Author Topic: Auto-pilot  (Read 871 times)

Offline Serenity

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« on: May 09, 2007, 09:38:25 PM »
Alright, i need a bit of help. Im doing a research project for school, and I need to research the development of the auto-pilot. Ive tried googling it, but the results arent terribly helpful. I was hoping maybe someone here had a book or website I can look over? Thank you very much in advance.

Offline evenhaim

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« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2007, 09:40:06 PM »
try wikipedia lol
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Offline Serenity

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« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2007, 09:41:26 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by evenhaim
try wikipedia lol


No thank you. I never use wikipedia!

Offline Brooke

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« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2007, 02:10:21 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Serenity
No thank you. I never use wikipedia!


Your loss.  While Wiki isn't 100% perfect 100% of the time, that isn't the same thing as it being worthless.  It is a great starting point for a lot of things.  Also, if you find errors in a wiki entry, you can hop right in and correct it.

Offline Serenity

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« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2007, 02:35:33 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Brooke
Your loss.  While Wiki isn't 100% perfect 100% of the time, that isn't the same thing as it being worthless.  It is a great starting point for a lot of things.  Also, if you find errors in a wiki entry, you can hop right in and correct it.


My school doesnt accept wiki as a source. Its not an option :(

Offline Nilsen

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« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2007, 02:45:11 AM »
"autopilot history" in google got plenty of useful links that you can find for yourself :)

Offline Serenity

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« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2007, 03:22:32 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Nilsen
"autopilot history" in google got plenty of useful links that you can find for yourself :)


I got a wikipedia page, and a bunch of links that really had nothing to do with the developement of the auto-pilot.

Offline Nilsen

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« Reply #7 on: May 10, 2007, 03:59:39 AM »
You have to do abit of research, unless what you are looking for is a finished project that you can copy and paste to make your own. Its all about gathering bits and pieces from several sources if you want a good project. On the first few pages alone i found what i needed or enough links and hints to do further searches.

I doubt you will find one single page that has all your answers neatly presented for you to use.

Doing reasearch for projects is supposed to take some time if you want to make it good :)

Offline Golfer

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« Reply #8 on: May 10, 2007, 06:37:33 AM »
It all started with the movie "Airplane."

And it's "Otto Pilot"


Offline Golfer

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« Reply #9 on: May 10, 2007, 06:39:51 AM »
Oh and just use Wiki.  Looking at it they have it close enough for government work and it's a good place to start.  If you know nothing about the subject there's no harm in starting your search somewhere that can point you to the good information.

I'll throw a few keywords out there for ya.  Not necessarily the "first" autopilots but you'll find these as important innovations if you're talking through the history of them you'll want to end up with these.  I can't say I know who built the first autopilot with any confidence.

Bill Lear
Autoland
Category III
Flight Director

Good luck!
« Last Edit: May 10, 2007, 06:44:49 AM by Golfer »

Offline StuB

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« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2007, 12:07:34 PM »
Starting with Wiki will help you develop better / expanded search criteria.

It's like starting with a "dummies book" to figure out what you need to look up in the more technical books when you don't know what the heck you are doing  :D
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Offline Xasthur

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« Reply #11 on: May 10, 2007, 12:29:04 PM »
Wiki will often provide references. These references are what you want to look for. Don't mention Wiki in your bibliography, just follow the links to the referenced sources and get the information for yourself.

Reference that and you're all sorted.
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Offline Serenity

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« Reply #12 on: May 10, 2007, 08:09:59 PM »
rgr. Thanks all!

Offline Brooke

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« Reply #13 on: May 10, 2007, 09:57:16 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by Serenity
My school doesnt accept wiki as a source. Its not an option :(


In a lot of cases, though, it's a good source for you to get other sources (and a decent overview).  Again, not every entry has a good list of sources, but many do.

Edit:  Ah -- I see others have already made this point.