gyropilot

or gy·ro pi·lot

[ jahy-ruh-pahy-luht ]

noun

, Navigation.

1. automatic pilot.
2. gyrocompass.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gyropilot¹

First recorded in 1920–25; gyro(scope) + pilot

Example Sentences

But some professional aviators agreed with Boake Carter, pointing out such facts as that Pilot Merrill relied greatly on a Sperry gyropilot in his jaunt but did not bother to test it or learn fully how it worked before starting.

From Time Magazine Archive

The gyropilot acts much more quickly and holds a course more steadily than a human pilot can.

From Time Magazine Archive

A pioneer of air instruments and of blind flying, Lawrence Sperry invented such indispensable aids to flight as the gyropilot, bank & turn indicator, early efficient parachute.

From Time Magazine Archive

According to the Air Corps, an old single-motored Fokker had taken off from Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, with three men aboard, climbed to some 2,500 ft. where one of the men cut in the Sperry gyropilot and threw a mysterious switch.

From Time Magazine Archive

Greatest refinement of all is the gyropilot, which is standard on most airline transports.

From Time Magazine Archive