Dr. O
Pattern Altitude
Did you become a pilot to play with a computer screen?
If so, why did you waste all that money learning to fly when you could be at home flying an F16 with a cold beer at hand?
As you can tell I am not an admirer of the glass panel... All the pilot does is play with the toys...
Now, being a cranky old fart let me say that an AP is a necessary tool for single pilot IFR in "real" IMC... I'm not talking about popping up through an overcast, cruise on top, and let down through a broken deck to your airport, and do your best John Wayne walk across a rain spattered ramp while whistling... I do that all the time with Fat Albert and he hasn't had an autopilot since the radio shop pulled out the old Bendix huff-n-puff back in the 70's because it was no longer repairable...
I'm talking of penetrating a winter front with turbulence and some sleet and Chatty Cathy in the ATC room who keeps saying " November 666FU turn to heading 230, climb and maintain 11, one one thousand, stand by for amended clearance to hold at DOOMD, say how many souls on board?" Along with the sinking feeling in your stomach your pen just squirted out of your fingers to somewhere under your feet, and your rear seat passenger just announced, "Boy, it's really hot in here!" ... You could use a little help on the controls right about now...
But there is a vast difference between having an AP to control the workload in IMC and having video games in multiple screens... If the latter is what you want go to Best Buy and they will fix you up...
The other issue I have with fully coupled AP's and shooting coupled approaches in real IMC is that when they go offline the pilot is often behind the airplane, off trim, and doesn't realize the AP has been correcting for a 30 knot cross wind... This has fatally bit more than one pilot who sat there fat dumb and happy as the AP flew the plane for the past 4 hours....
denny-o
If so, why did you waste all that money learning to fly when you could be at home flying an F16 with a cold beer at hand?
As you can tell I am not an admirer of the glass panel... All the pilot does is play with the toys...
Now, being a cranky old fart let me say that an AP is a necessary tool for single pilot IFR in "real" IMC... I'm not talking about popping up through an overcast, cruise on top, and let down through a broken deck to your airport, and do your best John Wayne walk across a rain spattered ramp while whistling... I do that all the time with Fat Albert and he hasn't had an autopilot since the radio shop pulled out the old Bendix huff-n-puff back in the 70's because it was no longer repairable...
I'm talking of penetrating a winter front with turbulence and some sleet and Chatty Cathy in the ATC room who keeps saying " November 666FU turn to heading 230, climb and maintain 11, one one thousand, stand by for amended clearance to hold at DOOMD, say how many souls on board?" Along with the sinking feeling in your stomach your pen just squirted out of your fingers to somewhere under your feet, and your rear seat passenger just announced, "Boy, it's really hot in here!" ... You could use a little help on the controls right about now...
But there is a vast difference between having an AP to control the workload in IMC and having video games in multiple screens... If the latter is what you want go to Best Buy and they will fix you up...
The other issue I have with fully coupled AP's and shooting coupled approaches in real IMC is that when they go offline the pilot is often behind the airplane, off trim, and doesn't realize the AP has been correcting for a 30 knot cross wind... This has fatally bit more than one pilot who sat there fat dumb and happy as the AP flew the plane for the past 4 hours....
denny-o
