I’ve recently learned that the Norden Gunsight was more than just a ballistics prediction machine and it actually helped control the bomber it was attached to.
This is news to me, as I thought autopilot systems only became a thing following the space program and the apollo flight computer being transferred to jet fighters as experimental fly-by-wire systems.
In: Engineering
The Norden Mark III used a PDI (pilot direction indicator) to tell the pilot which direction to fly, so the bombardier could move the path left or right. Constant altitude was a separate indicator.
With the Mark XV, the PDI was replaced with a direct input, using the trim cable to the rudder.
In no modern sense was this an autopilot. There was still a human turning knobs to steer the plane. But, he wasn’t in the cockpit.
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