I noticed the Boeing and Embraer both use control yokes in their aircraft, but the are very different designs. Airbus also uses a domestic instead of a yoke. I just wanted to know, from a pilot’s perspective, is it difficult to adjust to the different control yokes or sidesticks in terms of feel? I know there is a lot more to the differences in control surfaces to aircraft beyond this, but this has always been a minor detail that has intrigued me.
I have yet to fly a Boeing, but I currently fly an Embraer and I also got to fly an A320 sim during ATP CTP.
The control column in the Embraer is only slightly different than a traditional yoke. So, adjusting to it isn’t too hard. It does feel weird at first because you have to keep your knees together.
A side stick is a completely different concept. Chris can tell you more as he recently transitioned into the bus, but from the little exposure I’ve had all I can say is that, for me, it would be something that I would have to learn to appreciate.
I have flown an Embraer, several Boeings and now the Airbus 320. I did not like the Embraer yoke, I found that it was limiting in crosswinds and did not like the low pivot point on it. The Boeing yokes are easy to handle and provide a good feel of what the airplane is doing. The Airbus sidestick is okay, I actually got my private license in an airplane that had a side stick, so I had some prior experience with it. I find that the Airbus stick in incredibly sensitive and the control logic can be a bit funky in crosswinds. I have not found it hard to transition from the various control methods, it really only takes an hour or so to acclimate.
Like Chris I’ve flown all 3. The yolks are comparable and I was fine with either. The Airbus stick however is a very different animal. The bus is completely fly by wire therefore the JS is simply an input device and doesn’t actual move anything. There’s zero feel or feedback and even the control inputs aren’t linear as the computers “interpret” what they “believe” the pilot is requesting. Personally I’m not a fan.