Mxsmanic wrote in
:

Do you use autopilots on short trips (along the lines of an hour or
so)? Do you use autopilots systematically on IFR flights?

Is it bad form to use the autopilot for a 25-minute flight? I've
tried KPAE-KTIW under IFR both by hand and with autopilot, and
autopilot is a breeze in any weather whereas flying by hand is
troublesome even without any wind or turbulence. I try to fly by
hand, but the lure of the autopilot is strong sometimes and I use it
to get some rest.

So how often do you use autopilots in real life? And to what extent
to you prefer to use them?


If flying by hand is difficult without wind or turbulence, you are either not
a very good pilot, or you don't have a very good simulator. Autopilot
certainly makes life easier, but you should be able to keep the plane flying
on course and altitude without it.

As an example, I recently flew 3 hours from South Carolina to NY without an
AutoPilot (it was temporarily out of service), and it really wasn't that
difficult or tiring. The wind was mild, and proper attention to the trim and
the heading was really all that was required.