This paper, by the Assistant Chief Electro-dynamic Engineer of the British Aircraft Corporation, was originally presented at the Annual General Technical Meeting of the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators in September 1976.

This paper discusses a programme being carried out jointly by the British Aircraft Corporation and Hawker Siddeley Aviation into the design of flight decks for civil transport aircraft scheduled to enter service in the 1980s. The flight decks of today have evolved as a result of experience gained since manned flight began; it would be foolhardy to ignore this background and in applying new technology care must be exercised in preserving, as far as possible, conventions and practices which have long been established.