Yes, on each side of the EICAS. That pic was of an EMB-145LR. This config was an issue during the Lagacy mid-air investigation. They thought the pilots foot may have turned off the transponder while on the panel foot rests, which is actually conceivable.
A friend flies the 650. Pic he took over the Atlantic. Mach .90 and FL450. Strange looking PFD with no brown. I guess the dark blue represents the water below? Maybe a little confusing if there's an upset. And the light blue/dark blue isn't the horizon. Also, what I'm guessing is a transponder ident on the yoke. Seems strange. Don't use that often enough to put it there. Image Unavailable, Please Login
That's a synthetic vision setup. It's really nice when you get used to it. I've never done unusual attitudes over the water, but I think there would be enough cues that it wouldn't be an issue. You do have to get used to the fact that what we think of as the "horizon" is several degrees above what the synthetic vision shows as a horizon, but it's easy once you get used to it. As for the ident button on the yoke, quite a few airplanes have that. In Citations, that's a requirement if you're going to fly single pilot. In the Commander, I find it to be useful, since there is no hunting around for it--- and I'd say it gets used maybe once every other flight. Here is Garmin's version of the synthetic vision, over water, with just a little bit of island visible. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I like that synthetic vision. I also like the champ. And for Christian-you are correct and I still do.
Agreed. Synthetic vision is wonderful, but it does take a little while to get your head around it at first. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Fred cockpit. Its a surprisingly comfortable flight deck (mainly the rest areas not shown) that makes those 24 hour duty days marginally less ****ty. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Having never seen this, I'm asking out if curiosity. Please correct my understanding. The synthetic vision is showing a representation of the actual horizon. Presumably that changes with altitude? We might see a good portion of a sphere if it were installed in the U-2 for example and viewed at altitude? Should it coincide with the zero degree pitch line on the AI over flat land at near ground level? Having been very intimately involved with HUD and HMD design (as well as accident investigation) I'm curious as to what validation that element went through, if known. There have been myriad concepts employed to enhance spatial orientation in flight and just as many have become a root cause in mishaps when used under abnormal conditions. What is intuitive when cruising at FL500 during the day can become confusing at night when inverted and 45 degrees nose low. Thanks!
I think it does adjust for altitude-- in fact, I'm sure it does. That said, even at low altitude, the synthetic vision horizon is way below the normal "horizon." This seems to be true for every synthetic vision system I've seen. I think it may be because historically, artificial horizons were not really trying to show the "horizon"-- they were zeroed at the pitch attitude which more or less represented level flight. Or, maybe not level flight, but an angle of attack of the fuselage of zero, if that makes sense. When you're flying VFR next time, look at the horizon and see where it is in relation to the nose of the airplane. It's also going to be a function of eye position. I don't really know the answer...
Garmin actually refers to what I was calling the "horizon" as the "zero pitch line." http://static.garmincdn.com/pumac/190-00601-02_0E_web.pdf page 5-40
That's because it's always been called that on AIs and HUDs. The zero pitch line is relative to earth. People get confused regarding what they call other points of reference. In fact, after perusal of the Garmin OIs it's clear even Garmin doesn't know what to call the references...calling the zero pitch line the "horizon line" in the AI discussion then changing it to the correct zero pitch line when discussing the synthetic vision display...strong work by the engineers. I still find the synthetic horizon interesting though essentially useless, if not potentially harmful, if incorporated in a display intended for attitude control and feedback. This is exceptionally concerning if it always looks like the pic provided earlier as blue on blue...that really bugs me! I'm sure it's because I think a little differently in that I'm always trying to make things simple for a pilot. When guys fly at night by themselves, with 10 pounds of stuff strapped to their craniums, looking through toilet paper tubes while deliberately screaming at the ground at sometimes up to 60 degrees nose low, while other stuff is being sent up to meet them, the last thing I want is to add any little confusing element to what is already incredibly complex. Cockpit design research, development and testing is a cool field...
The blue on blue is unusual-- that's what you see over water (and any islands are represented as green or brown). This is much more typical over land. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Interesting. Assuming the green circle is FPV (Flight Path Vector). So the airplane is flying level right now with a slight drift to the right. Looks like pitch is negative, which I'm assuming isn't the case. So is the pitch bar and FD is in reference to the ground, not the horizon? Seems a bit odd to me. Like the airspeed right up against the barber pole. Remember, if you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space!
Pretty windy for FL240. Again, synthetic vision is wonderful. Yes, it is slightly counter-intuitive initially, but once you get used to it, it is fantastic. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The last 2 pics look quite different to me. The last one at FL240 looks normal. Pitch a little above the horizon. Level flight. But the previous one at FL280 looks like the pitch is negative while flying level. Is that the case?
I think I may have been descending a little or something. I was flying today, and looking at this. The airplane is level when the tip of the triangle formed by the yellow bars is touching the zero pitch line. If you look at the picture I posted on the previous page (showing the blue water in the synthetic vision), you'll see what I'm talking about.
To get our minds off of flight path markers, horizon lines, and zero pitch lines... I always wanted to fly this jet. When I finally had my chance while assigned to Boscombe, a short stint in this wonderland of sensory overload made me pretty happy I'd never have to again. Image Unavailable, Please Login
