Rumor concerning flight automation

[madupz]

I have been dreaming about becoming a profession pilot. I have just completed my senior year in high school, and am looking for a route to my ultimate goal as an Airline pilot. I have spent hours researching, and narrowing down flight schools and academies. My only concern about becoming a pilot is the future need for pilots. I have read about increased automation in aircraft and I feel uneasy about the possibility of pilots becoming obsolete in the coming decades. I look to you for career guidance on the matter of pilots becoming knob turners and possibly extinct from commercial aviation. Any input from the forum would be more than helpful and I thank you in advance.

[Notso Fantastic]

If you go to the QUESTIONS Forum, there is a thread called 'crewless aircraft' where this is extensively discussed. Alternatively do a search from the menu at the top on that.

[747FOCAL]

Best thing to do is buy a dog and train it to bite you when you reach for things except to feed it. :E

[madupz]

I just finished high-school, not grad-school :(

[747FOCAL]

That is an old joke. Pilots often talk of the days when there will only be one pilot and a dog in the cockpit. The dog is there to bite the pilot if he tries to touch anything and the pilot is there to feed and water the dog. ;)

[Notso Fantastic]

Look also for this thread in the Tech Log Forum here: "Will pilots be redundant in 50 years?"

[GrantT]

"That is an old joke."

It suuuuure is :rolleyes:

[TopBunk]

madupz

The next generation of aircraft, such as the A380, are stilled planned with 2 pilots minimum. These are likely to be in production for 30 years with a lifespan of 30 years. ie in 60 years time the A380 will still be flying and requiring pilots, by which time you will eb retired. Don't worry about it.

[TurboJ]

I can't personally enviasge the day that commercial aircraft carrying 400+ passengers become crew less.

Never say never, but its science fiction/hollywood stuff, IMHO

[Lucifer]

passengers are irrationally nervous enough as it is - tell them there'e no one up front and they'll jump out like lemmings!

[NWSRG]

Some day, when you can jump into your trusty Vauxhall Astra 1.4, and have it drive you to work, the general public might start to accept the distant possibility that some other day, an airplane will be able to fly itself from Heathrow to JFK.

More realistic, is that future airline pilots, some generations from now, will not require the same level of skills as today. More automated systems, plus more pilot aids for when the automatic things don't work, will simplify the role. The 'yellow brick road' that can be projected in Microsoft Flight Simulator, will be in the real thing (the 737NG is nearly there already). So airlines will probably want to 'de-skill' the role (and the pay), but maintain the presence to re-assure passengers.

...this is just my guess...and I am not an aviation professional...but it seems a possibility.

And to the professionals, I promise I'm not suggesting that it is the right way to go!!