CEO says unmanned flights are 5 years away

[Soku39]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/darpa-digital-co-pilot-technology-alias-could-replace-pilot-save-lives/

I wish I could have seen a news cycle like that coming. Safety, Germanwings, transform the industry...Man, it has almost all the buzz words.

Luckily this is decades away in passenger aircraft that are far more complex than helicopters.

So there will still be two of us but we'll have even less to do, it gets better all the time.

 

[JordanD]

So there will still be two of us but we'll have even less to do, it gets better all the time.

 

[belizepilot]

This won't happen within our lifetimes, at the continued rate of current regional FO pay scales. The costs would continue to be cheaper to operate with people in the cockpits. One day I could see this happening but not within the next 50-60 years. Just to give you some perspective.......this still occurs on a daily basis.

 

[Alanna]

As long as they don't have to be able to walk...

 

[genot]

This won't happen within our lifetimes, at the continued rate of current regional FO pay scales. The costs would continue to be cheaper to operate with people in the cockpits. One day I could see this happening but not within the next 50-60 years. Just to give you some perspective.......this still occurs on a daily basis. View attachment 31961

Que a Sarah Mclachlan ASPCA commercial.

Every hour a regional FO pays a dollar for a bag of Lays.
: Cut to a spiky haired First Officer depositing change in a vending machine::
"They suffer alone and terrified."
::Setting, generic cockpit::
"Waiting for someone to help."
"You can sponsor a regional FO for only 18 dollars a month."

Back on topic, unmanned flights come when even the worst paid airline pilots earn a solid professional salary from day one or the data uplink costs less than 18 nights in a La Quinta. So, 2035 is my guess.

 

[jwp_145]

From a technological stand point he is correct. It would be easy to do and only requires adding a few magic boxes to the autoflight systems.

I'll say it again, and again I'll get flamed, we will see single pilot airliners before my toddler graduates college.

There is zero chance that it will ever happen on scheduled revenue service. There will always have to be a human being sitting there incase things go FUBARd. ANd another person to be there incase things go FUBARd and the first person dies.

The FARs dealing with certification are already so stringent in some areas that the airframers are limited in innovation. Removing the two skilled people up front? Thats a certification issue that won't be overcome during my career. Hell, often the dang autopilot can't even cope with rough air and gives up the ghost. There would have to be less than a .000001 percent chance of that happening.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

As long as they don't have to be able to walk...

Don't make NewsBot angry.

HAIL NEWSBOT!

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

This won't happen within our lifetimes, at the continued rate of current regional FO pay scales. The costs would continue to be cheaper to operate with people in the cockpits. One day I could see this happening but not within the next 50-60 years. Just to give you some perspective.......this still occurs on a daily basis. View attachment 31961

Nooooooooooo!!!!!

 

[PeanuckleCRJ]

It's been 5 years and we still can't get RNP certification for the 320 fleet yet. No red tape involved at all when it comes to the Feds.