Many of the pilots flying BA’s fleet of Airbus A380 “SuperJumbo” long-haul aircraft transferred from the
short-haul fleet – currently comprising the Airbus A320 family. They find the bigger aircraft remarkably
similar, thanks to the planemaker’s emphasis on commonality across its jets.
The British Airways A380 aircraft (British
Airways)To the lay person, the most obvious elements are the joysticks, one for each pilot, and the thrust levers in
the centre of the console – delicate controls for vast and powerful engines capable of lifting nearly 500
people and tonnes of cargo for thousands of miles. But the pilot’s attention is on the all-important
instruments, which have transitioned from an analogue to a digital age.
Thanks to the head-up display (HUD), the key parameters of airspeed, altitude, angle of attack and heading
are deftly displayed on transparent screens that remove the requirement to glance back and forth between
controls and cockpit window.
This is an edited version of an article that appears in the August edition of High Life magazine.