"Ramapriya" wrote

For all the unbelievable sensation, I must confess that the experience
left me feeling that piloting is a mite too staid and has this
ineffable remoteness to it. I really hadn't known that planes have
this degree of automation... I mean, the things can nigh fly themselves.

Small planes do not fly themselves. YOU do the takeoff and YOU do the
landing, and all the flying inbetween. In exception to what I just said,
some high-end single engine planes do have autopilots that will fly the
plane to a certain course and altitude, and will also turn to a new course
that you have progamed into it. Very expensive to get those features in GA
(general aviation.)


There wasn't one moment where I experienced the
raw feeling one gets while driving a car or motorcycle. And I wasn't
even on some small, unsophisticated airplane. I know you'll be gasping
at how silly I could be for saying this but that's what I felt anyways
:\

Ramapriya


The only thing that might be silly is you thinking that it would be a raw
feeling to fly a transport aircraft. Lots of people call large aircraft
pilots "bus drivers", because that is about what they do. Calm, reliable,
comfortable transportation is what people expect when the fly commercial,
and usually they get it.

When you learn to fly, after a number of hours, you may become skilled
enough to fly some high performance airplanes, many of them being home
built, that can do steep banking, rolls, loops, and other exciting maneuvers
that will make riding a motorcycle feel tame.
--
Jim in NC


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