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Posted: 1/25/2009 11:31:47 AM EST
I was thinking about a discussion here few days ago about the new GI Joe movie. There was criticism directed at the comic book for the way regular Joes who specialize as infantrymen or whatever sometimes jump into an aricraft and fly it. This is often done in Hollywood, too (Space Above and Beyond; Battlestar Galactica).

Here is a crazy thought. In the future, when AI becomes even more advanced, could almost anyone fly them? Since the computer would really be doing the flying anyway, and the "pilot" mostly just be directing the aircraft where he wants it to go? Maybe for military forces there would be a graded level of training, from very basic to "real" pilot skills?





EDITED for title modification.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 11:42:25 AM EST
[#1]
although i have some aviation experience.  i would say that many people could fly a plane but few could land them
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 11:45:30 AM EST
[#2]
that's crazy man. just crazy.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 11:47:22 AM EST
[#3]
In the future there won't be pilots.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 11:47:39 AM EST
[#4]
Quoted:
that's crazy man. just crazy.


your crazy man
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 11:58:56 AM EST
[#5]
I doubt pilots will ever be entirely removed from the equation.  However, I do see a day in the not too distant future when flying by remote is far more commonplace, not just for recon and ground attack (UAV/UCAV) but for air-to-air engagements.

Nothing on the technology horizon can substitute for a pilots judgment, nor is there anything in the pipe that can effectively jam the C3 between a pilots brain and their hands and feet.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 12:40:10 PM EST
[#6]
Yep you did.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 12:41:01 PM EST
[#7]
Quoted:
In the future there won't be pilots.
there will be Starship Troopers!

Link Posted: 1/25/2009 12:42:39 PM EST
[#8]
Just make Flight school part of Infantry school. Problem solved.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 12:43:21 PM EST
[#9]
I'm no pilot, but I'd suspect there's a lot more to it than just being able to keep the airplane in the air
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 12:45:32 PM EST
[#10]
Quoted:
I'm no pilot, but I'd suspect there's a lot more to it than just being able to keep the airplane in the air


Nope that is about it. It isn't that big of a deal, just like being a Doctor isn't either. Anybody can do it.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 1:21:17 PM EST
[#11]
Quoted:
although i have some aviation experience.  i would say that many people could fly a plane but few could land them


You would just "fly" it where you wanted to go, and if the computer thought it was an okay idea to land there, it would do it.

Link Posted: 1/25/2009 1:35:05 PM EST
[#12]
Jump in, push start, click a few points on the map and buckle up!
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 1:48:24 PM EST
[#13]
dude-for fucks sakes- people cant even DRIVE much less FLY....
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 1:49:30 PM EST
[#14]
Quoted:
although i have some aviation experience.  i would say that many people could fly a plane but few could land them


I've never flown for real, but on any flight sim I've ever played...landing is a bitch.

Even if many people could fly a plane, I'm sure they wouldn't be able to use it effectively in a military capacity.

Link Posted: 1/25/2009 1:50:16 PM EST
[#15]
Quoted:
dude-for fucks sakes- people cant even DRIVE much less FLY....


No shit. At least these morons are confined to the road (mostly). I don't want nitwits raining down on my house.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 1:51:31 PM EST
[#16]
Northrop Grumman RQ-8 Fire Scout does that
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 2:02:14 PM EST
[#17]
with the advent of  fly by wire, you would have thought that someone could make this a reality.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 2:02:44 PM EST
[#18]
Anyone with a basic idea of how an airplane works can get an Ercoupe into the air and doddle around with it.

There's only so safe you can make something that puts a human much higher than 30 feet in the air.

Link Posted: 1/25/2009 2:03:38 PM EST
[#19]
Landing is the hard part. Everything else is easy enough.

And no there's no point because aircraft will be flying themselves, why have a pilot that limits the maneuvers of the aircraft?
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 2:19:34 PM EST
[#20]
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 2:31:27 PM EST
[#21]
Quoted:
In the future there won't be pilots.



Great. As a 23 year aviation maintenance guy I can honestly say there will be less jerks in the future then. Most pilots are legends in their own minds...
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 2:45:43 PM EST
[#22]
The problem is not controlling the vehicle, it's controlling the traffic.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 2:58:59 PM EST
[#23]
its takes more skill to drive a car then fly a plane....took me 15 minutes on the ground breif, and 10 minutes in the cockpit...then the instructor told me to take off....he did land it for me.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 3:04:31 PM EST
[#24]
Quoted:
its takes more skill to drive a car then fly a plane....took me 15 minutes on the ground breif, and 10 minutes in the cockpit...then the instructor told me to take off....he did land it for me.




You didn't notice the instructor using the rudder pedals and trim wheel while you were "flying", did you?
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 5:27:22 PM EST
[#25]
Quoted:
The problem is not controlling the vehicle, it's controlling the traffic.


The planes will be talking to eachother, too.

Link Posted: 1/25/2009 7:36:56 PM EST
[#26]
Quoted:
Quoted:
In the future there won't be pilots.



Great. As a 23 year aviation maintenance guy I can honestly say there will be less jerks in the future then. Most pilots are legends in their own minds...


ZOMG!! A mechanic just communicated in a language other than grumbles and frowns!  It may even have been English!!! This species have heretofore only been know to "talk" amongst their own kind, and then only when in secluded confines.

Seriously, it's a pity the two groups don't interact on a more understanding basis.

<-post 737
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 7:39:34 PM EST
[#27]
Quoted:
although i have some aviation experience.  i would say that many people could fly a plane but few could land them



Now now , I'm sure the plane coming down is pretty much an inevitability .
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 7:39:41 PM EST
[#28]
Quoted:
I was thinking about a discussion here few days ago about the new GI Joe movie. There was criticism directed at the comic book for the way regular Joes who specialize as infantrymen or whatever sometimes jump into an aricraft and fly it. This is often done in Hollywood, too (Space Above and Beyond; Battlestar Galactica).

Here is a crazy thought. In the future, when AI becomes even more advanced, could almost anyone fly them?





EDITED for title modification.



Already have em.... ask N_T

Link Posted: 1/25/2009 7:41:58 PM EST
[#29]
Quoted:
Quoted:
its takes more skill to drive a car then fly a plane....took me 15 minutes on the ground breif, and 10 minutes in the cockpit...then the instructor told me to take off....he did land it for me.




You didn't notice the instructor using the rudder pedals and trim wheel while you were "flying", did you?


or the radio, or any of the other cockpit management tasks that go with it.

Link Posted: 1/25/2009 7:49:23 PM EST
[#30]
Quoted:
In the future there won't be pilots.



Link Posted: 1/25/2009 7:50:30 PM EST
[#31]
Quoted:
Quoted:
that's crazy man. just crazy.


your crazy man


it's you're
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 7:52:13 PM EST
[#32]
Fuck no.  TCAS doesn't fly the plane.  People cannot fucking drive while talking on a phone, how the fuck are they going to be able to fly and communicate EFFECTIVELY with ATC?

There isn't enough frequencies to communicate with such traffic loads.  And no way for having a autonomous system.  While Garmin with the XM transponders work, it isn't failproof and while quite useful, IFR will always have ATC.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 8:27:12 PM EST
[#33]
Quoted:
although i have some aviation experience.  i would say that many people could fly a plane but few could land them


I could keep a plane straight and level and also do some turns and guide it to an airport if someone was giving me directions. But I would most definitely screw up the landing.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 8:32:36 PM EST
[#34]
Here is a crazy thought. In the future, when AI becomes even more advanced, could almost anyone fly them? Since the computer would really be doing the flying anyway, and the "pilot" mostly just be directing the aircraft where he wants it to go? Maybe for military forces there would be a graded level of training, from very basic to "real" pilot skills?


Hello, we're not talking about today, folks. All you people talking about ATC and frequencies and whatnot are missing the point.

As for the OP, I say yes, why not. Ninety percent of the shit in this room with me right now (3g cell phone, microcomputers, broadband internet, Blu-Ray DVD) was science fiction at best, just 40-50 years ago.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 8:48:05 PM EST
[#35]
Quoted:
Anyone with a basic idea of how an airplane works can get an Ercoupe into the air and doddle around with it.

There's only so safe you can make something that puts a human much higher than 30 feet in the air.



+1 The Ercoupe was supposed to be the airplane of the masses.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 8:49:42 PM EST
[#36]
Quoted:
dude-for fucks sakes- people cant even DRIVE much less FLY....


this right here!!

will the planes be made of nerf?
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 8:51:51 PM EST
[#37]
Quoted:
Quoted:
dude-for fucks sakes- people cant even DRIVE much less FLY....


No shit. At least these morons are confined to the road (mostly). I don't want nitwits raining down on my house.


For real.

If enough retards start flying as they are presently driving, I'm parking this sonofabitch on my roof



Link Posted: 1/25/2009 9:03:04 PM EST
[#38]
It's true it isn't the easiest thing in the world but the whole "any idiot can take off and fly around but only a trained pilot could possibly land a plane successfully" line has more to do with keeping idiots from going on joyrides than any real difficulty in landing a plane IMO.

The hardest part for a novice pilot isn't actually flying the plane but dealing with all the procedures and communications necessary to keep out of trouble.

I'm sure fighter planes and airliners and such are a lot harder to touch down but any idiot who can read a book and find the flaps has a pretty good shot at landing a Piper...low wings are actually easier than high wings because of the ground effect...

All that said, the "everymans aircraft" will probably end up being one of the counter-rotating twin rotary wing designs.
Link Posted: 1/25/2009 9:45:24 PM EST
[#39]
Yep, that is crazy, everyone knows with Rekall there will be no need for flying.

"I like them sleazy".
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 6:11:37 AM EST
[#40]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
dude-for fucks sakes- people cant even DRIVE much less FLY....


No shit. At least these morons are confined to the road (mostly). I don't want nitwits raining down on my house.


For real.

If enough retards start flying as they are presently driving, I'm parking this sonofabitch on my roof

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/7097/491356antiaircraft600dl4.jpg



The average idiot has a hard enough time dealing with two dimensions. Throw them into a 3D environment, add communications and navigation to the mix, then toss in the concept of energy management, and a dash of meteorology.

Massive fail. That's why "aviation for the masses" never took off. The masses are simply too stupid.

(Pilot here since '84, so I am a bit biased )
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 6:35:47 AM EST
[#41]
X-47B iirc, it can auto take off, refuel and land - most in flight operations are also automatic.  I we can do that, we can always add passengers.
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 6:42:56 AM EST
[#42]
Quoted:
I was thinking about a discussion here few days ago about the new GI Joe movie. There was criticism directed at the comic book for the way regular Joes who specialize as infantrymen or whatever sometimes jump into an aricraft and fly it. This is often done in Hollywood, too (Space Above and Beyond; Battlestar Galactica).

Here is a crazy thought. In the future, when AI becomes even more advanced, could almost anyone fly them? Since the computer would really be doing the flying anyway, and the "pilot" mostly just be directing the aircraft where he wants it to go? Maybe for military forces there would be a graded level of training, from very basic to "real" pilot skills?

EDITED for title modification.


this..

coming eventually.. watch and see.. ALL transportation will be AI guided. cars and planes..

now this may freak folks out.. but in the end it will be cool. you get in your car and say 'work' or 'range' or whatever and it takes you there, meanwhile you post away on AR15.com on you lappy or embedded system that has a laser interface with your retina..

aircraft will work the same way..

oncet upon a time, you wanted to go somewhere, you went to the train station got on a train with everyone else, now you get in your own car. today you go to the airport and cram into a plane with a bunch of other cattle (after going through the security shutes). tomorrow you get into your personal skycar and tell it where to go and sit back and it takes you their. highways in the sky..
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 6:45:46 AM EST
[#43]
Reminds me of a scene in an episode of The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob threatens Springfield with a nuclear bomb.

He hops into the cock-pit of a jet and remarks "God bless the idiot-proof Air Force!" as the scene cuts to two buttons in the jet's console:

- FLY

- LAND

_MaH
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 6:51:31 AM EST
[#44]
Quoted:
although i have some aviation experience.  i would say that many people could fly a plane but few could land them


Although I have little flying experience (on the controls) I completely agree.
Actually, I'm pretty sure I could land it ok, it's takeoff that would kill me. I can't even taxi the damn thing down the runway at anything over 10 mph.

Steering with your feet is strange to say the least, and there is a lot of delay in the controls.
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 6:53:49 AM EST
[#45]
Quoted:
The problem is not controlling the vehicle, it's controlling the traffic.


This right here.


Some yahoo almost killed me and my whole crew yesterday by flying one of these (which BTW requires NO license) almost into the flight path of our helo!



It's getting more and more crowded up there everyday.
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 7:01:14 AM EST
[#46]
Quoted:
Quoted:
The problem is not controlling the vehicle, it's controlling the traffic.


This right here.


Some yahoo almost killed me and my whole crew yesterday by flying one of these (which BTW requires NO license) almost into the flight path of our helo!

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/c/crane_WesslingUltralight.jpg

It's getting more and more crowded up there everyday.


Now that looks like a fun toy.  Could see myself having a blast with that thing.
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 7:06:43 AM EST
[#47]
I dont know what it will look like, but I can tell you that it will NOT be a rotary wing aircraft.

There is a metric shitload of maintenance hours required to keep a helo in the air vs a fixed wing aircraft.  There are a lot of moving parts on a helo...  a plane, not so much...
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 7:08:12 AM EST
[#48]


Quoted:


although i have some aviation experience.  i would say that many people could fly a plane but few could land them


Agreed. For basic flight, rudder pedals are optional. As long as you know that pushing the stick forward makes the plane dive (and not accelerate like Hollywood shows) and pulling back makes it climb, you should be good to go...



Every flight simmer's wet dream is to be on a flight where both pilots are incapacitated




 
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 7:09:39 AM EST
[#49]
RE: Hollywood portrayals

To have a manageable number or characters you really MUST combine roles.  It can be done well (BSG) or poorly (Space: Above and Beyond), but it's the reality.  I've never minded roles where a pilot grabs a rifle and starts shooting, but the other way around bugs me a bit.
Link Posted: 1/26/2009 7:14:14 AM EST
[#50]
Quoted:
its takes more skill to drive a car then fly a plane....took me 15 minutes on the ground breif, and 10 minutes in the cockpit...then the instructor told me to take off....he did land it for me.


I'd say 1/3rd of flying is manipulating the flight controls, the other 2/3rds involves making safe and competent decisions. This sadly, is why not everyone (or arguably most everyone) cannot fly a plane.
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