Don't say it can't happen
10-18-2016, 11:06 AM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
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Joined APC: Jan 2011
Posts: 307
Don't say it can't happen
There has always been speculation and it may come sooner than expected. From the AP (found in the Drudge Report)
The government and industry are collaborating on a program that seeks to replace the second human pilot in two-person flight crews with a robot co-pilot that never tires, gets bored, feels stressed out or gets distracted.
The program is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon's arm for development of emerging technologies, and run by Aurora Flight Sciences, a private contractor. With both the military and airlines struggling with shortages of trained pilots, officials say they see an advantage to reducing the number of pilots required to fly large aircraft while at the same time increasing safety and efficiency by having a robot pick up the mundane tasks of flying.
The government and industry are collaborating on a program that seeks to replace the second human pilot in two-person flight crews with a robot co-pilot that never tires, gets bored, feels stressed out or gets distracted.
The program is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon's arm for development of emerging technologies, and run by Aurora Flight Sciences, a private contractor. With both the military and airlines struggling with shortages of trained pilots, officials say they see an advantage to reducing the number of pilots required to fly large aircraft while at the same time increasing safety and efficiency by having a robot pick up the mundane tasks of flying.
10-19-2016, 07:59 AM
#7
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Joined APC: Feb 2006
Position: 767A (Ret)
Posts: 6,248
It will happen when those who have to pay for it believe they will quickly make money from the investment. A promise of long-term payoffs does not impress today's beancounters. They know that human pilots are, and for decades will remain, cheaper than robots. 
10-19-2016, 09:00 AM
#10
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Joined APC: Apr 2006
Position: B777; Left Seat.
Posts: 253
I was on an overnight in Germany when that idiot from German Wings flew the Airbus into the French Alps on purpose. Aside from the incredulous Germans wondering how a mass murderer could have been German (go figure), they quickly focused on changing the rules to copy the Americans; specifically, they wanted a flight attendant to take a pilot's seat on the flight deck any time that pilot had to be absent during a flight. Aside from the ridiculous notion that a flight attendant could stop such a determined maniac, I observed that we are moving away from the idea of unmanned flights. They would have an easier time certifying a single engine airliner.
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