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I was playing on my daughters XBox last night and during a quiet moment between playing guitar for the Ramones and Driving an Audi R8 through the Italian Alps I was studying at the control pads.
The very first video games I ever played some 30 years ago were controlled by square boxes with buttons placed around them wherever there was a space, I guess this was dictated by manufacturing proccesses and limited technology at the time, but todays controllers are ergonomicaly designed to fit exactly into your hands with all the buttons, switches and sticks exactly where you want them.
Now if you look at the design of todays transmitters it seems there is little difference between todays Futaba's, JR's & Spektrum's in terms of layout to those of their predecessors. While the technology inside has come on leaps and bounds over the decades the basic layout is still remarkably similar.
I know E-Flite have gone some way towards advancing the feel of their Tx's, but for the serious flyer with the exception of rounded off corners there's not much difference in overall layout.
It seems like the Tx's for RC cars have evolved from the old days of sticks to the modern pistol shape trigger & wheel type, but flight model control is very much set in its ways.
For example if I just let my hands relax and take a natural flying position in front of me it would make more sense to have the bulk of the switches on the back of the casing. Imagine how much easier it would be if the trim sliders were on the back and you could operate them with your fingers without having to take your thumbs of the sticks. The idle up & throttle hold switches could be there too, I know there's a chance of knocking them when you put it down but they could have them reccessed or have guards around them like the trigger of a gun.
And I also think it would help a lot if the sides were more rounded and made out of the same stuff as modern car steering wheels so that they're easier to grip and more comfortable.
Maybe its just that there's just so many people out there who have got too used to this layout and the big Tx players think change isnt needed, in the same way that I'm typing this on a keyboard that is exactly the same shape and layout as the typewriter keyboards of a hundred years ago?
The very first video games I ever played some 30 years ago were controlled by square boxes with buttons placed around them wherever there was a space, I guess this was dictated by manufacturing proccesses and limited technology at the time, but todays controllers are ergonomicaly designed to fit exactly into your hands with all the buttons, switches and sticks exactly where you want them.
Now if you look at the design of todays transmitters it seems there is little difference between todays Futaba's, JR's & Spektrum's in terms of layout to those of their predecessors. While the technology inside has come on leaps and bounds over the decades the basic layout is still remarkably similar.
I know E-Flite have gone some way towards advancing the feel of their Tx's, but for the serious flyer with the exception of rounded off corners there's not much difference in overall layout.
It seems like the Tx's for RC cars have evolved from the old days of sticks to the modern pistol shape trigger & wheel type, but flight model control is very much set in its ways.
For example if I just let my hands relax and take a natural flying position in front of me it would make more sense to have the bulk of the switches on the back of the casing. Imagine how much easier it would be if the trim sliders were on the back and you could operate them with your fingers without having to take your thumbs of the sticks. The idle up & throttle hold switches could be there too, I know there's a chance of knocking them when you put it down but they could have them reccessed or have guards around them like the trigger of a gun.
And I also think it would help a lot if the sides were more rounded and made out of the same stuff as modern car steering wheels so that they're easier to grip and more comfortable.
Maybe its just that there's just so many people out there who have got too used to this layout and the big Tx players think change isnt needed, in the same way that I'm typing this on a keyboard that is exactly the same shape and layout as the typewriter keyboards of a hundred years ago?
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