Flight Director Preferences
 

For thos of you who have flown using both types of flight directors, both single and dual cue, which do you prefer and why?

WHat are the pros and cons of each?

All of my professional flying has been with the widget shaped FD's of the CRJ, but I've ferried at P210 that had dual cue, although at the time I didn't know how to use it.

I would think that more would prefer the single cue because it provides bank information as well, rather than just a need to turn.

Flown both and much prefer the dual cue. I find it more accurate. But I know other guys who much prefer the single cue "V-bar". To each his own.

I've noticed it's more common to have it be selectable in glass cockpit corporate aircraft whereas airlines assign the mode you'll use (example, CommutAir uses the V-bar in their Dashes, but other operators use the dual cue, and it's non-selectable by the pilots).

I don't know that I've ever thought of bank being an issue with dual cue...I just roll until it lines up and hold it. No different than a V-bar.

Flight Director Preferences
 

I also prefer the dual cue and find it to be much more precise than the single cue. They provide the same information, just a different presentation. On the dual cue you simply put the airplane symbol where the roll and pitch cues meet.

I admittedly might favor it because it was he first flight director I used (on the jetstream 31). I used it again on the DC9 a few years later. When I have been able to select it, I always chose the dual cue over the single.

The airplane I am training in now has an entirely different flight director - two circles, one slightly larger than the other. The instructor says "make donuts". Don't really care for it on the PFD, but works ok in the HUD.

I was sort of a "traditionalist" for a long time and preferred the single cue but I got used to the dual cue and now I will generally use that. I do agree with you that I feel more comfortable with the single cue in specific situations such as check rides because it is somewhat easier for me to process the bank information. At the end of the day though, my default setting is dual cue.

Nice thing about dual is you can fix pitch or roll independently of the other. I.e., you can work on your heading with its steering bar and ignore the pitch bar for a while if you need to. With v-bars if you want to do the same thing you're kinda guessing if you have the right bank unless you pitch up/down to get into the v-bars.

Hey guys thanks for all of the replies... I can see how the dual cue would be more precise, but I agree that in certain situations the single cue would be easier to process with a high workload.

To each his own I suppose. Maybe after I use a dual cue in the future I'll prefer it better. I wonder if any CRJ operators have a dual cue?

Zap, sounds like you're flying an FBW product? Ejet?

The "donut" symbology sounds like a "flight path vector" type of FD, like the E170 /175/190 have

Yes. The new Globals also have FPV flight directors. Took a bit of time to get used to but more precise than the single cue. I'm not particularly a fan of FPV during single engine ops/V1 cuts.

Always enjoyed flying to the ladies legs myself "V" bars.

Flight Director Preferences
 

I prefer the dual cue, I suppose is also more precise