Final Blog (Unmanned
Aircraft)
With the
drone market exploding, unmanned aircraft seem to be a hot topic in the
aviation world. Drones are being used for all types of work and pleasure. There
are new regulations and law that makes the unmanned market a difficult market
to comply with. Another interesting topic that comes along with unmanned
aircraft is the process of taking the pilot out of the cockpit. It seems to be
something that will happen but how soon? How will the general population react
to it? Is the technology capable for being 100% safe? All questions that we
have to look at for the future of commercial aviation.
According
to CNN, CEOs believe that unmanned passenger flights are about 5 years away. In
a CNN article from 2015, there is a video of robot arm the controls a small
aircraft. The technology seems to be there and reliable but currently the FAA
only allows for large unmanned aircraft for the military. If this becomes
reality, the FAA will have to come up with new regulations. (Patterson, 2015). Many
people believe it will make the industry safer as it takes out the human factor
that have caused many accidents in the past. Most accidents now look at human
factor because they are getting tougher and tougher to solve (Robinson, 2016).
Personally,
it would feel very weird to be on a pilot-less airliner. I feel the pilot is the
last line of defense which gives all passengers a good feeling if something
goes wrong. We would be relying on technology that yes is proven but could
always fail. If it does fail who fixes the problem? There will have to be a
backup system that fixes the computers problems. Like every change in life
however, people get used to them. Once this becomes the norm, people will still
fly and people in the far future will think it was crazy that humans actually
flew the aircraft.
This
technology can also solve the ongoing problem of the shortage of pilots. "As
many of 30,00 pilots will reach the mandatory retirement age of 65 by
2026" (Schmidt, 2017). With all these pilots leaving and not many people
interested in aviation, the pilot less aircraft can help solve this problem. It
can also help save airlines money as veteran pilots make great money. More
flights will be able to be booked as airlines don't have to worry about rest
time and pilots schedules. There will be less time having to wait for the crew
which will help keep every flight on time without human factor delays.
Maintenance will be a problem I believe because there won't be a pilot to do
the walk around of the aircraft and daily checks. Airport workers might be held
responsible for duties such as these.
There are
many opinions on this matter and all have good points. Pilots will hate it as
it takes away jobs from thousands of pilots. Others believe that we are not
even close to a pilotless airliner. May be 15 years away (Toronto Globe Mail,
2015). Regardless of how far away it is, we still have to start looking at an
industry without pilots. We will be much more prepared if we accept it as
reality because it is coming, eventually.
References:
Patterson,
T. (2015, June 27). Company: Pilotless passenger planes 5 years away. Retrieved
April 19, 2017, from
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/26/travel/remote-controlled-passenger-airplane/
BBC
- Future - Would you fly in a pilotless airliner? (n.d.). Retrieved April 19,
2017, from
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160912-would-you-fly-in-a-pilotless-airliner
Ally
Schmidt | Jan 30, 2017 1:53 pm EDT. (n.d.). What Are Airlines Doing to
Solve the Pilot Shortage? Retrieved April 19, 2017, from
http://marketrealist.com/2017/01/what-are-airlines-doing-to-solve-the-pilot-shortage/
Pilotless
Planes? Not So Fast. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from
http://www.askthepilot.com/pilotless-planes/
