Instrument Flight
Are you a pilot or an appliance operator? by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman
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Copyright 2021. All rights reserved!
n my previous column entitled “Are you a child of the Magenta,” I wrote about the deterioration of our basic piloting skills and the mindset of using the wrong level of automation. I am not opposed to using automation in our everyday flying, but there is a time we must revert to basic pilot skills. Should an unexpected/undetected Michael Kaufman aircraft appear in your windscreen (my J3 Cub, for instance) as an imminent threat, would you use vertical speed, flight level change or heading mode on your autopilot to avoid a mid-air? I hope your answer would be “none of the above,” and you would instead disconnect the autopilot and do what is necessary to avoid the disaster. When I do advanced training with pilots, especially the instrument rating, I teach pilots to be a pilot first and an appliance operator second. The question often comes up as to
when we should use our pilot skills and hand-fly the airplane, and when we should use our computer skills and higher levels of automation. I had a recent discussion with a well-respected instructor and friend after that article was published, and we discussed the topic of automation and autopilots. After takeoff in low instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), should we engage the autopilot immediately or hand fly the airplane? I mentioned in one of my recent columns about the “OH-WOW” factor and why new instrument-rated pilots need to get some dual instruction on low IMC departures before they attempt one on their own. If the pilot should engage the autopilot in the first 100 feet after departure, and if it is all set and functioning properly, no problem. But given the situation that all does not go well, there is a good chance of a fatal accident. How many times do things not go right in this scenario? I have seen this way too many times. How fast can we disconnect the autopilot and execute an unusual attitude recovery at less than 500 feet AGL (above ground level)? Hopefully, always, but maybe that’s not always possible under difficult circumstances.
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APRIL/MAY 2021 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE 9
