lph1235

Hello, I am a high school student and am fascinated by aviation. My dream job is to become an airline pilot. I absolutely love flying and I would love the lifestyle that goes along with being an airline pilot (traveling, etc.). However, I am very worried that by 2066 (retirement year) I will be flying the aircraft from a remote control at a data center or be out of a job completely. Do you guys think the threat of unmanned airliners should be enough to turn me away from becoming an airline pilot? Is there any chance I could still be flying an airliner from the cockpit before I retire?

SideFlare

I think you'll be fine... Finish high school, do some flying, get your degree, and if you're still passionate about it give it a go. Lots of info out there about the future of unmanned flight, and you'll have ample time to gauge the industry when you've got some hours under your belt. For now, enjoy the real flying that is piloting a Cessna around and see what happens. Best of luck!

lph1235

Thanks, I appreciate the input!

rickair7777

The only people who think airliners will be unmanned in less than 100 years are people who know nothing about systems engineering, artificial intelligence, government, ATC, and/or economics.

jowong1

Go get a degree engineering, then get a job at Boeing and come tell us about the threat of unmanned airliners

742Dash

Boeing's next airliner is probably going to be their "middle of the market" project. It might enter service in 2025. Assuming a 20 year production run (which would be short by historical standards) and a 25 year life for individual airframes, you will be retired while a lot of these airplanes are still out there flying. And there is no question that it will have a normal 2 man cockpit.

That is one example. The bigger picture is that there are no real projects at either Airbus or Boeing that will be unmanned. Little groups playing "what if", but when it comes to committing money to cutting metal (laying up carbon fiber) for real hardware there is nothing. Consider then the development time for a new airplane, their production life and then the life of the individual airframes.

The career is safe.

Between 1946 and 1950 there was a lot of noise that there would be an "airplane in every garage". See how that worked out? Unmanned airliners are similar -- lots of talk by people who do not understand the realities of the industry.