At one point it did have a functional A/T system, but when I got in it the A/T was permanently placarded inop.....Gov Mx doing less with less.
That is most likely what I was thinking about. I know when we took it to Dalforth for the new cockpit that they pulled out hundreds of pounds of old wiring that had been install for test equipment back when the FAA had it.
What was interesting was the wiring was telephone wire.
Thanks for helping my memory, again.
On the autopilots, one Monday I took off and the autopilot paddles (switches) would not remain on. So I used a rubber band to keep the paddles connected for the week. For some reason maintenance could not fix it until the weekend. I don't have the foggiest why not. And to be honest I can't remember more than four or five times in ten years that we had autopilot problems with the 727s. So that's pretty good.