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Typically/historically, autopilot systems have very few checks and controls, mainly because pilots insist that they know better. Having worked with several aut

Typically/historically, autopilot systems have very few checks and controls, mainly because pilots insist that they know better. Having worked with several autopilots in sims, they are extraordinarily user UNfriendly and unnecessarily complicated. But, aviation is extremely conservative (and rightly so) and as such, changes and improvements are very small and incremental.

jolmg 8y ago
Knowing nothing of aviation myself, I imagine it's the same reason people prefer stick shift over automatic transmission in cars, and command line over GUIs in Unix OSes. It's a matter of favouring superusers/powerusers by leaving them with maximum control of what they want the machine to do. Often times, making a system user-friendly means loss of control and ability to make the machine work its best for you.
- gmueckl 8y ago
  There are two situaions in which I love manual drive: long downhill drives (lower gear to use engine for braking) and slippery winter conditions (higher gear to limit engine torque). Automatic gearboxes don't provide enough control to do either of these useful things. But then, I learned driving with stick, not automatic. I am a representative of your "give me more control" group. Even in other things, I find that there are a lot of automated systems around that do nothing for me because they don't quite behave as I would like and I have not enough control over them to adjust them. The more advanced mu knowledge in a certain area is, the more control I would like to have over related devices.
  - singingboyo 8y ago
    Do automatics wherever you are have the semi-auto mode where you can select the gear (but no clutch needed)? I find that's definitely sufficient for downhill engine braking. Can't speak to the winter bit though, my car doesn't exactly have a lot of torque to start with... and I generally avoid driving in really slippery conditions anyway.
    - mannykannot 8y ago
      Automatics with paddle shifters (which I believe first appeared in race cars) are becoming more common (though we may be seeing the end of gasoline-powered cars.) They can be useful on twisting roads, as you can shift down coming into a curve, getting the twin benefits of engine braking into the curve, and a lower gear / higher rpm for accelerating out of it. Traditional automatics would shift up as you slow down for a curve, putting you in the wrong gear on the way out. Low-power automatics (like the one I rented a couple of weeks ago) can be constantly shifting up and down on long up-grades, unless you lock them in a lower gear. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/whats-the-point-of-those-paddle-shifters-in-automatic-cars/article12197419/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commutin...
- mannykannot 8y ago
  There's already a separate interface for that: stick, rudder and throttles.

jolmg 8y ago

Knowing nothing of aviation myself, I imagine it's the same reason people prefer stick shift over automatic transmission in cars, and command line over GUIs in Unix OSes. It's a matter of favouring superusers/powerusers by leaving them with maximum control of what they want the machine to do. Often times, making a system user-friendly means loss of control and ability to make the machine work its best for you.

gmueckl 8y ago
There are two situaions in which I love manual drive: long downhill drives (lower gear to use engine for braking) and slippery winter conditions (higher gear to limit engine torque). Automatic gearboxes don't provide enough control to do either of these useful things. But then, I learned driving with stick, not automatic. I am a representative of your "give me more control" group. Even in other things, I find that there are a lot of automated systems around that do nothing for me because they don't quite behave as I would like and I have not enough control over them to adjust them. The more advanced mu knowledge in a certain area is, the more control I would like to have over related devices.
- singingboyo 8y ago
  Do automatics wherever you are have the semi-auto mode where you can select the gear (but no clutch needed)? I find that's definitely sufficient for downhill engine braking. Can't speak to the winter bit though, my car doesn't exactly have a lot of torque to start with... and I generally avoid driving in really slippery conditions anyway.
  - mannykannot 8y ago
    Automatics with paddle shifters (which I believe first appeared in race cars) are becoming more common (though we may be seeing the end of gasoline-powered cars.) They can be useful on twisting roads, as you can shift down coming into a curve, getting the twin benefits of engine braking into the curve, and a lower gear / higher rpm for accelerating out of it. Traditional automatics would shift up as you slow down for a curve, putting you in the wrong gear on the way out. Low-power automatics (like the one I rented a couple of weeks ago) can be constantly shifting up and down on long up-grades, unless you lock them in a lower gear. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/whats-the-point-of-those-paddle-shifters-in-automatic-cars/article12197419/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commutin...
mannykannot 8y ago
There's already a separate interface for that: stick, rudder and throttles.