The end of the air freight business

[CrimsonEclipse]

Trans Pacific Cargo will happen first. Someone like Evergreen will likely do the
mod. Then trans Atlantic and other long range Cargo. When a safety record
is established, shorter hauls and more congested airports will be factored in.

The day some magazine publishes "Automated aircraft 5 times safter than
piloted aircraft" or something like that....we're screwd.

About 10 years will be required to phase it into pax.

Wildcard 1: Some Asshat runs a pax A380-1000 or B747-8 into a mountain.
Wildcard 2: Large cargo company has pilot strike.

Either would move up the timetable.

On the bright side, the feeders will have the same airplanes 100 years from
now.

Not worried (A+P rated too)

CE

 

[AerroMatt]

Automated Freighters = Lawyers Wet Dream!

Just wait til one of these birds goes down in a residential neighborhood due to mechanical failure that the computers weren't programmed to handle (or any other unforseen complication!) and kill a few hundred to a few thousand people in their sleep. The trial lawyers will be on the freight company and the military like flies on $hit. Then you will see the newspapers gang up and say "Why was anyone stupid enough to think we could do without pilots?"

I for one would much rather place my trust in some hung-over (add your favorite airline name here) flight crew that snuck past the TSA breath sniffers to a computer program written by a long-haired, wet behind the ears kid fresh out of some tech school who's knowledge of aviation in all its intricacy came out of a few courses taught in his sophmore year. uke:

 

[Draginass]

$100 oil could spell the doom of a lot of old 742s and DC10s, etc.

 

[dee48eal]

Jim - I'm a doctor - not a pilot !

 

[dogismycopilot]

If you have visited disneyworld and taken a ride on space mountain, FedEx has a working model of their package transporter on dispaly. Just check it out as you leave the ride. It has been there for quite a few years.