They mix cocktails !!

Autopilot by no means liberates the pilots of essential flight duties. As a commercial airline pilot, I know this first hand. The common misconception about autopilot is that once we flip the magic switch, we can do whatever we want in the cockpit because the plane is flying itself. This is partly our fault as pilots for allowing this myth to become so popular. Hopefully I can offer a good explanation of what actually goes on in the cockpit during a flight. The autopilot is not just a single function. It's actually an entire system in itself with numerous settings and abilities. It is normally referred to as the autoflight system. Here's a photo of a 757 cockpit - http://www.airliners.net/photo/Delta-Air-Lines/Boeing-757-232/1287657/L/ The controls for the autoflight system are located in the very center below the windshield, directly above the two screens with little guages on them. All of those buttons and white dials control the autopilots. Now to answer the question, what do we do when autopilot is on? The autoflight is enabled in stages, not necessarily all at once. Some functions are activated immediately after takeoff. For instance, at 500 ft pilots will often switch on the TO/GA function which turns on a portion of the autopilot that automatically manages engine thrust. In order for this function to know what to do, the correct headings, speeds, altitudes, and course directions must already be programmed into the autoflight panel and into the flight management computer. (the flight management computer is the little green screen and keypad located on each side of the center console) Now, during climb to cruise, some pilots hand fly the entire way. Most of the time, the autoflight is completely functioning by the time you cross 10,000 feet and hear the little ding in the cabin. In order for this to function, the course waypoints must have been already programmed while on the ground. At this point, the navigational autoflight is enabled. Remember, the autopilot doesn't know what to do without the pilots. You have to input the headings, altitudes, speeds, and course directions in order for it to function. It simply steers the aircraft according to what you tell it to do. The purpose is not to do the pilots job for him but instead to make it easier. As a pilot, my training qualifies me to operate the aircraft in any flight stage. An entire flight could be hand flown if need be. However, the computer can operate the flight more efficiently than humanly possible. It can make tiny adjustments and stabilizations that save more fuel than if the pilots were to steer the plane themselves, even though they can at ANY time. While autopilot avoids having to steer the aircraft manually, it must be constantly monitored. A typical flight may involve over a hundred inputs to the autoflight panel between the captain and first officer. Every turn, climb, and descent involves dialing something into the autopilot. In the meantime, pilots are also responsible for all of the other settings of the aircraft, such as airflow regulation, fuel monitoring and transferring, hydraulic monitoring, and constant communication with ATC and ARTCC for instruction. Oh, and there's also setting the flaps and slats according to speed and altitude. In the meantime, there is an enormous amount of paperwork involved. I compare the function to management. Between the captain and first officer, they must manage the flight. Actually steering the aircraft is the easy part. It's the communication, setting and programming, and paperwork half of it that takes a lot of time, training, and effort. When the weather acts up and suddenly you find you have to perform a go-around in zero visibility in congested airspace and reset all of your systems, it's not so easy. Inputting tons of information from ATC, manuevering in bad weather, setting flaps, slats, landing gear, and reprogramming the flight management computer, you feel like you need an extra hand or twenty. Try setting the aircraft up for an automatic landing, it's not so automatic anymore. So in short, while we may not have our hands on the controls, we are not sitting there idle and bored.

ever heard of the mile high club!