4 ms·
It's heading, altitude, and speed. For example, if you're currently accelerating to a target speed and climbing to a target altitude, it won't command you to pi
by aaronmdjones 5y ago
It's heading, altitude, and speed. For example, if you're currently accelerating to a target speed and climbing to a target altitude, it won't command you to pitch up so much that you stop accelerating.
The autopilot follows the flight director, and the flight director is dumb.
- throwanem 5y agoThe autopilot wouldn't have been in use for the takeoff roll, though, would it? The question of automation smarts seems like a bugaboo in what I understand to be a highly manual flight regime.
- aaronmdjones 5y agoCorrect, autopilot isn't engaged until at least several hundred feet AGL; varying by airline. Some airlines don't engage autopilot until reaching transition altitude or even cruise altitude. Still, the flight director is giving you the same information, and most pilots will just follow that because it's the most accurate way of getting you to where you need to go... if you've set it up correctly.