I never said you couldn't fly IFR without an autopilot. For myself being
new to IFR flying I wouldn't chance IMC without the autopilot working.
Since my club only has newer planes, they all have two axis autopilots,
that way if something happens (spacial disorientation) I'm covered. I
think I'll bring up this topic in a new thread and see what kind of
responses I get. Thanks for the enlightenment.

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL
Student-IA

Matthew S. Whiting wrote:

Jon Kraus wrote:

IMHO an autopilot is a must have if you are flying IFR. :-)


Good thing I didn't know that or I'd not have been able to fly my
Skylane for six years in IFR! The Skylane also apparently didn't know
that it needed an autopilot as it flew in the clouds just fine without
it. :-)

There were a few times when an AP would have been nice, such as when
getting a full route reroute and having to reprogram the GPS, but even
that could be done in stages. Just get the first waypoint in and then
you could add the others one or two at a time.

Does tend to keep your flying skills pretty sharp ... and I never had
to worry about my AP failing at a critical time.


Matt