And how many crashes were prevented because of human intervention? Probably a lot more than the # of crashes you mention.

 

It would be ironic if the FAs keep their jobs but pilots are done away with.

I can definitely see single pilot transport category aircraft in the near future, within ten years, flying domestically.

 

For real? You have a link to this transport cat. aircraft thats ten years out?

 

Unless I'm missing something obvious, this simply cannot be accurate.

 

Whose to say it won’t happen. There are lots of isolated, short and long routes, over the Pacific where the concept can be tested.... After all, who’d think they would put man on the moon 9 years after Mercury 1?

 

Remove all decisions which require a human and you can remove the human. It's more about changing the way we fly to run on AI than improving AI.

 

You don't need a new airframe to integrate an AI like autopilot.

Just think of a typical takeoff. After rotation we must raise the gear and flaps. Why? Why isn't that automated? Or on landing, it can easily be automated as well. "Drop gear at xxxx altitude". Requested airspeed is xxx, place flaps at x. Etc.

ATC tells us what altitude to climb to, they tell us the route. There is no reason you couldn't integrate a higher level autopilot to completely take over operating the aircraft. The pilot would be there to deviate around weather and make command decisions and taxi.

In an emergency, say an engine out, the advanced autopilot would know the runway and location and execute perfect E/O procedures. It could also simultaneously detect a fire and put it out. All while you watch.

Have you used the newer drone software available today? You tell it where you want to go and it handles the rest. I envision that will be what aviation is like in the next generation. You are there to monitor.

I personally don't see aircraft operated from the ground at this point. But a reduction in pilots required? Sure.

 

Not within the next 20 years. How long does it take to develop a new aircraft? Then get approval from the FAA. you wouldn’t be able to change a current aircraft to make it work.

 

Under experimental rules of course. Cargo, maybe in 20yrs.
Passenger, not happening. German wings, Hacking, pilot incapacitation, pax reluctance, expense, FAA, could go on and on.

 

Remember when FedEx converted their DC-10's and removed the flight engineer? And that was years ago.

https://newatlas.com/sikorsky-s-76-h...-flight/43650/

Good video at the end of the article. They have also flown a Caravan to test out the system. And that is over two years old. Here is a new one:

https://www.defensenews.com/land/201...he-first-time/

So no, you do not need a new aircraft design.