LOU wrote on Aug 31^st, 2011 at 8:31pm:

Case in point - the Air France Airbus that was lost off the coast of South America. I know that all hell broke loose and things were not making a lot of sense, but if the pilot just placed the nose on the horizon and set a power setting like cruise, the plane would most likely fly.

Oh, I think that case will go around for some more time, but you are right, when reading that official part on e. g. the attitude at one spot (they've recorded 35 degrees pitch up or so) one begins to wonder. BUT, one always wonders about crash reports since, normally, this stuff isn't supposed to happen.
That old but true talk about a chain of events leading to crashes once again showed how valid it is and it's more than truck load of work to get to every part of that chain in detail.


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As for the lean training, it's all about money!

I think our statements absolutely concur there, Lou.
Another cynical quote from an unknown author regarding transportation safety. 'As long as the price for a lost life exceeds the costs for safety training and equipment, the industry will be somehow safe.'
So, lets keep the price for a human being's life up, otherwise the economist take over completely.  :)


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No more teaching systems, because there was nothing you could do to fix the darn thing anyway

True once more, Lou. And lets not forget that nowadays commercial flying involves technologies where it would take two professor's minds to just explain how some sensors on that fancy plane work in detail.
Quantum Mechanics isn't a pilot's business and it also isn't one of every engineer on the plane for example.
So, some parts of the actual eduction limits are a matter of fact. If we would still fly the DC-3s this may be different, but to e. g. explain how a head up display is able to align the lines you see to the rw outside maybe takes longer than the whole engine part of the DC-3.


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Want to try explaining the northerly turning error?

No, but let me give you an answer why.
I imagine that it's not interesting for people to follow my explanations on items which one can look up with Google or something. The interesting part would be to hear from an experienced pilot like you why this may be important to know for pilots. It's all about the stories again and your speech is able to transport the relevance of such items, while mine just is some smart ass talk.

As you saw my writing before, on a commercial plane we may indeed end up with 'not important, because it's darn unlikely that you have to rely on the magnet compass and must know that e. g. flying East and accelerating will turn the thing into a more northerly heading for the time the acceleration forces influence it, the opposite happens when deceleration affects the plane'.
Please correct me of course, I'm the layman in this noble circle, that's for sure.
By the way, I never realized this detail in FSX, your hint brought me to it. So 'undershoot North' actually has a relevance in my non-gyro plane now.


And, Lou or Jay or anybody else. lets not forget this one.

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The elephants start marching on the wings

For I think stall buffet. Are there more of such funny descriptions?

Of course, the barber's pole, coffin's corner and such things are known, but there must be more.  :o
Lou had some good ideas there with the noodle and the cement block or the various names for their 727 'pigs'.