But, he did change the way we employed fighter aircraft and greatly improved our kill ratio….from nearly 1:1 to 10:1, ours to theirs…in Vietnam.

You gotta read the book I linked to if you haven’t already.

Maybe….I think the FWB jets can still be “man-handled” and not make it down safely. The computer can be overridden. So it still is up to the pilot to handle the emergency properly.

It’s the craftsman, not necessarily the tool, that makes the masterpiece.

Unfortunately, the same applies to golf equipment.

Thanks for the informative comment. What I wonder is if the fly-by-wire would have saved the other 10% of pilots from making a botch of the dead-stick landing in the Hudson?

On another note, did you during your time in the USAF ever run into a guy named John Boyd. If so, I would be interested in hearing your impression. If not, you should read the book Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. Now there is a book for you. I couldn’t put it down.

Capt. Sullenberger did a good job. So did his co-pilot and flight attendants. The flight attendants were the ones who got everyone out alive. He could not have done what he did without his crew. In my professional opinion, he should have given them more credit during the post-accident interviews. I hope he gave credit, where credit is due, in the book.

As a matter of fact, one of the irresponsible passengers opened up an aft exit by himself and that’s why the aircraft sank. That’s where all the water came in. That careless act could have cost many passengers their lives. My advice to all here is please follow the cabin and flight crews instructions; it will save your life in an emergency.

After 30 years of professional flying, I can estimate over 90% of every pilot I have ever flown with could have done what Capt. Sullenberger accomplished. He was at the right time and right place for this emergency. The starting conditions when the geese hit were perfect for a dual engine failure and dead-stick glide to the Hudson River. Capt. Sullenberger has seen this before, as well as thousands of other pilots, have done this in the simulator for many aircraft. The airplane had very little to do with it. Other aircraft without “fly-by-wire” would have performed the same way and successfully ditched in the Hudson River. They would not have “nosed down immediately”. All airplanes glide….some better than others. The Airbus is not safer than other commercial aircraft, nor do they glide better. It is based upon the aerodynamic lift to drag properties of the wing, camber, and current weight of the airplane….not if the controls are “fly-by-wire” or not.

Ask any experienced pilot (I currently have over 15,000 flight hours) if they would want to dead-stick a fly-by-wire electric jet that depends upon a battery to control it, or a cable-controlled aircraft with positive and secure connection to the flight controls. Most will want the latter. These are the Boeing type aircraft.

“If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t Going!”

Fly Safe,
Dr. John

You posted about “fly by wire” which made me think of this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Inviting-Disaster-Lessons-Edge-Technology/product-reviews/0066620813

It talks about the Concorde crash, the Ocean Ranger (a state of the art oil rig), Three Mile Island, and other disasters where humans could not cope with the mechanical/electrical/physical systems and got people killed. I am sure you will find it interesting, if you haven’t already read it.

Regards,
Larry

Thanks for the kind words. I’ll keep on keeping on.

Just finished the Wired article noted in your latest Tweet.

It is just brilliant the Jonah Lehrer keeps fulfilling the promise of “The Decisive Moment”. I’ve had a quick gallop thro’ Nicholas Fearn’s “Philosophy – the latest answers to the oldest questions”. During it I kept coming back to the notion that the ideas described by Lehrer answer many “philosophical” questions from a scientific viewpoint.

Will you be doing a Book Review for the New Year?

Desmondo