HOTAS

HOTAS, an abbreviation for hands on throttle-and-stick, is a style of aircraft cockpit Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) which allows the pilot to access the cockpit functions and fly the aircraft. This design style is seen on all modern US, European, and Chinese fighter aircraft, and on some Russian aircraft, where there is no direct access to the Flight Control System (FCS).

HOTAS is a shorthand term which refers to the pattern of controls in the modern fighter or interceptor cockpit. Having all switches on the stick and throttle allows the pilot to keep his "hands on throttle-and-stick", thus eliminating the need to take his eyes off the horizon and HUD. The goal is to improve the pilot's situational awareness, his ability to manipulate switch and button controls in turbulence, under stress, or during high G-force maneuvers, to improve his reaction time, and to minimize instances when he must remove his hands from one or the other of the aircraft's controls to use another aircraft system, and total time spent doing so.

The concept has also been applied to the steering wheels of modern open-wheel racecars, like those used in Formula One and the Indy Racing League. The HOTAS system has also been adapted for game controllers used for flight simulators (some such controllers are based on real aircraft controls, usually the F-16 Fighting Falcon which was a pioneer in the theory's application) and in cars equipped with radio controls on the steering wheel. In the modern military aircraft cockpit the HOTAS concept is sometimes enhanced by the use of Direct Voice Input to produce the so-called "V-TAS" concept, or augmented with Helmet mounted display systems such as the "Schlem" used in the MiG-29K and Su-27, which allow the pilot to control various systems using his line of sight, and to guide missiles to the target by simply looking at it.

External links

* [http://www.migman.com/hardware.htm Flight Simulation Hardware at the Flight Sim Museum]