Editing Autopilot (section)

==First autopilots==
{{see also|Gyroscopic autopilot}}
[[File:Honeywell C-1 Autopilot Control Panel.jpg|thumb|A World War II-era [[Honeywell]] C-1 autopilot control panel]]
In the early days of aviation, aircraft required the continuous attention of a pilot to fly safely. As aircraft range increased, allowing flights of many hours, the constant attention led to serious fatigue. An autopilot is designed to perform some of the pilot's tasks.

The first aircraft autopilot was developed by [[Sperry Corporation]] in 1912.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Aviation |first=David W. |last=Wragg |isbn=9780850451634 |edition=first |publisher=Osprey |year=1973 |page=45}}</ref> The autopilot connected a [[gyroscopic]] [[heading indicator]], and [[attitude indicator]] to hydraulically operated [[elevator (aircraft)|elevators]] and [[rudder]]. ([[Aileron]]s were not connected as wing [[dihedral (aircraft)|dihedral]] was counted upon to produce the necessary roll stability.) It permitted the aircraft to fly straight and level on a compass course without a pilot's attention, greatly reducing the pilot's workload.

[[Lawrence Sperry]], the son of famous inventor [[Elmer Sperry]], demonstrated it in 1914 at an aviation safety contest held in [[Paris]]. Sperry demonstrated the credibility of the invention by flying the aircraft with his hands away from the controls and visible to onlookers. Elmer Sperry Jr., the son of Lawrence Sperry, and Capt Shiras continued work on the same autopilot after the war, and in 1930, they tested a more compact and reliable autopilot which kept a [[U.S. Army Air Corps]] aircraft on a true heading and altitude for three hours.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4ykDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22 "Now – The Automatic Pilot"] ''Popular Science Monthly'', February 1930,  p. 22.</ref>

In 1930, the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] in the [[United Kingdom]] developed an autopilot called a '''pilots' assister''' that used a pneumatically spun gyroscope to move the flight controls.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qOIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA950 "Robot Air Pilot Keeps Plane on True Course"] ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', December 1930, p. 950.</ref>

The autopilot was further developed, to include, for example, improved control algorithms and hydraulic servomechanisms. Adding more instruments, such as radio-navigation aids, made it possible to fly at night and in bad weather. In 1947, a [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] [[Douglas C-53|C-53]] made a transatlantic flight, including takeoff and landing, completely under the control of an autopilot.<ref>{{cite book | last=Stevens | first=Brian |author2=Lewis, Frank | title=Aircraft Control and Simulation | location=New York | publisher=Wiley | year=1992 | isbn=978-0-471-61397-8 }}</ref><ref>Flightglobal/Archive
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[[Bill Lear]] developed his F-5 automatic pilot, and automatic approach control system, and was awarded the [[Collier Trophy]] in 1949.<ref>[http://www.aerofiles.com/collier-trophy.html Collier Trophy awards]</ref>

In the early 1920s, the [[Standard Oil]] tanker ''J.A. Moffet'' became the first ship to use an autopilot.

The [[Piasecki HUP Retriever|Piasecki HUP-2 Retriever]] was the first production [[helicopter]] with an autopilot.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boeing.com/history/products/hup-h-25-army-mule.page |title=HUP-1 Retriever/H-25 Army Mule Helicopter |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=boeing.com |publisher=[[Boeing]] |access-date=1 November 2018}}</ref>

The [[Apollo Lunar Module|lunar module]] digital autopilot of the Apollo program is an early example of a fully digital autopilot system in spacecraft.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Lunar Module Digital Autopilot, Journal of Spacecraft|author=William S. Widnall, vol 8, no. 1, 1970|journal=Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets|date=October 1970|volume=8|issue=1|pages=56–62|doi=10.2514/3.30217|access-date=September 7, 2019|url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/3.30217|url-access=subscription}}</ref>