The attitude indicator is located in which control element of an autopilot system?

The attitude indicator is located in which control element of an autopilot system?

• A. Display
• B. Sensing
• C. Computing
• D. Actuation

Answer: (B)

Understanding how an autopilot is built helps: it relies on three main blocks—sensing, computing, and actuation. The attitude indicator fits in the sensing block because its core function is to determine the aircraft’s orientation using a gyroscope. It provides pitch and roll information about the airplane, which is then used by the computing element to determine if a correction is needed and by the autopilot to move the control surfaces. While the attitude indicator also serves as a cockpit display, its role within the autopilot’s control loop is to sense attitude, not to compute or actuate.

Understanding how an autopilot is built helps: it relies on three main blocks—sensing, computing, and actuation. The attitude indicator fits in the sensing block because its core function is to determine the aircraft’s orientation using a gyroscope. It provides pitch and roll information about the airplane, which is then used by the computing element to determine if a correction is needed and by the autopilot to move the control surfaces. While the attitude indicator also serves as a cockpit display, its role within the autopilot’s control loop is to sense attitude, not to compute or actuate.