My opinion is that an autopilot is one of the most important items of safety
equipment for single-pilot IFR. It frees a lot of brain cells for important
tasks like situational awareness and, in VMC, looking for traffic. My CFII
fully agreed with that and recommended liberal use of the autopilot for
single-pilot IFR. And before the flames start, I'm fully aware of the need
to be proficient in flying IFR without the A/P.

"Peter R." wrote in message
...
David Megginson ) wrote:

The poster also mentioned flying with an autopilot, though it fell out
of the followups. That makes a lot more sense as a personal safety
minimum, since the AP does actually help to keep the wings level.
Personally, I'm happy to hand fly, but I believe that my plane would
be safer if it had a simple wing-leveller that I could hit as a panic
button if I ever experienced extreme vertigo. I'm willing to fly
without it, but I can respect that other people might not be.

Interesting you mention this point. I am in the process of watching a few
of the Richard Collins Sporty's aviation DVDs. In the IFR Tips and
Techniques DVD, he offers a PoV that suggest a pilot hand flying in IMC
does not necessarily have the big picture view that a pilot who uses an AP
might.

--
Peter












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