Rock solid

[Gilbert Buettner]

There is no autopilot in this aircraft. The pilot has his hands on his knees (and no, I am not touching the controls). Yet he is on course (see the HSI), on altitude, and perfectly trimmed.

And get this - the guy flying does not have a pilot certificate.

 

[EdFred]

Back when I had the Cherokee 180 my brother and I were flying to the UP. Everything was trimmed out, and the fuel was perfectly balanced. My brother and I were able to get the plane to climb, descend and turn each direction just by leaning forward, aft, and as much as we could left and right. Lasted for about 15 minutes before the fuel imbalance returned.

 

[Pinecone]

There is no autopilot in this aircraft. The pilot has his hands on his knees (and no, I am not touching the controls). Yet he is on course (see the HSI), on altitude, and perfectly trimmed.

And get this - the guy flying does not have a pilot certificate.

It is obviously your superior instruction.

 

[MauleSkinner]

Amazing what you can get an airplane to do if you don’t fight it.

 

[Zeldman]

Many years ago I used to fly a 182 that would trim out hands free. It also had a working Cessna 400 Navomatic autopilot. Previous history showed that it had a off airport landing that dang near ripped off the right wing.

It had a really nice metallic red, white and blue paint job that folks really ooohed and aaahed over, until they saw the standard brown and orange plaid interior...

 

[ateamer]

A properly-rigged Cessna or Piper does that pretty easily. The key is to stay by flying with just the tips of the thumb and one or two fingers, and use the trim wheel the same way. Fly it like that, trim it precisely after getting power settled in, and enjoy the ride.