These aircraft can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
There’s no shortage of money being spent. The cost per airframe is already totally out of control. It’s another example of technological feature creep. Just because the aircraft CAN have a feature may not mean it should. The problem lies with both over regulation and too thin margins without adequate breathing room to just “operate.”
In the quest for ultimate efficiency per flight aircraft design has changed. We need to be asking ourselves if, for commercial aircraft, the aerodynamics need to be constrained to only designs that meet more stringent standards for inherent stability in flight. That means, FLYABLE, even when all automated assistance is turned off. If a pilot turns all the assistance off and has nothing but control of airspeed, pitch, roll and yaw can he easily fly the aircraft without knowing about two dozen killer quirks in the flight envelope?
There shouldn’t be more than one or two oddities in the flight characteristics but those should be easily managed MANUALLY if necessary. If they aren’t easily managed manually then the design needs to be changed.
If that means airframe design has to be kept simpler, that designs can’t carry as much weight per flight or are 5% less fuel efficient because of that simplification of aerodynamic design... then maybe that would still be a good thing.
I’m not saying we should do it this way, but it is worth considering.
Complexity brings increasing demand for training. The system (design.manufacture,training) in aviation assumes an inertia all its own. Remember that time and resources will fill whatever time and resources exist—it is the reality of all organizations.
Pilot training does overlook the simple for the needlessly complex. Electrical system issue? Why not look for the simple—battery off generators off-—and fly the thing like a Cub. It will (other than fly by wire etc) fly—though with some muscle input until the genius (s) up front figgers it out. Do not let the machine fly you. You Mr pilot are in charge.
Back to the rockin chair.