Autopilot fighting for control

Jim Macklin wrote:
If the autopilot is flying, use the autopilot console to fly
the airplane. Over-powering the autopilot is always BAD
technique. Many autopilots will disconnect if they sense a
problem which can include input on the control wheel.

Yep, caused an airliner to crash in Russia a few years back
(among other issues).

Ron Natalie wrote:
Still Ick. I don't know about the KAP150, but switching autopilot
modes is just a button push (well, two, but you can mash NAV and
APR at the same time, I even can do HDG+NAV+APR together without
strain). Switching the autopilot modes is a lot easier than
fighting the thing trying to drive you back to the final course.

It just have to recapture.

Jim Macklin wrote:
Of course if the object is to have a student get an airplane
with the trim 100% wrong...

How does hand flying a procedure turn effect the trim? I've not noticed
this myself. You think the role servos get confused and try to change
the pitch? I'm not following.
-Robert

Robert M. Gary wrote:
Ron Natalie wrote:
Still Ick. I don't know about the KAP150, but switching autopilot
modes is just a button push (well, two, but you can mash NAV and
APR at the same time, I even can do HDG+NAV+APR together without
strain). Switching the autopilot modes is a lot easier than
fighting the thing trying to drive you back to the final course.

It just have to recapture.

eh?

The KFC225 relates to Kentucky Fried Chicken. They started out in the
chicken meal business and branched out into aircraft autopilots. Bit like
Nokia, who started in bicycle tires and got into cell phones.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...

real life (the A/P is marked KFC225, whatever that is).

King Flight Control


King Radios, Olathe, KS


"Barney Rubble" wrote in message
...
| The KFC225 relates to Kentucky Fried Chicken. They started
out in the
| chicken meal business and branched out into aircraft
autopilots. Bit like
| Nokia, who started in bicycle tires and got into cell
phones.
|
| "Mxsmanic" wrote in message
| ...
|
| real life (the A/P is marked KFC225, whatever that is).
|
|

"Jim Macklin" writes:

King Flight Control


King Radios, Olathe, KS

Apparently part of Honeywell now.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Ron Natalie wrote:
Jim Macklin wrote:
If the autopilot is flying, use the autopilot console to fly
the airplane. Over-powering the autopilot is always BAD
technique. Many autopilots will disconnect if they sense a
problem which can include input on the control wheel.

Yep, caused an airliner to crash in Russia a few years back
(among other issues).

Ok, if you're going to bring up an incident tell the entire story. The
captains 15 year old son was at the controls at the time.

-Robert

Robert M. Gary writes:

Ok, if you're going to bring up an incident tell the entire story. The
captains 15 year old son was at the controls at the time.

Michael Crichton's novel comes true! (Almost.)

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Robert M. Gary wrote:
Ron Natalie wrote:
Jim Macklin wrote:
If the autopilot is flying, use the autopilot console to fly
the airplane. Over-powering the autopilot is always BAD
technique. Many autopilots will disconnect if they sense a
problem which can include input on the control wheel.

Yep, caused an airliner to crash in Russia a few years back
(among other issues).

Ok, if you're going to bring up an incident tell the entire story. The
captains 15 year old son was at the controls at the time.

Yes, that was the cause of the AP disconnect. The 15 yo overpowered
the autopilot causing it to silently disconnect the aileron servos.
Neither the right seat pilot nor the captain standing behind noticed
this. When the airplane started roll subsequently they assumed they
had somehow commanded an autopilot-controlled hold entry. They
then allowed the bank to progress to 50 degrees.

This leads to an incipient problem you can have in a private aircraft
as well. Without sufficient power, the autopilot trying to maintain
altitude can drive the aircraft into a stall. It was finally at the
onset of the prestall buffeting that the copilot started to try to
recover, unfortunately while you can overpower an autopilot easily,
overpowering a 15yo holding the other yoke is not as easy.