Fatigue in the Cockpit
Nuts for fighting fatigue Years ago when an autopilot was a luxury option, homebuilt airplanes mostly did without them. But then innovative engineers, for example of the TruTrak company, came up with low-cost autopilot installations. That option, wonderful as it was, brought a new aspect to long-distance flying: the effect of fatigue. Surprised? Well, if your plane doesn't have an autopilot, nodding off due to fatigue is not an option, and if done anyway, it may prove deadly. Hence there is strong motivation to stay awake. With an autopilot on board, the plane flies itself for an extended period without any pilot input. Thus, nodding off is tempting, but wrong, of course. "Maybe I should close my eyes for a few seconds,'' the pilot reasons. "It cannot possibly cause a problem,'' the argument continues. Of course, all this is wrong. Seconds easily become minutes, with potentially disastrous consequences. How can a pilot fight this temptation? This post supp...