Continued Study of Random Altitude Deviations of General Aviation Aircraft During Cruise

摘要

In a continued Flight Technical Error study of general aviation aircraft to investigate the random deviation of such airplanes from their intended cruise altitude, the cruise sections from more than 1000 hours of recorded data were stratified by five variables: airplane type, cruise altitude range, flight rules (instrument or visual), type of altitude control (manual or autopilot), and pilot experience. Data were collected from eight airplanes representing six airplane types: F-27, Apache, Cessna 337, Beechcraft Musketeer, Cessna 182, and Aero Commander. Most significant among the conclusions drawn was that the altitude deviations are substantially lower when the airplanes are operated with the autopilot.