Autopilots

[JBC]

There shud be autopilots for Saturday morning flights and Sunday morning flights only. HA...HA........

[Needles Split]

There shud be autopilots for Saturday morning flights and Sunday morning flights only. HA...HA........

 

Especially for that Labrador crowd........been there done that and threw away the T-Shirt !!!!

[Skidz]

"Auto-pilots" in helicopters ain't nothing new.....I've used them for over 30 years. I take-off......the engineer gets his seat all adjusted the way he wants it......and I say "you have control and keep her at xxxx', plus or minus 100 ft.". That way I get a chance to catch-up on some paperwork, have a bite/coffee, he gets a chance to demonstrate that he can fly smoother then me.......and probably can..........and he also gets to "feel" the a/c for any vibrations or such that I may be missing (engineers like that "feel" thing).  

 

That's what I call a "real" AP and it even buys me a beer every so often if I treat it right.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I agree with you on that one Cap. Having been the AP on more than one occasion... :up:

 

Besides, have you seen any AFCS that obey voice commands before ?

[Intrepid]

Single pilot IFR, in my opinion, is a recipe for disaster. Sure it can be done - especially in some places that aren't too busy. In a busy IFR environment, it isn't reasonable for one pilot to have the level of situational awareness needed to do the job safely. Also, throw in even a minor failure or finger problem and the workload can drastically increase.

 

Then there's what's happening at minimums. Even with a fully coupled autopilot doing most of the flying, it's essential for one person to be on the dials monitoring and to be ready for the missed approach (at any time during the transition to visual and the landing.) and the other looking for the required visual reference to carry out a safe landing. Throw in a crosswind and even moderate turbulance, and the likelihood of being able to carry out an effective landing safely, decreases.

 

Having AP's is excellent for decreasing pilot workload on flying the machine. This allows both pilots to be more situationally aware, and therefore, safer. This is even more important as air traffic levels are increasing.

 

Cheers.

[67november]

my hats off to the wise old bird for using a "real" AP, and letting the engineer get the "feel" of the craft. there was nothing like being able to experience the squawk the pilot noted in the A/C log book :up:

[Reddog]

You mean something like an organic force trim, right?

[Reddog]

I think I'd rather have a real autopilot.

 

An electric one that won't wander off course, get distracted by all the girls on the beach or the flashing lights on the panel or fall asleep when nap time approaches.

[Jet B]

Woooot... You mean that us VFR seismic bush monkeys can have an autopilot fly the Astar picking bags???

 

Then I can blame all the knocked over pins on the Autopilot instead of the cone setups...

 

Better get a little mini fridge in there too, I don't like warm Redbull, and I will need lots to help me stay awake while the AP does all the work.

[WTF]

I drove an SPZ7600 unit for a couple of years and I would favor that ahead of a copilot anyday. SPIFR is all about competence and situational awareness. Monitoring a new cojoe in IFR and planning is worse than being by yourself. The autopilot systems are easy to use if you deposit a reasonable amount of time in learning. Running your microwave is way harder...

One interesting little issue with the SPZ7600 was when you depressed that little 'GO AROUND' button. Lots of red seen on the IIDS

Its all good ####.

[baboy]

:punk:

 

As for any AP, you first have to understand it before you use it! They are a great tool in Automation but lets not forget that it requires much more attention.

 

With the 7600, we have gone from a 2 pilot crew to a 3 member crew. One flier (AP) and 2 monitors. Capt and FO.

 

:punk:

 

Baboy.

 

:shock: