Pfd: Fill & Download for Free

“Green dot speed” is an Airbus term and also an instrument indication. This small green dot on the left side of the Primary Flight Display (PFD) indicates the best Lift over Drag (L/D) for the aircraft.It indicates the optimum for best angle of climb, maximum endurance speed, and single engine “drift down” speed.Green dot speed is also the desired speed after a dual engine failure since it will maximize the power-off glide range too. Green dot speed was a key topic in the accident report of US Airways Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River.Green Dot Speed - Best Lift/Drag Speed

The first Airbus aircraft to get electronic instrumentation was the A300. And at that time, the PFD speed tape was designed to mimic that of an analogue air speed indicator. The reason behind it was probably to make it easier for those pilots who were used to flying with analogue instruments to change over to digital instruments. Analogue speed indicators have a needle which you match to the speed you want to fly. A line which corresponds to a digital speed is very similar to flying with the needle (the design used by Airbus speed tape).An A310 cockpit with both the analogue and electronic instrumentation. As you can see the speed dial has 5 knot increments and the same idea is followed on by the digital scaleThe Airbus PFD and other flight instrumentation evolved very little over the years. And that was done on purpose. The reason behind it was to ensure the cockpit commonality, so that a pilot can transition from one Airbus to another Airbus rather easily. The PFD of the A350 is almost the same to that used in the A300. The symbols used and the flight mode annunciations are exactly the same. For example, the symbol for managed speed is a magenta triangle in both the A300 and the A350. The design did not pose a problem for the pilots. So, it never changed. In Boeing airplanes, you will see that each aircraft has its own symbology and instrument concept. But now you can see that they also focus on the cockpit commonality. The nicest example being the Boeing 737 MAX inheriting a similar electronic instrument package to that of the Boeing 787.The striking similarities between the PFD of an A310 (left) and that of the A350 (right)So, now you might be wondering what is better? I fly the Airbus A320 and it is my very first aircraft with a digital speed indication. For me, it is pretty good in terms of design and I have no complaints. But I would say that the numbered speed tape of Boeing is better in terms of situational awareness because it digitally displays the exact speed of the aircraft. In an Airbus, yes you can derive your exact speed because the gaps between the numbers are very concise. But I cannot immediately tell you, say if we are flying at 247 knots. Is it a problem? Not really. Because we usually do not fly that precise speeds. You either maintain 245 knots or 250 knots. We never really fly at speeds such as 246 or 249 knots.Airbus will be soon changing their PFDs though. They have been studying synthetic vision system (SVS) for their airplanes for quite sometime now. The new PFD screens will show you a synthetic vision of your surroundings which would further increase the situational awareness of the pilots, specially when flying in low visibility conditions. In 2018, Airbus released a video of a test flight done to test the SVS system. They used a modified A350 for the job, with the left PFD enhanced with synthetic vision. The SVS has the speed displayed in numbers (picture below). So, one can say that it is on its way.

Yes. And our seven-foot-tall governor will fight anyone who says it’s socialism.The check is usually like a thousand bucks, which sounds like a lot, but when you’re paying $7/gal for gasoline (in off-road communities; I’m paying $3.08) and maybe thousands of dollars a month in heating oil, it doesn’t go far. In fact, late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez even donated 500 gallons of heating oil to every rural Alaska household to help ends meet, for several years.The main problem with the Permanent Fund Dividend, IMHO, is that it’s become an entitlement that many Alaskans simply expect, and as such, has turned into a political football (see election of seven-foot Gov. Mike Dunleavy).The worst thing is that because we don’t dare touch any of the fund’s earnings to help pay for things like our schools and colleges and ferry system, we will probably soon be paying an income tax, (which we haven’t had for 40ish years) and have to declare the PFD as income.And if you think that’s crazy, our 7-Foot Governor will fight you over that, too.