MissedApproach
Well-Known Member
I know that this has been beaten into the ground but I'm going to bring it up again in a slightly different capacity.
The other day I saw an interesting show on the discovery channel about the 777. A 777 capt mentioned that he thought in a decade or two there would be no need for an F.O. Basically automation would get to the point where it could supercede the duties of the F.O.
I got to thinking about this and it really seems quite plausible in the future. I assume the greatest obstacle an airline would face with only having one pilot would be maintaining the publics confidence. To get around this each airline could have a center that, in an emergency, could remotely fly a plane and have 100% control of all functions. There would always be pilots in exact replica "simulators" so if something happened they could connect to that aircraft and take control of it. Basically if something happened the airliner could become something of a UAV. If an FO (or several) was ever needed they could simply be virtually provided.
I don't know if this would be enough to maintain the publics confidence but it is certainly a scary thought. If automation and remote technology are integrated in such a fashion this idea might just hold water.
The other day I saw an interesting show on the discovery channel about the 777. A 777 capt mentioned that he thought in a decade or two there would be no need for an F.O. Basically automation would get to the point where it could supercede the duties of the F.O.
I got to thinking about this and it really seems quite plausible in the future. I assume the greatest obstacle an airline would face with only having one pilot would be maintaining the publics confidence. To get around this each airline could have a center that, in an emergency, could remotely fly a plane and have 100% control of all functions. There would always be pilots in exact replica "simulators" so if something happened they could connect to that aircraft and take control of it. Basically if something happened the airliner could become something of a UAV. If an FO (or several) was ever needed they could simply be virtually provided.
I don't know if this would be enough to maintain the publics confidence but it is certainly a scary thought. If automation and remote technology are integrated in such a fashion this idea might just hold water.