Timeline for Why do aircraft cockpit displays use uppercase fonts?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
14 events
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| Dec 20, 2019 at 3:20 | comment | added | Jeff B | "Capitals are fixed height and allow for twice larger letters".... this can vary depending on the x-height of the font chosen: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-height | |
| Dec 16, 2019 at 20:05 | comment | added | Yobert | I wish I could pick multiple answers! What a cool community. | |
| Dec 14, 2019 at 20:28 | comment | added | Anthony X | @Therac I should add that in the glass cockpit scenario, software complexity is a safety issue; more software or more complex software increases risk of bugs; lower-case lettering requires complex rules of typography as well as sophisticated "sub-pixel" rendering algorithms for optimal readability. All upper-case can use simple fixed-pitch or minimal kerning and no sub-pixeling and still be easily readable. That simplifies the software, increasing software reliability and provable correctness. | |
| Dec 14, 2019 at 18:50 | comment | added | Therac | @AnthonyX True. I'm looking years ahead, when we'll have as much display resolution as desired. In that case, for natural language (I imagine actual paper-paperwork will eventually be gone completely), mixed case wins. It's not life-critical, it's done on the ground or in cruise, so it doesn't have to shout. | |
| Dec 14, 2019 at 18:37 | comment | added | Anthony X | Even in "glass cockpits", all upper-case may have an advantage. Text rendered on a raster display can be rendered legibly on a much lower resolution display when all upper-case. When mixed-case is used, higher display resolution is required to avoid artifacts that would impair legibility. | |
| Dec 13, 2019 at 17:52 | history | edited | Therac | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Dec 13, 2019 at 14:00 | history | edited | Therac | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Dec 13, 2019 at 12:44 | comment | added | Gerry | The majority of text on the PFD and ND are labels. The primary information is the numbers and the symbols. As you point out, labels from the steam gauge days were in all caps and that carried over as pilots don't like change. Current FAA guidance in AC 25-11B is that all caps for labels is acceptable and text in sentence form should be in mixed case. | |
| Dec 13, 2019 at 5:51 | history | edited | Therac | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Dec 12, 2019 at 19:37 | history | edited | Therac | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Dec 12, 2019 at 19:31 | history | edited | Therac | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Dec 12, 2019 at 18:02 | history | edited | Therac | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Dec 12, 2019 at 14:14 | history | edited | Therac | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Dec 12, 2019 at 13:40 | history | answered | Therac | CC BY-SA 4.0 |