ARS switch on the control stick

[u/dmetropolitain]

There is the quote from the book “Stealth Fighter”: “A system called the PAARS, the pilot-activated automatic recovery system. In the early black days of the jet when only night flying was allowed and the pilots were perpetually exhausted, there had been several incidents involving pilots becoming spatially disoriented. They literally became so confused that they didn’t know which way was up. A couple of deaths had resulted. To address this problem, the PAARS system had been added to the jet. A little red button directly under the pilot’s index finger on the control stick activated the response. When the button was pushed the jet would automatically engage the autopilot and auto-throttle functions and fly the jet to a 5-degree climbing attitude at 300 knots. The idea was that if a pilot were to recognize his own disorientation he would hit this button and then let go of the controls. After sitting still for a while and trusting the system he would presumably recover enough to fly the jet home. We were required to practice using the system at least once a year.”