The story opens:
'The British autoland programme is now taking shape. Electronics companies have some orders - equipment is being manufactured, target dates have been given.'
'
'Complete automatic landing is the answer to the delays, frustrations and financial loss resulting from disruption of services due to bad visibility. BEA calculates that fog lost them over £200,000 during the winter of 1958-9.'
The story continues:
'
1961 Military autoland (single channel system)
1964 Military autoland (multiplex system).
1964 Civil Autoflare
1970 Civil Autoland
Why ten years before civil autoland is fully accepted? Because our own and other certificating authorities require a proved failure rate of better than one failing in 10 million landings.'
We're still at it, although you wouldn't know.
Lockheed Martin's latest VSTOL, the F-35B, has just acquired the ability to automatically hover, so the pilot can put the thing anywhere and take his hands off the joystick to scratch his nose or wherever else he fancies. There's a gung-ho video of that (not the nose-scratching) here.
http://www.youtube.com/user/LockheedMartinVideos
The software for this was developed in the UK using the VAAC Harrier research aircraft at Bedford, later Boscombe Down, and purchased for the B version.
Thanks, Rupert, that's encouraging