Systems

By the 1940s, there had been such a proliferation of dials, knobs, lights and switches that there was a very real danger of pilot overload.

The first improvements were ergonomic: in 1937, the R.A.F. released specifications for a blind flying panel, and insisted that all their aircraft were supplied with it. Whatever other gauges were required, the six most important gauges would be identical in every R.A.F. aircraft. It ensured a

The Sperry Flightray integrated instrument.

minimum standard of instrumentation, simplified training, and reduced confusion when converting from one type of aircraft to another.

The next task was to reduce the number of gauges, and make it easier for the crew to digest information quickly and instinctively. Electrical signals allowed several types of information to be displayed in one gauge. In 1936, the Sperry Flightray used a cathode-ray tube to display artificial horizon, air-speed, and the landing path. Experimental development and testing continued until 1941.

The Smiths Flight System, released in 1955, was one of four post-war systems that took integration to a new level. It combined the blind flying panel with signals from the autopilot and the latest radio navigation. Nineteen separate functions were squeezed into just eight instruments. The blind flying panel was dominated by two new instruments (see illustration):