IMC without an autopilot

The autopilot can be an important safety tool, but pilots should have a
thorough knowledge of how the autopilot works and what its limitations are.
'George' does a good job of flying the airplane in smooth air and frees you
up for other tasks, such as monitoring your route, talking on the radios,
eating a sandwich, etc. The flip side is that it is easy to relax a little
too much and stop paying attention to what is going on.

On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 00:36:01 GMT, Jon Kraus
wrote:

Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?
Does an autopilot make flying in the clouds safer or is it just a crutch
for the lazy?
For myself being new to IFR flying I feel safer knowing that if needed I
could turn the autopilot on. Maybe it is a false sense of security...

I fly instruments frequently in a PA28-180 equipped with a
wing-leveler. I hand-fly 90% of the time, but will use the
wing-leveler if I want to grab a chart or brief an approach, copy a
re-routing, etc.

If I had a more capable autopilot (especially altitude hold), I would
probably use it more often.

Single pilot IFR is serious stuff, and can be very demanding at times.
Knowing when and how to use an autopilot can reduce workload, which if
nothing else - makes for a more alert pilot when reaching the
destination.

-Nathan

Jon,

Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?


One datapoint: In Germany, a two-axis autopilot is required by law for
single-pilot IFR.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Thomas Borchert wrote:
Jon,


Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?



One datapoint: In Germany, a two-axis autopilot is required by law for
single-pilot IFR.


It is true that Europe is very enlightened when it comes to general
aviation ... not! Most European countries would like to ban light
planes entirely and regulations like this are just another step towards
that end.


Matt

[repost as my original post never appeared - apologies if it does]

Jon Kraus ) wrote:

Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?

Richard Collins, a very experienced pilot, columnist for Flying Magazine,
and star of the Sporty's "Air Facts" video series, is a big advocate of
flying single-pilot IFR with a dual-axis AP.

His argument is that a pilot who turns over IMC flying to the AP will be
able to better understand the developing "big picture" (current location,
nearest airport, weather, approach needed, aircraft's health, etc.).
Doing so will make the flight inherently safer than a flight where a pilot
must hand-fly and juggle all of the extra tasks.

Having logged a bit of actual time, I subscribe to his viewpoint. However,
after experiencing an AP failure in IMC while flying to Boston last year, I
certainly see the need to remain proficient at hand-flying. Balancing
these competing goals (hand flying versus the safety of AP flying) is a
challenge.

--
Peter R.















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Jon Kraus wrote
Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?
Does an autopilot make flying in the clouds safer or is it just a crutch
for the lazy?
For myself being new to IFR flying I feel safer knowing that if needed I
could turn the autopilot on. Maybe it is a false sense of security...

For the first two years I owned my twin, I had no autopilot. I would
routinely launch into low IMC, single pilot, fly for hours in IMC, and
shoot an approach. It was really not a big deal.

Eventually I put the autopilot in. I find that on short trips, I
rarely use it. However, on very long trips where I might spend 5-10
hours in the plane, it's great to be able to turn it on and relax,
listen to the CD player, and rest for a couple of hours. It's not
really a safety item - it's a range extender.

I do not use the autopilot in IMC. I get so little of it (only about
15-20 hours a year) that I'm not giving any of it away to the
autopilot. I think I've turned the autopilot on in IMC twice in the
two years I've had it, for a combined total of maybe 5 minutes.

If you get into an unusual attitude, turning the autopilot on may not
help much. In my case, it caused a divergent oscillation in pitch
that had to be damped out by hand (I do not have altitude hold). In
turbulent IMC (which is most IMC on the Gulf Coast) the autopilot
provides a rough ride - I prefer to fly myself. I'll be honest - I
probably underuse the autopilot. I don't trust it any more than I
would trust an instrument pilot who flew fixated on the attitude gyro
without ever crosschecking - which is exactly how the autopilot flies.

I have seen pilots become autopilot-dependent, and unable to handle
the workload of a normal IFR flight without it. That scares me, and I
guess that's the reason I don't normally turn the A/P on in IMC. I've
developed my skills to a fine edge; I don't want to dull it.

Michael

"Jon Kraus" wrote in message


Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?

Are you planning to use an autopilot for your checkride?

Does an autopilot make flying in the clouds safer or is it just a
crutch for the lazy?

IMO, the safety question is really one of proficiency. If a given pilot is
proficient, then an AP will only add a marginal level of safety. However,
the more a pilot's proficiency degenerates, the greater the margin of safety
provided by an AP. Again, just my opinion.

Of course, this assumes no system failures and a pilot who realizes that an
AP does not in any way negate the need for a constant instrument scan.

For myself being new to IFR flying I feel safer knowing that if
needed I could turn the autopilot on.

Then there's your answer. Why bother with our opinions?

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/TknoFlyer
http://www.pocketgear.com/products_s...veloperid=4415
____________________

When I was an examiner, if the plane had an autopilot the applicant had to
put it through its paces to convince me that s/he knew how to use it.

Bob Gardner

"John T" wrote in message
ws.com...
"Jon Kraus" wrote in message


Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?

Are you planning to use an autopilot for your checkride?

Does an autopilot make flying in the clouds safer or is it just a
crutch for the lazy?

IMO, the safety question is really one of proficiency. If a given pilot
is
proficient, then an AP will only add a marginal level of safety. However,
the more a pilot's proficiency degenerates, the greater the margin of
safety
provided by an AP. Again, just my opinion.

Of course, this assumes no system failures and a pilot who realizes that
an
AP does not in any way negate the need for a constant instrument scan.

For myself being new to IFR flying I feel safer knowing that if
needed I could turn the autopilot on.

Then there's your answer. Why bother with our opinions?

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/TknoFlyer
http://www.pocketgear.com/products_s...veloperid=4415
____________________

John T ) wrote:

"Jon Kraus" wrote in message


Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?

Are you planning to use an autopilot for your checkride?

The DE for my instrument checkride allowed me to use the AP after we
leveled off. I explained to him that in actual IMC I would let the AP take
over so that I could retrieve and brief the approach plate. He had no
problem with that explanation.

He also allowed me to use the moving map (Bendix/King KMD-550) in the C172
to fly a partial panel VOR approach to the missed and to the hold. Imagine
that!

--
Peter












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Jon Kraus wrote:
Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?
Does an autopilot make flying in the clouds safer or is it just a crutch
for the lazy?

I think it would make single pilot IFR easier, but it should only make
it safer if the pilot is not competent to fly IFR.


For myself being new to IFR flying I feel safer knowing that if needed I
could turn the autopilot on. Maybe it is a false sense of security...

I think it is. You have to assume that the autopilot will not only fail
at the worst possible instant, you have to assume it will try to put the
plane in an unusual attitude as part of its failure process. If you
can't avoid an unusual attitude while hand flying, how are you possiby
going to recover from one induced by your failing AP?


Matt