Lever, Knob, or Button? Working on a cockpit for sci fi story

[Skyviper 1,101]

Some of you know that from time to time I like to write short action packed sci fi stories. I have a sci fi craft that I'm working on called the XC-171 Atlas the little brother of the very reliable XC-86 Raider basically the same except the 86 has more armor... its more reliable in battle but it moves like shit compared to the Atlas which can transition from space to atmosphere more smoothly. These aircraft are just me taking some things and putting them together ... They can transport supplies and troops to battle line and then protect them by "becoming" an AC-130 (by turning their energy weapon arrays they use in celestial combat from forward to port) they can also be equipped to act like a B-1 bomber if need be to drop conventional gravity bombs or guided bombs and they are their own AWACS because of the electronic suites they have which aid them in celestial combat. In space they can transport troops and supplies, boarding parties, and short range torpedoes which can destroy cruisers.

The air crew for now is two people not sure if I should make it four or leave it at two because everything is computerized. I have the co pilot doing all of the shooting.  

I want to give these craft VTOL abilities and hung up on whether the co pilot should hit a button, turn a knob, flip a switch, or move a lever. I’m thinking a button that can auto assist the pilot with the transition from forward to vertical flight. … maybe hit a button and punch in desired altitude for the transition to level flight. Hit button 50ft AGL and the pilot does his thing and when altitude is reached they move forward.

 

I look forward to and welcome your thoughts on this.

 

[+russouk2004 6,958]

Why would you need buttons...voice control with ships computer would be the order of the day then,im sure.

[Wrench 9,848]

touch screens and voice interface

[TeargasHorse 287]

I'm with wrench, in theory, but there is something to being able to pull a lever. Making some of the seat-of-the-pants kind of flying, to give the feel of usefulness, not just a button monkey in the cockpit.

[Skyviper 1,101]

I'm licking the touch screen ideas; maybe I could use a lever or something as a backup.

[B52STRATO 215]

Agree with russouk2004. I was also thinking at some kind of Firefox-like mind-ordering system, and why not with a big red button as an auxiliary/emmergency solution.

[+Typhoid 231]

neural interface chip wired to the control system.

 

:)

[FastCargo 412]

As a human factors guy....

 

Different activities should require different interfaces.

 

Most push button activities can have a touch screen button equivalent.  In addition, designation of targets can probably be touch based unless there is a tight group.  Remember, the human finger is NOT nearly as accurate as a cursor.  A mouse or trackball is a great cursor manipulator because you can vary speed and direction with one input, verses slewing with a rocker switch which only gives you a fixed maximum and minimum speed of slew.

 

I tend to be leery of voice interfaces for anything but the simplest command.  Imagine trying to tell the computer to 'Change to frequency one three nine decimal five two'...and it gets it wrong.  Verses typing it in or spinning a knob.  I could be just an old fogey in that respect.

 

Finally, some things must be manual control with very obvious levers reflecting the switch or control position.  Stick, throttle, gear handle...and preferably, a guarded switch for weapons arming.  These things need to have very obvious handles, with the position of the handle/switch giving instant feedback as to the status of that control, even in a cockpit full of smoke in the middle of the night.

 

FC

[macelena 1,070]

Put a fiber optic wire in his/her brain. It would add to the creep level of the story if they could mindfuck the pilot with EW or something

[JediMaster 451]

Minority Report air typing!