ASF "5 mistakes pilots make" seminar

I've heard him speak too. He's good.

I'd augment his article by saying, after "level the wings", and "set a level attitude," TURN ON THE AUTOPILOT! If you know how to operate the autopilot, you also know that it's not going to be confused by being in the clouds! Using it will allow you to step back and supervise!
 
gprellwitz said:
TURN ON THE AUTOPILOT! If you know how to operate the autopilot, you also know that it's not going to be confused by being in the clouds!
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It will be if you are also having an electrical problem and you TC is winding down and that is the place you AI gets it's info from. It is not a bad idea though but I think it should be tempered with a bit of reality of knowing the AP limitations.
 
In my former plane and in the P-Baron the KFC-200 needs both an AI and HSI to function. When I lost my HSI, I couldn't even get the AP to engage. As Scott says; know what needs to be operating for the AP to work.

Best,

Dave
 
smigaldi said:
It will be if you are also having an electrical problem and you TC is winding down and that is the place you AI gets it's info from. It is not a bad idea though but I think it should be tempered with a bit of reality of knowing the AP limitations.
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True, but if your electric goes out at the same time you inadvertently fly into IMC, you're already having such a bad day that someone somewhere is trying to tell you something! Heck, you could have a little kid in the front seat who decides to use that moment to plant his feet on the yoke and push, too!:hairraise:

(Oh yeah, I DID mention that you should KNOW how to operate the autopilot, didn't I? That would also include knowing its failure modes and how it functions, too.)
 
smigaldi said:
It will be if you are also having an electrical problem and you TC is winding down and that is the place you AI gets it's info from. It is not a bad idea though but I think it should be tempered with a bit of reality of knowing the AP limitations.
Click to expand...

What are the chances of a systems malfunction occurring on the same flight as a VFR pilot's (first?) inadvertent IMC? I'd be willing to bet that the chances are far greater for a loss of control without the autopilot. The only problem I see with this advice is that some foolish pilots will "discover" that they can successfully deal with IMC by using the autopilot and become ambivalent about potential IMC, but there's not much we can do about such a pilot and I don't think it's worth saving those types at the expense of leaving the truly accidental IMC encountering pilot without the suggestion of using the autopilot to get out safely.
 
gprellwitz said:
I've heard him speak too. He's good.

I'd augment his article by saying, after "level the wings", and "set a level attitude," TURN ON THE AUTOPILOT! If you know how to operate the autopilot, you also know that it's not going to be confused by being in the clouds! Using it will allow you to step back and supervise!
Click to expand...

He did advocate that... in fact, he said his PRIMARY students (Private Pilot) get trained for, and must demonstrate to him, that they can load and fly a GPS approach using the autopilot in the plane before he'll sign them off for the checkride... just in case.
 
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