LAME
Small point really but I take issue with your rather naive assertion that aircraft constructors have been spending fortunes on pilotless aircraft, implying that it is for the good of mankind or the benefit of aviation. Let's face it, the only aircraft manufacturers who have been spending any money on this research are military aircraft manufacturers. They do this for one reason only; it's unpopular to lose airmen in wars.
I would challenge you to get on a pilotless aircraft and fly to say, Bolivia, Katmandu or even Innsbruck; now or even in fifty years. It's all very well to keep quoting figures about recent crashes and how they are mostly due to pilot error. What about all those times we do save the day; or even, if I may be so bland as to suggest we do our job so well that we don't have to save the day.
The issue is, really, what single mistake could one engineer make that would cause a catastrophic failure in a major airliner. Most of the power to do so has, due to previous mistakes (as, to a certain extent, with flying admittedly) been eliminated by procedures put in place. To give one example close to my heart we could perhaps mention that on the RJ series aircraft (and probably all multiengined aircraft, I presume) the servicing of the engines has to be staggered. Was that due directly to the queen's flight incident? I admit I don't know, but in any case someone has obviously thought about it.
What I'm driving at is that it's very easy to point fingers but our job is inherently different to yours. You always have the leisure to correct any mistakes that you make. An engineers ability to fault find is matched by a pilot's ability to assess conditions and have a situational (funny, it originally came out as situanal) awareness. The difference is that if at first YOU don't succeed, YOU can try, try again. Need I say that this is not always true for us? There, I've said it!
Also, your job is subject to far less variables than ours is. Something is either broke or it's fixable; if you're not sure, you can change the part anyway to be on the safe side. We call you because we're not allowed to fix the bloody things ourselves.
Whilst we're on the subject of pilotless aircraft, I could turn the argument around on you and say that not only has the technology for designing and building aircraft automatically (or at least with far less input from engineers than before) been around for far longer than the technology to fly them remotely; but also to maintain them.
BUS 429
I've been waiting for you to come and clean my car for a whole year now. I'll leave my shoes in there too, be a love!
[ 23 October 2001: Message edited by: Secret Squirrel ]
[ 23 October 2001: Message edited by: Secret Squirrel ]
[ 23 October 2001: Message edited by: Secret Squirrel ]