Ask The Pilot

[Saab34]

Sounds like the NG has many options and variables across the fleets.

What about the 737-200/300/400? Had they been more uniform?

 

[markis10]

They do have the tiller as well

One wonders if KLM took the option just in case the King wanted to do some F/O work as a 737 rated royal, probably not.

 

[AviatorInsight]

Sounds like the NG has many options and variables across the fleets.

What about the 737-200/300/400? Had they been more uniform?

From what I can tell the 300-400-500 types had varying options but were definitely a lot less than the NG. The biggest one being rounded dials or that hybrid digital readout on the center panel. That then flowed onto the center pedestal with weather radar and navigation options. Not to mention air stairs vs no air stairs. There were also a few lights on the center panel that were options such as showing reverser status.

 

[jb747]

Sadly just about everything is an option. And that gives airline execs the opportunity to save money by not taking items that the users consider safety items. The widespread reluctance to order HUDs, and even when they do, to only place them on one side, is a good example. Dual HUDs only happen when the maker makes them standard.

On a similar vein, is the case of Southwest and the 737 coughpit. They're the reason that the 737 never got a proper coughpit, with legacy controls existing to this day. And Boeing are still getting exemptions to the rules requiring proper EICAS systems, on brand new aircraft. Standardisation is useful, but kept for too long it becomes an anchor.

 

[mjt57]

On a similar vein, is the case of Southwest and the 737 coughpit. They're the reason that the 737 never got a proper coughpit,

Like that spinning wheel on either side of the centre console?

 

[jb747]

Like that spinning wheel on either side of the centre console?

That's to do with manual pitch trim, and it doesn't exist on (say) the 767 because there's an electric back up means of moving the tail. The entire issue of manual trim came to the fore after the MCAS crashes, and I'm sure AV can tell us much more about that. The idea was to incorporate something similar to the 757/767 panels. That would have given integration with EICAS, as well as some degree of commonality amongst the Boeing fleet, rather like Airbus had. Sadly, Southwest had an extremely large order pending, and they refused to accept any differences that would have required training...a story that repeated itself some years later.