4 ms·

Do you think pilots sleep while the passenger jet you're riding in is on 'autopilot'?

baoha 7y ago
The difference is the jet often has 2 pilots, so they can take turn to nap.
gavia1 7y ago
I don't think the General Public understand what autopilot is and what it does. The perceived definition is far from the real definition.
- matz1 7y ago
  It's called marketing, a good one.
frenchyatwork 7y ago
My impression is that most non-pilots think that autopilot is a lot more sophisticated than it really is. People hear things like "planes can basically land themselves" which is sort-of-true, and they think the planes can actually land themselves when the reality is that the pilots need to set up ILS properly, make sure the engine thrust is at a reasonable level, do the proper communication with Air Traffic Control, and only then (maybe) can the plane land itself. Note: I'm not actually a pilot, so my details on landing with ILS might be a bit off.
- jarfil 7y ago
  Flying a plane in a straight line is much simpler than driving on a road. There is a reason why most aircraft accidents happen during landing or takeoff, once at cruise altitude there is very little that could suddenly go wrong. That's why a relatively simple mechanism can autopilot a plane, but the same mechanism will crash a car in an instant.
m463 7y ago
I don't think the general public makes fine distinctions like that. (for instance, I couldn't help but think the "sex" bill clinton was grilled about could not have led to pregnancy)
foepys 7y ago
This is just as snarky as your comment: Do you think car drivers are getting the same years of training on a single vehicle before they can even co-pilot it? How autopilot actually works in airplanes is unimportant, the public perception and Tesla's intentionally ambiguous play with the word is what counts.
mdorazio 7y ago
Yes, absolutely [1]. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24296544 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24296544
- viraptor 7y ago
  They don't "sleep" as in regularly take planned naps due to trust in autopilot. They fall asleep, causing danger to passengers. Same thing happens on the road to drivers without autopilot - they just rarely get to talk about it afterwards.
  - camjohnson26 7y ago
    People are more likely to fall asleep if they think they have a safety net. Also, autopilot automatically disengages when no input is detected on the steering wheel so if you fall asleep it’s going to turn off.

The difference is the jet often has 2 pilots, so they can take turn to nap.

I don't think the General Public understand what autopilot is and what it does. The perceived definition is far from the real definition.

matz1 7y ago
It's called marketing, a good one.

frenchyatwork 7y ago

My impression is that most non-pilots think that autopilot is a lot more sophisticated than it really is. People hear things like "planes can basically land themselves" which is sort-of-true, and they think the planes can actually land themselves when the reality is that the pilots need to set up ILS properly, make sure the engine thrust is at a reasonable level, do the proper communication with Air Traffic Control, and only then (maybe) can the plane land itself. Note: I'm not actually a pilot, so my details on landing with ILS might be a bit off.

jarfil 7y ago
Flying a plane in a straight line is much simpler than driving on a road. There is a reason why most aircraft accidents happen during landing or takeoff, once at cruise altitude there is very little that could suddenly go wrong. That's why a relatively simple mechanism can autopilot a plane, but the same mechanism will crash a car in an instant.

m463 7y ago

I don't think the general public makes fine distinctions like that. (for instance, I couldn't help but think the "sex" bill clinton was grilled about could not have led to pregnancy)

foepys 7y ago

This is just as snarky as your comment: Do you think car drivers are getting the same years of training on a single vehicle before they can even co-pilot it? How autopilot actually works in airplanes is unimportant, the public perception and Tesla's intentionally ambiguous play with the word is what counts.

mdorazio 7y ago

Yes, absolutely [1]. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24296544 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24296544

viraptor 7y ago
They don't "sleep" as in regularly take planned naps due to trust in autopilot. They fall asleep, causing danger to passengers. Same thing happens on the road to drivers without autopilot - they just rarely get to talk about it afterwards.
- camjohnson26 7y ago
  People are more likely to fall asleep if they think they have a safety net. Also, autopilot automatically disengages when no input is detected on the steering wheel so if you fall asleep it’s going to turn off.