September started with an AP story that revealed the cost of airline cockpit automation, atrophied stick and rudder skills. As one might expect, there’s been a lot of comment on both sides of the argument. Some GA types have been, without justification, overconfidently smug.
GA pilots can become addicted to cockpit automation just as easily as their airline peers. What makes this worse is that unlike airline pilots, who must fly according to thick and specific operations manuals, GA pilots consciously chose to become addicted. And they’ve been doing that ever since glass-controlled started taking up residence in GA cockpits.
Back when I was flying for publication, airframe manufacturers were like street corner pushers, “Hey there, magazine writer guy, want some stick time?” Call me old school, but in my vocabulary “stick time” means I’m holding the stick (or yoke) and actually flying the airplane. About 15 years ago the definition changed: “stick time” was a takeoff and landing separated by a lot of button pushing and knob twisting.
On my last flight for publication, I was looking forward to getting hands-on with a tumultuous Midwestern wind. Having been a while since my last flight, I was looking forward to realigning the seat of my pants to such things as crab angles and smoothing out the bumps.
When I didn’t automatically engage the autopilot after takeoff, the demo pilot (a CFI, like most are) looked at me in amazement, like I was some sort of alien being. But he said nothing. For about 10 minutes, until he couldn’t stand it any more. Then, with my PR minder in the back seat, over the intercom he shamed me into giving up command to technology.
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