Watch and learn
Use your autopilot as a training tool
By Bruce Williams
Ask a group of pilots if and how they use an autopilot, and you’ll hear responses like, “I have an autopilot, but I only turn it on to make sure it’s still working.” Or “I only turn mine on to copy complex clearances, or ATIS, just so I can use my hands and eyes to write.
I’m much more comfortable flying in hard IMC by hand than by autopilot.” And “The autopilot is a luxury item that reduces risk and fatigue.”
If you’ve flown with older analog autopilots that sort of hold heading or altitude and wobble along localizers and glideslopes, you’re probably among those autopilot skeptics. My experience, however, suggests that instructors and pilots should rethink how we introduce and use autopilots and flight directors during training, aircraft checkouts, and when we update the avionics in our panels.
Many years ago, in part from working on several versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator, I started using autopilots and flight directors at the beginning of training. I found that students at all levels understood and developed instrument flying skills more quickly and effectively when they first just observed how specific pitch attitudes, bank angles, and power settings deliver consistent results. That technique also emphasizes the control-performance method of instrument flying, and it reinforces the practical application of the fundamental flying equation Pitch + Power + Configuration = Performance.
Delegating the flying to the autopilot at first also addresses another issue. Whether in an airplane or aviation training device (ATD), new instrument pilots (or private pilot students learning the basics of instrument flying) often struggle with clumsy control inputs and are frustrated by “turbulence” or the quirks of a simulator that “doesn’t fly like a real airplane.” The autopilot removes those factors.
After letting the autopilot demonstrate the fundamentals, I turn off the autopilot but retain the flight director cues. Following flight director guidance further develops an effective instrument scan while reinforcing smooth, targeted, and precise control inputs. Finally, I turn off all automation and have pilots repeat basic IFR exercises. Reproducing the specific pitch-power-configurations they had observed with the autopilot flying, they develop core instrument flying skills much more quickly than the hands-on-first approach. Introducing autopilots and flight directors early in training, not just during a couple of rushed lessons late in the syllabus, also helps pilots learn to use all available tools effectively.
Consider a specific example. Most instructors help you learn “the numbers” for an aircraft—the specific pitch-power-configuration combinations that result in stable performance for key phases of flight. To make that process go smoothly, in either an ATD or aircraft, first turn on the autopilot in HDG and ALT modes. Set normal cruise power and note the pitch attitude and airspeed. Use your phone’s camera to capture a “panel selfie” that records that configuration for later review. Next, use the HDG bug to command turns of 90 to 180 degrees and observe how the autopilot smoothly establishes the bank angle required to maintain a standard-rate turn and raises the pitch attitude ever so slightly to compensate for the change in the vertical component of lift.
Continue the exercise by watching the autopilot and flight director lead the aircraft through basic IFR patterns that include changes in power, speed, climbs and descents, and aircraft configurations that include a range of flaps settings and, as appropriate, landing gear up and down. Take panel selfies to record each key phase of flight.
Later, use the same incremental approach—autopilot first, hand-fly with flight director guidance, and finally hand-fly without automation—as you add tasks such as completing flows and checklists, changing frequencies, and loading and briefing procedures.
When you can consistently hand-fly basic IFR patterns as you juggle other duties, repeat the process while learning about holding patterns and approaches. Using the autopilot and flight director like this is fundamentally no different from having an instructor coach you through the tasks.
The autopilot-first technique has other benefits. It reinforces good habits such as keeping HDG and ALT bugs current and helps you learn how to select, confirm, and monitor autopilot and flight director operating modes. If you’re preparing for an FAA practical test or instrument proficiency check, using automation effectively is an essential skill, regardless of the certificate or rating you’re pursuing (for a DPE’s perspective, see “It’s Not Cheating,” Catherine Cavagnaro’s “Flying Smart” column).
Introducing the autopilot near the end of training, as if it’s a crutch that only lazy or inept pilots depend on, also runs contrary to FAA testing standards. For example, the airman certification standards for all pilot certificates and the instrument rating emphasize that “To assist in management of the aircraft during the practical test, the applicant is expected to demonstrate automation management skills by utilizing installed, available, or airborne equipment such as autopilot, avionics and systems displays, and/or a flight management system (FMS).” The instrument rating ACS specifically notes that “the applicant is expected to demonstrate automation management skills by utilizing installed, available, or airborne equipment such as autopilot,” during certain tasks.
I also use this sequence when I check out pilots transitioning to a new aircraft or after they have updated their avionics. The technique eases the transition from dials to vertical altitude and speed tapes and is especially helpful for pilots who have never used a flight director.
Now, I am a strong advocate for basic stick-and-rudder skills. I gave stall-spin and aerobatic instruction for about 20 years in an Extra 300L. I do not want to create so-called children of the magenta line. To ensure that pilots don’t become automation dependent, I insist that they (and I) fly IFR exercises and procedures regularly without the autopilot and flight director. That process is fundamentally like ensuring that you stay proficient flying standard VFR traffic patterns and landing in gusty crosswinds, even if you typically file and fly IFR on calm days. Or, if you’re tuning your swing and timing by first hitting balls delivered like ticks from a metronome from a pitching machine before facing sliders and fastballs flung by the team’s best closer. Yogi Berra was a wise man: “You can observe a lot by just watching.” 
Bruce Williams is a CFII and specializes in IFR training and instruction in aircraft with advanced avionics. He owns a Beechcraft Bonanza A36.
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