pilotless airliners in the future?!

[Traderd]

Actually, the defense contractors are working on interactive systems that would allow military pilots to contiue to fly a stricken bird in the event that control surfaces are damaged. And if I'm not mistaken, pilots are only able to fly the stealth fighter because of computers.

Humans were never able to re-create a successful ending to SUX flight scenario...a specialized computerized flight control system similar to the one mentioned above, could re-recreate a successful solution, each and every time. And it wouldn't need a nap to operate at it's best.

A look into the Global Hawk program will yield a perspective on how far UAVs have come. Autonomous UAV transcontinental operations have been here for a while. No pax or cargo yet, just cameras (as far as I know). And take a look at the X-45 and derivatives. I had an AF code on board about two years ago that told me the Raptor will be the last manned fighter procured by the AF. Time will tell.



If it were to happen, I would guess the normal progression: intel, cargo then pax. And of course, the Marines will go first



Civil side I'm not sure I see the reason. Aren't pilots pretty inexpensive right now?

 

[FN FAL]

Civil side I'm not sure I see the reason. Aren't pilots pretty inexpensive right now?

Yea, but accidents are expensive. What I see in the future, is single pilot aircraft with autonomous control as the co-pilot...for the purpose of safety.

The captain would use the autonomous control just as he/she would a second pilot. It could perform either pilot flying or pilot non-flying duties, as well as both in the event of a captain incapacitation or catastrophic loss of control surfaces. Also, autonomous control could be triggered by hostile forces breaching the cockpit, by a change in pilot health telemetry or by typed pilot technicians on the ground utilizing secure digital data uplink in the event that the pilot was unable to react. I would imagine that the final layer of aircraft protection would be onboard programed flight profiles...pretty simple, the autonomous control squawks the code and uses programed flight profiles and data from onboard sensors to avoid wx and fly the flight plan on time...shooting an approach to an ILS at eta.

 

[FN FAL]

Passenger lands pilotless Gulfstream Turboprop...hmmmm?

Check out this pilotless airplane...

Passenger Crash-Lands Plane

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) -- A passenger was forced to crash land a private plane Thursday after the pilot suffered an apparent heart attack, authorities said.

The pilot later died. The two passengers were taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas after the crash at North Las Vegas Airport, said Donn Walker, regional spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was registered to Douglas R. Reichardt of Henderson, who was piloting the twin-engine Gulfstream I turboprop. A hospital official didn't know whether Reichardt died in the air or later at the hospital.

The two passengers did not appear to be seriously hurt, authorities said. Their names were not immediately released.

The pilot had filed a flight plan to San Diego and the plane took off from North Las Vegas at 8:30 a.m., Walker said. About 45 minutes later, the plane crashed on its belly several hundred feet short of an airport runway. The pilot is believed to have suffered a heart attack, Walker said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Reichardt had a valid multiengine airline transport pilot's license, according to FAA records.