The Devil Makes Work for Idle Hands..

Today we learnt that automation of flying has its pros and its cons. Whilst it was introduced with the sole effort to reduce the workload of pilots from the actual 'Hands on' flying, so pilots could assume a more managerial role, taking in the 'bigger picture' to improve situational awareness.

It has infact removed the pilot from the act of flying, so much so, that there is very little engagement from the pilot.

This can lead to boredom on the flight deck. As there are only so many times one can read The Times newspaper from cover to cover, airlines have strived to include things for pilots to do onboard, to keep themselves amused and entertained. Tasks such as checklists and monitoring tasks are prime examples in the hope of maintaining intelligence arousal levels, should any emergencies arise.

It has been known for pilots to get itchy fingers in these times of boredom and begin to experiment, with accompanying phrases such as

"I wonder what the plane will do, if I do this..!"

Or, another favourite;

"Do you think the plane will let us do this?"

With the imminence of my exams, unfortunately I have no idle time to do anything other than study..