Lawrence Sperry officially invented the airplane autopilot system in the early twentieth century and subsequently became the very first founding member of the infamous mile-high club just a few years later.

The autopilot began as a way to steady the aircraft

Lawrence Sperry’s early autopilot was built around a gyroscope: a spinning device that resists changes in its orientation. Linked to the aircraft’s controls, it could detect when the plane began to tilt and make corrective movements, helping hold a steady course. It did not make flying effortless or remove the pilot from the cockpit; it addressed one demanding task at a time, keeping the aircraft stable while the pilot managed the rest.

That distinction matters. Early airplanes were physically demanding to control, so even limited automatic assistance could make a long flight less taxing. Sperry’s work helped turn the idea of an aircraft that could maintain its own stability into a practical technology.

A crash gave the story an unlikely second chapter

A few years later, Sperry became associated with the tale commonly told as the first “mile-high club” episode. The story says that he and a passenger were found naked after their aircraft crashed, and that Sperry blamed the impact for stripping away their clothes. The contrast is part of the tale’s staying power: the inventor linked with automatic control was caught in a decidedly uncontrolled mishap.

“Mile-high club” is a playful label for sex in flight, not necessarily a conventional organization with formal membership. Sperry’s episode is remembered as an origin story for the phrase—and as a reminder that an autopilot could steady an airplane, but could not make early aviation safe from accidents or human embarrassment.