IMC without an autopilot

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...

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL
Student-IA

The autopilot can fly the airplane more smoothly than I can, so if I have
one, I use it. Hand-flying in the clouds for more than 30 minutes or so
takes a lot out of me, so if I am going to be solid for any length of time I
want an autopilot.

Bob Gardner

"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...
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...

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL
Student-IA

In article ,
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...

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL
Student-IA

It's a useful tool if you use it wisely. It's a crutch if you let it be.

In article ,
Jon Kraus wrote:
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...

It's easier, but it's worth practicing with one. If you've never used
a wing leveller and tried to control pitch yourself it's a very odd
feeling.

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

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

An autopilot is nice; but for years, in military and private a/c, we
didnt have them, and we got along just fine.

vince norris

"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...
Just curious as to opinions about flying in IMC without an autopilot?

An autopilot is nice; but for years, in military and private a/c, we
didnt have them, and we got along just fine.

And disorientation in IMC lead to a lot of people not "getting along fine",
but rather splattering themselves over the landscape.

"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...
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?

It can be a crutch...but most likely it can save your life. It can also
allow a pilot to keep their eyes outside the cockpit a lot more.

OTOH, don't the airlines fly something like 98% of a flight on autpilot?
From rotation to final?

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 always through an automatic transmission was a crutch (or should I say
"clutch) for those too lazy to drive stickshift.

Well, it would seem an interesting scientific question as to whether the
introduction of autopilot indeed led to fewer IMC accidents. It seems
that one could appeal to the accident data history and find out.

I feel safer knowing that I have an autopilot, but that does not mean
that I am. For example, I doubt that if I got the plane into a really
unusual attitude (flying manually), that I could just flip my autopilot
on and everything would be OK. On the other hand, one might
successfully argue that if I habitually use my autopilot, the chances of
getting into an unusal attitude are lower.

In short, I do not think that this question can be answered by appeal to
intuition; facts based on data would be good here.

-Sami

Tom Sixkiller wrote:
"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...

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

An autopilot is nice; but for years, in military and private a/c, we
didnt have them, and we got along just fine.


And disorientation in IMC lead to a lot of people not "getting along fine",
but rather splattering themselves over the landscape.

Depends on the type of IMC your in.
if your in really turbulent air then it may better to hand fly the plane, if
its basically smooth then use the autopilot if you have one.
Using the auto pilot frees you up to do other things like checking your
arrival/approach plates, writing down clearances and so on. Plus on long
XC's your not wore out from hand flying the plane.
Auto pilots are not for the lazy, they are for people wanting to be safer,
single pilot IFR you want all the help you can get.

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...

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL
Student-IA

"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?

Once you know how to fly IFR, the autopilot is a good tool. However, you have
to know how to fly IFR first, and then how to effectively use the tool...