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autopilot
Sign in to saveAlso known as automatic pilot, aircraft autopilot
thumb|upright=1.35|The autopilot control panel of a Boeing 747-200 aircraft An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft without requiring constant intervention by a human operator. The autopilot does not replace human operators, but it assists them allowing them to focus on broader aspects of operations (for example, monitoring the trajectory, weather and on-board systems).
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
12 sectionsContents
- First autopilots
- Modern autopilots
- Control Wheel Steering
- Computer system details
- Stability augmentation systems
- Autopilot for ILS landings
- Radio-controlled models
- Flight director
- Nickname
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|upright=1.35|The autopilot control panel of a Boeing 747-200 aircraft An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft without requiring constant intervention by a human operator. The autopilot does not replace human operators, but it assists them allowing them to focus on broader aspects of operations (for example, monitoring the trajectory, weather and on-board systems).
When present, an autopilot is often used in conjunction with an autothrottle, a system for controlling the power delivered by the engines.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “autopilot” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.