Auto Pilot

mulligan

mulligan

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Sep 27, 2015
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Mulligan
I am curious on how much VFR pilots use auto pilot. If you do use it, how soon after takeoff do you engage and how soon before landing do you disengage.

The part I like about flying is the actual flying the plane part but was curious on how and when others use it.
 
I usually hand fly at least part of any trip. The autopilot comes in handy on longer trips though. Hand flying can get tiring especially in turbulence. AP gets turned off when setting up to enter the pattern, usually about 10 miles out. I enjoy flying the plane but I love my AP!
 
I hand fly until I get to my chosen altitude and usually the last 10 miles.
 
Only one plane I fly currently has an autopilot. I'll use it for longer trips if I get sick of hand flying. However, I almost always take a different plane with no ap on most long XC trips and with some trim it usually will hold heading and altitude pretty well hands off so an ap isn't missed too much.
 
It's a big plus VFR, comes in handy when your trying to figure out why the GPS in not working the way you think it should. Also IFR for the same reason or ATC gives you a new route and you have no idea were the fix they want you to go to is.
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I learned from a Cirrus pilot so I engage the autopilot on the take-off roll and it stays on until the 'chute pull!
 
I fly VFR/IFR in my plane, 85% VFR. I really only use the AP for flights over 2hrs, or longer IFR stuff too.
 
I use the ap from about 2000 agl to maybe few miles out from airport. However I am mostly ifr in the flight levels. It really helps on decent as I am usually trying to slowly power the plane back and keep my speed down below 195 indicated while approach is making me descend at 1500 to 2000 fpm
 
Hand fly up to altitude and anything under an hour. Over an hour engage the autopilot at altitude and turn off around 30 miles out. If I'm shooting an approach I'll switch off between hand flying it and using the autopilot. I want to keep my hand flying skills up but also want to help my button pushing skills up as well.
 
The Cirrus is actually kind of a pain in the @ss to keep in trim. I mostly fly to get somewhere and flying IFR, so most of my flying lately has been on the autopilot, but if I am VFR, I am almost 100% off the autopilot. I like to carve through the sky like a snowboarder if I am not on an IFR flight plan.
 
Use the autopilot whenever you want to. It helps in turbulence also, not so tiring. It's really mostly for long trips and IFR. Lets you do other tasks (navigate, radios, take photos, eat, urinate etc). Can you get by without it? Of course.
 
I do a lot of 2+ hours XC trips and the AP is on almost every time once I am straight and level.

I also will use the AP a lot with passengers when I am doing a scenic flight and there is a lot of chatter in the cockpit and I am doing a lot of talking.

Solo local flights I am usually hand flyin as well as all climbs and descents.

Friends would always be amazed at the even basic technology that we have on board a single engine put put plane when I would engage the AP, press direct enter enter, and say "find me airport, plane!"

Purely a convince thing.
 
Last edited:
Clark1961 said:
I learned from a Cirrus pilot so I engage the autopilot on the take-off roll and it stays on until the 'chute pull!
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Does the Chute Pull disable the autopilot or does it sit there and try to correct the flight path all the way down?

Anyhow, not a Cirrus and the Navion flies pretty nicely hands off anyhow, but I still tend to use the autopilot on serious XC flights.
 
I only really use it on cross countries >1 hour and mine only holds heading so there's still the altitude element. I like using it, too. It allows you to check out a bit more of the scenery while you're up there!
 
What is this auto pilot that you speak of?
 
DFH65 said:
What is this auto pilot that you speak of?
Click to expand...

It's that thing in the panel that you throw lots of money at but it still fails at just the wrong time on every flight.
 
I used mine on one long trip just for the novelty. Might use it a bit more for IFR assuming I'm able to learn the stuff.
 
One of the Archers in our fleet flys with one wing heavy. The Autopilot is very useful in fighting fatigue. Let George keep the wing up! But that plane is out for a complete paint job right now, let's hope when they re-rig it that the heavy wing isn't into the future.
 
Skip Miller said:
One of the Archers in our fleet flys with one wing heavy. The Autopilot is very useful in fighting fatigue. Let George keep the wing up! But that plane is out for a complete paint job right now, let's hope when they re-rig it that the heavy wing isn't into the future.
Click to expand...

I have the poor man's auto pilot, Trim.
 
My Mooney is a cross-country machine and I fly it on autopilot almost 100% of the time. I engage after raising the gear and flaps, then disengage prior to entering the traffic pattern for landing.

My RV-8 is a day VFR stick-and-rudder machine and I always hand fly it. It has an autopilot but I've never used it, except to test it out during my pre-buy.
 
I don't have a set routine. I just use it somewhat randomly.
 
JasonM said:
The Cirrus is actually kind of a pain in the @ss to keep in trim.
Click to expand...
This is actually true.

Pilot: "I only want a little bit of trim"
Cirrus: "Imma give you a whole lot, muthaf*..."
 
If the plane has it I will use it during cruise for a bit so I can look around, look for landmarks with the chart.
 
Hour or less, I gotta fly my airplane. More than an hour, then I'll let George log a little time.
 
I engage the autopilot 3 to 5 minutes after I get bored.

Straight and level flight or straight and climbing/descending = boring. So I usually engage it upon climbing above pattern altitude on an XC. I usually don't use ap when flying practice approaches - although I usually do at least one or two coupled approaches to maintain systems currency.

I use it any time there is a long period of straight flying. I have better things to do with my brain power than hold heading and maintain altitude.

There's no rule that says you have to be IFR/IMC to use an ap. They're very helpful tools when used correctly.
 
It's handy if you have a lot of glass - easy to spend a lot of time heads-down and button pushing; glass is labor intensive, and time consuming. I use it VMC on cross-country, when IFR.
 
I paid about ten grand to put an autopilot in our rattle can so hell yeah I'm going to use it!
 
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