Five Reasons Not To Fly A Coupled Approach

And like every other technology, autopilots have their limitations. For one, they have to be set up correctly-along with the navigation equipment-to reliably follow a heading and descend along a glidepath. Details like when to take over from the autopilot, how you might handle an equipment failure-if you notice it-and even whether to let Otto fly the missed approach or do it yourself need to be worked out ahead of time. Thats the short version of why we might want to consider hand-flying the approach. Lets expand on them.

Tom Turner

Sunday, June 30, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Autopilots should not compensate for a pilot's lack of confidence or proficiency, nor be used to fly approaches beyond one's hand-flying capability due to the need for immediate manual takeover during unexpected failures.
Pilots must actively monitor autopilot operations, understand system limitations and potential failure modes, and maintain intimate familiarity with the equipment to prevent complacency and operational errors.
Proficiency in hand-flying is crucial for managing sudden autopilot disengagements, unforeseen out-of-trim conditions, and executing critical phases like missed approach procedures, which autopilots often cannot perform.

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Many of us like to fly autopilot-coupled instrument approaches as a standard operating procedure. After all, it’s common to use the autopilot in cruise, so why not let it fly the arrival and approach, too? One reason is that it’s also common that pilots will come to depend on the autopilot to make up for shortcomings in confidence, skill or proficiency.

And like every other technology, autopilots have their limitations. For one, they have to be set up correctly—along with the navigation equipment—to reliably follow a heading and descend along a glidepath. Details like when to take over from the autopilot, how you might handle an equipment failure—if you notice it—and even whether to let Otto fly the missed approach or do it yourself need to be worked out ahead of time. That’s the short version of why we might want to consider hand-flying the approach. Let’s expand on them.