Autopilot

"John Gaquin" wrote in message ...

".Blueskies." wrote in message

Yup, folks don't realize they are flying in a human monitored robot...


You don't get paid for pushing the button.

You get paid for knowing which button to push.



and when to push it! ;-)

".Blueskies." wrote in message

The 747 has been capable of this for years, since ~69 or so. The pilot
does have to advance the throttles though...


Not in all cases. I flew -100s and -200s. Some of the -200s were
autothrottle equipped.

"John Gaquin" wrote in message news

".Blueskies." wrote in message

The 747 has been capable of this for years, since ~69 or so. The pilot does have to advance the throttles though...


Not in all cases. I flew -100s and -200s. Some of the -200s were autothrottle equipped.


The autothrottle was for approach, right? Takeoff still needed to be initiated didn't it?

".Blueskies." wrote in message


The autothrottle was for approach, right? Takeoff still needed to be
initiated didn't it?

IIRC, the autothrottle could be engaged in most modes, but there was no
takeoff mode available. When I used it (which was rare) it was in either
cruise or approach. I didn't like it much.

"John Gaquin" wrote in message ...

".Blueskies." wrote in message


The autothrottle was for approach, right? Takeoff still needed to be initiated didn't it?

IIRC, the autothrottle could be engaged in most modes, but there was no takeoff mode available. When I used it (which
was rare) it was in either cruise or approach. I didn't like it much.


That's the way I understood it. The autopilot et al could handle all the FD stuff, but you still had to set power until
coupled on approach. It's got to be a blast flying one of those birds...The closest I got was flying the PamAm 747 sim
in San Fran way back when.

"Ramapriya" wrote in message

Don't ask me why such Airbuses aren't certified for pilotless flight;
union pressures, perhaps )

Unmanned flight has been feasible for several years. There is no concerted
effort to implement such a program in the airline world for the simple
reason that no one would get on the airplane.

"John Gaquin" wrote in message
news
Unmanned flight has been feasible for several years. There is no
concerted
effort to implement such a program in the airline world for the simple
reason that no one would get on the airplane.

Basically, "If I'm going to die in this plane, I want there to be a
reasonable chance that the pilot will also"...

"Grumman-581"

Basically, "If I'm going to die in this plane, I want there to be a
reasonable chance that the pilot will also"...


No, I don't think that's it.