single pilot ifr trip tonight

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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Mick Ruthven ) wrote:

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.

I am learning that any piece of equipment that increases the safety of my
flight ought to be used to its fullest potential.

And before the flames start, I'm fully aware of the need to be proficient
in flying IFR without the A/P.

Me, too. Once again, the key here is to avoid the warm and seducing arms
of complacency.

--
Peter












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Response not crossposted - it's against my religion.

On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 11:34:36 -0500, Peter R.
wrote:

And before the flames start, I'm fully aware of the need to be proficient
in flying IFR without the A/P.

Me, too. Once again, the key here is to avoid the warm and seducing arms
of complacency.

Disclaimer: I am instrument rated, but not much more than that; I
haven't flown an IFR flight plan since I got the ticket last year, at
least in a real airplane (I've done a few in Flight Simulator). That
said...

I plan to almost always hand-fly instrument approaches in practice
conditions, other than during training sessions with a CFII to better
understand the autopilot as used in APR mode.

But, if I'm making an approach in actual conditions, without that CFII
in the other seat, I'm probably going to let the autopilot fly the
approach to the MAP/DH or darn near close to that, with me managing the
vertical descent as needed on non-ILS approaches.

Of course, this assumes that I'm proficient in the use of the autopilot
for approach work...

But , if I'm in an airplane that has an AP that I'm not familiar with,
then I'll hand fly it. But in general I'd rather let the machinery keep
me upright and alive as long as possible when I'm Doing The Real Thing -
there's a lot going on then and I'll use every available aid to keep the
workload as manageable as possible.

My ego is OK with that approach (no pun intended). I would rather be
overly cautious and alive than doggedly hand-fly an approach in
marginal conditions.

My .02,

Dave Blevins