B00nie
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2012
- Messages
- 9,327
Perhaps you should defer to those of us with qualifications on the subject. I have spent many hours studying aircraft and actually flying them. I teach this subject as well as earn money doing it. When I tell you that you are mis-characterizing what you have heard/learned I am not being mean I am trying to help you understand the reality of the situation as seen/experienced by those of us directly involved in the industry.
Yes some autopilots are capable of handling all phases of flight under certain circumstances. But most airliners are not sufficiently equipped and most airports are not either. Just because a pilot isnt holding onto the yoke doesn't mean he or she isnt flying the aircraft. Just as a previous poster pointed out a TCAS avoidance maneuver requires pilot input. That may take the form of directing the aircraft via a knob to turn left 10 degrees or grabbing the yoke and overriding the autopilot. Either way the human made the decision and applied control inputs - what those controls were is irrelevant to the discussion.
Thats not to say "stick and rudder" skills arent important - they very much are and the lack of them are contributing factors to some high profile accidents.
You may also realize that the realities behind the yoke of a Cessna is a bit different than an Airbus A320. The prior can barely fly straight without a pilot where the latter is extremely advanced in automated control.
EASA certifies new "Autopilot/Flight Director" TCAS mode for A380
Enhancing flight safety during TCAS manoeuvres
20 August 2009 Press Release
Enhancing flight safety during TCAS manoeuvres
Following recent successful development testing, a new Auto-Pilot/Flight-Director (AP/FD) TCAS* mode for the Airbus A380 has been approved and certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The main benefit of the system is that it could further enhance safety during a traffic avoidance situation because the pilot can now fly the aircraft without switching out of one mode and into another. Thus, by simplifying the actions required by the pilot during a TCAS manoeuvre, this enhanced TCAS mode minimises potential overreactions or inverse reactions while preserving his or her concentration at a critical time.
In addition to now being certified on the A380, the AP/FD TCAS mode will also become available for retrofit on other Airbus Fly-By-Wire aircraft in the coming years.
AP/FD TCAS operation overview
The new AP/FD TCAS mode essentially completes the existing TCAS functionality by implementing a TCAS vertical guidance feature into the Auto Flight computer. The result is that now the Auto Flight computer can control the vertical speed of the aircraft which is adapted to each resolution advisory acquired from TCAS.
Moreover, with this new AP/FD TCAS mode activated, when a TCAS "Resolution Advisory" (RA) is received, the pilot no longer needs to disengage the autopilot or Flight Director before conducting the TCAS manoeuvres. Rather, the autopilot can now automatically conduct the correct TCAS manoeuvre, to position the aircraft clear of any potential traffic conflict.
Furthermore, in the case of the pilot flying the aircraft manually (i.e. without autopilot engaged) when a RA is received, previously the Flight Director 'pitch bar guidance' - indicated on the Primary Flight Display - had to be switched off, but with the new mode, the Flight Director bars remain active and smoothly guide pilot to fly the TCAS manoeuvre. At any time, the crew still retains the ability to override the proposed manoeuvre, so as to respond manually to a TCAS RA by flying according to "conventional" TCAS procedures, i.e. manually controlling the vertical speed by referring to TCAS indications on the pilot's vertical speed scale.
The TCAS systems require pilot input CURRENTLY, yes. That doesn't mean that also that couldn't be automated. Actually there is at least one midair crash where the pilot chose to ignore the TCAS avoidance direction and pulled into the wrong way, causing a collision. Despite frequent pilot errors, current systems are designed to rely partly in the pilot, this is clear. Technologically speaking however it is already possible to create a fully autonomous flight as multiple drones already show. Airfields can easily be upgraded to specification anywhere where autonomous flight is required. It's simply a matter of cost.
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