Thank you for clarifying, I stand corrected. I've encounter a whole lot of ego and thin skin surrounding the primacy of the HUD in the C-17. Not a judgment, just a statement of my experience.
//RANT//
What is ultimately concerning to me is the institutionalized acceptance of mediocre engineer and lawyer crafted solutions to line operator problems with no input from said operators. Anyone remember the response to the F-22 pilot who was blamed for not flying his jet because he had no oxygen? (I know, a gross oversimplification, just hang with me, I'm ranting) Or on a micro scale, how about the functionality of the CNBP number pad on the J-model? Not a big problem, but an annoyance non-the-less. The mentality that we get handed "good enough" training, maintenance, and equipment with virtually no feedback channel it appalling. "But it's how the acquisition/training/regs/etc process works..." is the routine answer, with no one effectively challenging those processes.
If we can improve things, regardless of how major or minor, we should. Instead we accept them, demand that others do the same, and even shame them when they don't.
In today's aviation era, the C-17 should have a HUD that is allowed to be the sole source of flight information. Just like a C-130J should be able to fly GPS approaches. Just as both should have internal and external camera systems. Instead of fixing these things, we "make the best of it" because that's how we do it in X community, get with the program! In the end crews like those of Shell 77, Torque 62, this F-35, and countless others pay the price as they discover the holes in our training and technology.
But don't worry, I'm sure a Warning in the dash 1 will cover it.
//RANT//