AUTOPILOT PROS & CONS

Robert M. Gary wrote:
I never use it. I don't feel like I'm flying if I don't have my hand on the yoke.


We have guys like that in CAP (most are 30 years older than me). The
problem is that those pilots cannot transition to the new G1000
aircraft because there is just no way to hand fly the plane, look for
traffic and exercise all the complex stuff the G1000 glass cockpit
provides. You really have to step back and manage the aircraft rather
than fly it. You need to know what the plane is doing and what it will
do next. The guys who are hand flying it are just keeping up and not
able to determine what the plane should do next. Of course the plane
can be flown just fine w/o the autopilot but passing the check ride
requires you to demonstrate using the G1000 features while airborne.

-Robert, CFI (G1000 instructor)


I agree with everything you say, yet I wonder whether a single pilot can
effectively manage it all with an autopilot and also keep a good lookout
for traffic.