Autopilot to pilot: "your airplane!"

[drseti]

From AvWeb:

Before control of an aircraft shifts from the autopilot to the pilot, the system should require the receiving pilot to acknowledge that he or she has assumed control, according to a recent study of ergonomics and flight safety. Eric Geiselman, lead author of a two-part study published in Ergonomics in Design, emphasized that the warning should occur before the autopilot is disengaged, not after, as is currently required. "The sudden disengagement of autopilot is analogous to a pilot suddenly throwing up his or her hands and blurting to the co-pilot, 'Your plane!'" said Geiselman. The study, which focused on two high-profile 2009 crashes -- Colgan Air in Buffalo and Air France off the coast of Brazil -- concluded that current autopilot design is flawed, and "creates unnecessary emergencies by surprising pilots during critical, high-workload episodes."

Geiselman and co-authors Christopher Johnson, David Buck, and Timothy Patrick examine many other design-level safety issues in the two-article series and offer solutions they say could be affordably implemented with available technology. The authors conclude that better design of automation technology on aircraft can prevent future accidents, and more pilot training shouldn't be the only solution pursued by the industry. The authors have combined expertise as pilots, flight instructors, crew resource management instructors, and human factors researchers. Their reports appeared in the July and October research annals published by The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

[CTLSi]

......

[drseti]

There is, of course, no standardization as to where the autopilot disengage button might be located on various aircraft. On my old Beechcraft, it was on top of the left horn of the yoke, with the PTT switch on the right one. This worked, as long as you weren't having a dyslexic day. With speech recognition and voice synthesis as advanced as they are, I can see a day coming when the autopilot says "your airplane, Paul" and doesn't release until I acknowledge with "my airplane, Otto."

[Merlinspop]

....and doesn't release until I acknowledge with "my airplane, Otto."

Mine has to be named "George" after a gentleman who provided some ... er... gentle course corrections when I needed them back in my formative years.

[designrs]

I'm used to the AP disengage via a red button on the panel and have never inadvertently hit it. It's a one-touch" system that says "Auto Pilot Disconnect" once pressed. I wouldn't want to have to press it a second time to confirm, because sometimes it is used in a "give me the plane now" moment. Maybe a "double-click" like a computer mouse would not he bad... then again these buttons wear out and the double-click might not work reliably. Put the button in the right place and it's pretty hard to hit it accidentally.

[drseti]

the button in the right place and it's pretty hard to hit it accidentally.

In the two accidents that were cited, the disconnect occurred not because of inadvertant activation of a switch, but because of a "safety feature" when the autopilot detected a system malfunction. In both cases, pitot-static icing was involved.

[FastEddieB]

Worth a watch for anyone who has not seen it:

http://vimeo.com/64502012

As an aside, no autopilot on my Sky Arrow and for the kind of flying I do I really don't miss it that much.

Used the heck out of the autopilot on my Cirrus, and they can be wonderful, workload reducing aids.

But for me, the step "up" to Light Sport (thanks, Professor) was also a step away from complexity - fewer systems means fewer worries.

But for the way some modern Light Sports are being tasked, I can see how an autopilot can be a plus. My mission has changed, is all.

[drseti]

What a great video, Eddie! Thanks for posting it. I must confess that, in my over-equipped Beechcraft, I was becoming more a system manager than a pilot. LSA changed all that; got me back to my flying roots.

I deliberately don't have an autopilot in my SportStar, for two reasons: it's a primary trainer, and when I fly it myself, it's VFR, and strictly for fun. If I found typing fun, I'd sit in front of my computer, and answer every post on SportPilotTalk.com.

Oh, wait... never mind.

[CTLSi]

......

[FlyingForFun]

Delete

[drseti]

I loaded mine up with every possible tool and toy.

That's great, and all the more reason to make that extra effort to maintain your hand-flying skills, and (as the video emphasized), know when to go down a level in automation.

[deltafox]

I'm still amazed when I push the button and she takes me to the next way point. It is a lot of fun to push that button and enjoy the view during a long cross country. Then again, there is joy in pushing the red disconnect and saying "Sally, I'll take it from here."

[CTLSi]

......

[Jim Stewart]

I learned to land the old fashioned way. By nailing the airspeed on approach and looking out the big window in front after the round out. Works for me.

[FastEddieB]

I learned to land the old fashioned way. By nailing the airspeed on approach and looking out the big window in front after the round out. Works for me.

Me, too.

I just wonder if some pilots are not missing out on something.

A new pilot flying a flight "autopilot 90% of trip at 8500."

A plane so automated that "The only thing one need do is trim the nose when the system calls for it, and adjust the throttle for cruise..."

I also wonder about whether stick and rudder skills will remain sharp only flying the plane 10% of the time.

Maybe it IS a brave new world, but I was attracted to, and continue to enjoy, flying at its more basic.

But different strokes, and all that.