There are several who have posted here who “have it” – and among
the first to indicate that fact were
RetiredF4,
bobdazzle, and
SLFinAZ … but the first poster who put it all in context was clearly
Northbeach when he said …
I run the automation and the flight, I access all the resources available to me including the automation, but I am in control here; not the programmers, the software version or some remote drone operator buried in a corporate bunker somewhere.
Too many times I’ve seen pretty good aviators turn over complete control of the airplane to “George” (the vernacular reference many of us in the US use to indicate “the autoflight system”). Don’t get me wrong – “George” is great – but I think that putting George “in charge” of the airplane is a huge mistake. George doesn’t “think” – he processes data without thinking, caring, or knowing – and responds within his capability. The benefit that George brings to the cockpit is that he processes a whole lot more data, a whole lot faster, than you or I could. He also follows what he has been taught (i.e., programmed) very faithfully – and exceedingly quickly – again, a lot more quickly than you or I could. However, really good pilots “fly” their airplane at all times – they “use” the “stick and rudder” (and all the other associated bits that go along with sticks and rudders … like throttles, speed brakes, flaps, and the like) and every once in a while those really good pilots will use “George” in place of the “stick and rudder” – but that doesn’t mean that they’ve transferred control of the airplane to “George.” Whenever I see a really good pilot properly
using George – that is
using George to manipulate the various controls while retaining the decision maker’s authority – and not turning control of the airplane (as well as the lives of everyone on board) over to George … I try to mention it – going into more detail the first few times … as, over the years, I’ve developed an ability to recognize the “not-again-with-the-George-discussion” look from my fellow cockpit occupier(s) when I get into that mode of thinking.
As good as George is … there are times when a wire gets too hot, or a connection gets “challenged,” or something else goes awry … and sometimes, George forgets to “tell” us that he’s having a problem. George is not always as “honest” as he should be – and he conceals minor problems – perhaps not deliberately, it’s just that George doesn’t get tired of “trying it again” … and “again” … and “again” … well, you get the picture. George does not know that the electron sequence/pathway/hierarchy that is programmed and therefore available to him to manipulate the controls may not provide the results that the humans in the cockpit would prefer … but if the humans in the cockpit don’t know what they would do if they were “in control” … things could get “out of control” without them even knowing it – and we’ve all seen examples of just exactly this kind of situation.
So … my compliments to those here who “get it” – and specifically to Mr
Northbeach!