Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!sun!amdcad!amdcad!military From: consp04@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (Dan Boyd) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Can the backseater in f-18's bring it home? Keywords: backseater Message-ID: <1991Apr19.071142.14555@amd.com> Date: 18 Apr 91 17:59:29 GMT References: <1991Apr18.032319.21395@amd.com> Sender: military@amd.com Organization: SUNY Binghamton Lines: 34 Approved: military@amd.com From: consp04@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (Dan Boyd) hnkst2@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Hanhwe N. Kim) writes: > In the previous debates, it was argued that pilots liked the f-18 > better because of its higher survivability due to its being a > 2-seater. The F-18 is a single-seater. The two-seat version is a trainer. It's not supposed to be used in combat. > Obviously, there are positive human factors from dividing the workload, > but are there purely technical factors involved as well? The single best all-around sensing device for air combat is the Mark I Eyeball. Adding another guy adds another pair of eyes. This is extremely important. This can save your life. Watch some of the fighter engagements in 'Top Gun'. You'll note that the main function of the pilot is to fly the airplane and look out the window, and the main function of the RIO is to work the radars and look out the window. You can tell the back-seater to keep his eyes on something while you do something else. The HOTAS concept (Hands On Throttle And Stick) is, in some sense, important for similar reasons as touch-typing. HOTAS means all the controls you're likely to need during a dogfight are implemented as switches and buttons on the throttle and stick, so you don't have to let go to do things.. A touch-typist can look for mistakes in the copy because he doesn't have to look at the keyboard to hit keys. A pilot in a HOTAS-configured cockpit can concentrate on the single highest priority in air combat maneuvering: Looking Out the Window. Daniel F. Boyd consp04@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu