing falling off. Breathe a breath of relief; relax, you're in good hands, I tell myself. How could something that cool and complicated looking fail?

I'll tell you how: If it's operating system was developed by Microsoft, that's how. The OS would probably resemble Microsoft Mobile 5, like what my Motorola Q (smart phone) runs. (I can't stand my phone, and maybe I'll write something about it later if it doesn't end up in a lake.) Needless to say, the thing would have to be "in-air-patched" a dozen times from New York to Las Angeles, and they'd probably have to reboot after each one. I wonder if some of those displays have Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 7 built-in?

Another thing that gets me is that it seems like the pilot and copilot can't see directly in front of the air craft. There's so many buttons, switches, and electronic displays, that the front window is way up there. What do they have to do, stand up to take a peek out front? Seems odd to me. I'd think that the view that is directly in front of the air craft is one of the most important ones because it could warn the pilot in case the plane were about to fly into something like a Cessna or that photographer who always seems to be able to take pictures of jets coming at him dead on. I should have a talk with the AirBus designers, those idiots.

I notice that this jet still has pedals. I wonder what they control. What with all the electronics and computers and such, why do they still need pedals? Maybe they activate backup wings in case a wing does fall off? Probably not. Hey, I had pedals in my pedal car when I was in nursery school. Good Lord, even my mother could design a better cockpit. That's it. I'm writing to the company. They need to go back to the drawing board.