Word: autopilot
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Designers of landing systems hope that most of the disadvantages can be eliminated by the automatic pilot. Already the autopilot flies many airliners on long, boring hops, keeping them on course by its own gyroscopic control of the aircraft. It responds more promptly than a human pilot. Instrument men believe that it could be made to listen for electronic orders and follow them down to the ground...
...Gyroscopic Autopilot is the basic instrument for all automatic flying. This is a contraption with two gyroscopes, one spinning on a vertical axis (controlling the plane's tilt), the other horizontally (controlling direction). They are connected, electrically or by air locks, with the plane's controls (rudder, ailerons and elevators). When the plane pitches, banks or makes the slightest deviation from a set course, the gyroscopes make instant corrections in the controls to put it back on course. The gyropilot acts much more quickly and holds a course more steadily than a human pilot...
Alert, black-haired Arpaia opened the bomb-bay doors. Now he was actually bombardier, pilot and navigator rolled into one, flying the plane through the autopilot system controls while he searched for the target in the eyepiece of his bomb sight. Bombardiers in the other planes watched sharply-a sighting run may last only 20 or 30 seconds, almost never more than one minute...