There’s no question cockpit automation has made pilots’ lives easier. Moving maps, autopilots, GPS and automatic sequencing have altered the ways we humans ensure precise navigation and aircraft operation. The attraction is simple: Twirling a knob and pushing the right button at the right time usually requires less effort than hand-flying, especially during a gnarly approach. But there’s no free lunch.
One of the downsides of automation is that the pilot often is removed from the control feedback loop. In other words, he or she isn’t sensing what the airplane’s control feedback is saying. When manually making a certain control input, the pilot receives instant feedback—through the control system and the instruments—on whether the airplane is responding as expected. All that is lost when Otto is flying, even though the instruments may tell us everything is nominal.
