Gyroscopic autopilot

[1] Lawrence Sperry managed to design a smaller and lighter version of a gyroscope,[1] and the device was integrated into an aircraft's hydraulic control system.

Using a negative feedback loop, the gyroscope automatically adjusted the control surfaces of an aircraft to maintain straight and level flight.

Sperry, along with his assistant Emil Cachin, made three passes in front of a grandstand full of spectators and military observers.

On his first pass, Sperry engaged the autopilot and flew past the grandstand with his hands held high off of the controls.

Sperry also gave Joseph Barres, Commandant of the French Army Air Corps, a ride to demonstrate his device's ability to perform an unassisted takeoff and landing.

In his aircraft, a Lockheed Vega nicknamed “Winnie Mae,” he managed to travel around the world in eight days 15 hours and 51 minutes.

In order to accomplish this, he equipped the Winnie Mae with a Sperry gyroscope autopilot and a radio direction finder.

The use of the autopilot and radio direction finder is credited for making the task of navigating the aircraft much easier and more efficient.

It utilized pneumatic hydraulic servos, which had a tendency to react slowly to inputs, and this often led to overcompensation of the aircraft's corrected course.

Both bombsights used gyroscopes, telescopes and analog computers to calculate the release point for bombers to drop their payloads accurately onto ground targets.