Positive Transfer of Controls – to the Autopilot?!
Positive Transfer of Controls – to the Autopilot?!
September 23, 2025 10:30 AM 11:00 AM Room 2
Advanced avionics integrated with automated flight controls effectively serves as an essential member of the flight deck in modern GA aircraft. Major advantages include improved situational awareness, more information available to the pilot, improved reliability and safety. But there are disadvantages, some obvious, some insidious.
Mode confusion is one such insidious disadvantage. Glass technology coupled with the autopilot presents the pilot with an array of options. Just as has happened with numerous Part 121 accidents, a GA pilot can effectively forget the state of the automation, who is flying the aircraft. A student can be surprised by the ESP suddenly taking over. Emergencies like runaway trim may be more common than believed.
Mode confusion requires a new paradigm in instrument training — techniques in how to retain situational awareness with advanced technology, ways to deal with failures that could easily be catastrophic, approaches to streamlining tasks that should be simplified by automation, not made more complex?
This presentation will look at events that have happened to the presenter, what she learned from these events, and how she has adopted her instructional approach to effectively deal with similar situations.