Originally Posted by
Well Travelled Nav
Actually the Nav drives the a/c most of the time on AT (VC10) as he controls the steering to the autopilot.
On the OCU it was demonstrated that the autopilot can fly much smoother than any pilot, so the pilots were relegated to being radio operators.
WTN
Be careful about using the word "drives". If by "drive" you mean the Nav types in some waypoint names and tells the pilots "The kit's good if you want to use it" then they do indeed "drive" it.
But if you don't mean that, then your wrong and they don't drive the VC10. They programme the flight plan waypoints for use by pilots by either engaging the kit or following a white line. It is possible (and in some operational flights SOP) to fly without the nav kit engaged over long distances.
And you can input as many waypoints as you like, and engage any one of the 2 autopilots you want. Without the CAPTAIN allowing for the Nav key to be engaged, then nothing is driving the aircraft
