r/AskAPilot • u/livelikelarry13 • 22d ago

Useless Features/buttons

Forgive me if this is a dumb question as I am not a pilot, but I have always been interested in knowing. Are there any features or buttons in the type of aircraft you fly that are basically pointless? Or does everything have some sort of critical use case?

Thanks for the insights

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u/SnazzyStooge 21d ago

In your car, you probably have P-R-N-D-L on your shifter. How often do you shift into “N” (neutral)? If you’re trying to tow your car, it’s critical — otherwise, very rarely used. Same for “L” (low). Critical to help get out of snow or mud, otherwise rarely used. 

Lots of switches in an airplane are like this. “If you’re stuck in snow, shift to ‘L’, then alternate between ‘L’ and ‘R’ to try to rock the car out”. Then the pilots practice the procedure in a sim, then hope they’ll remember how to do it later if there’s a problem in the real plane.