![]() ![]() Auto-pilots used for en route travel can completely control an aircraft by changing only three of the six degrees of freedom: roll, pitch, and yaw. Pitch is around the axis of the wing, and yaw is around the vertical. Roll is rotation around the forward-to-aft line of the aircraft. Auto-Pilot OperationĪn aircraft is said to have six degrees of freedom -up-down, left-right, forward-aft -and can rotate around three axes -roll, pitch, and yaw. Auto-pilots could keep the aircraft at a constant altitude and keep the wings level as well. ![]() ![]() When radio navigation and its accompanying electronics came along, auto-pilots became more sophisticated, allowing the auto-pilot to follow a radio beam. The crew also had to adjust the power, ailerons, and elevators to prevent the aircraft from gaining or losing altitude as well as keep it flying level. Flight crews needed to determine how much to change the heading in order keep the aircraft on course. Because the medium in which aircraft fly, air, is not still, winds will blow the aircraft around in a somewhat unpredictable manner and the track and course may not agree. That path is called its "track." Its "course" is the desired path for the aircraft to fly. Heading is just what the word implies, the direction the aircraft is heading, which is not always the same as the path the aircraft actually flies. Such simple auto-pilots were capable of maintaining a set heading, but did not ensure the aircraft would follow a specific course. The first aircraft autopilots were based on gyros and were similar to those found in a ship. In the 1920s when radio navigation became available for aircraft, air travel became practical, eventually leading to the development of auto-pilot systems for aircraft. The automatic control of aircraft was not considered until aircraft were capable of practical long distance flight. In the air, small deviations can become large errors more quickly. Controlling an aircraft is similar but more complex because an aircraft operates in three dimensions and travels at considerably higher speeds. For more than a century, ships have had auto-pilots or devices that maintain a heading without human operators. Likewise, steering ships on the water for hours is tedious and leads to crew fatigue. Aircraft in flight require adherence to a specific course for long periods of time, which can be tiring for the pilot. ![]()
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