What percentage of orientation information comes from the eyes FAA?

A note of caution is that even on a clear VFR day, the eyes can play tricks, since up to 90 percent of orientation is provided by visual cues. Time and space do not allow a full discussion on this very important sense that can cause serious spatial disorientation.

How do pilots know which runway?

When clouds surround an airport, pilots have been able to find the path to the runway for decades by using an Instrument Landing System, or ILS. Ground-based transmitters project one radio beam straight down the middle of the runway, and another angled up from the runway threshold at a gentle three degrees.

Why do pilots put planes on autopilot within seconds of taking off?

To lessen the fear of passengers, pilots don’t want you to know that in the cockpit, they put the plane on autopilot within seconds of taking off. That’s because modern computer technology in the cockpit makes the pilots feel unnecessary. The computer is such an integral part of the flight that it doesn’t need human intervention.

Is airplane autopilot a real thing?

The reality is it is a mixture of both, with a heavy emphasis on automation. In small airplanes, such as the kind most pilots do their initial training in, the flying is all done by hand. Very few small airplanes have an autopilot. If they do they are very simplistic in nature and are meant more as a workload reducer than a full-blown autopilot.

What is the acceleration force of a pilot in a turn?

of the force called “Gs.” A pilot in a steep turn may experience forces of acceleration equivalent to many times the force of gravity. This is especially true in military fighter jets and high-performance, aerobatic aircraft where the acceleration forces may be as high as 9 Gs. Air race pilots in a tight pylon turn also experience high G-forces,

Why don’t pilots share what they do in the cockpit with passengers?

If the plane got struck by lightning, the pilot would never use the intercom to tell passengers that. Instead, the pilot would appease them by saying the flight is proceeding normally. Some of what they do in the cockpit violates protocol, so those are things they won’t share too.