waco. pilotless aircraft is a lost leader.
it makes no difference if there are 200 souls sitting in an aircraft, or 80 tonnes of general cargo, a couple of hundred tonnes of aircraft impacting at high speed into a housing estate, tower block, football stadium can bring about a significant tragedy.
as for pilotless drones, well they are pilotless for a reason, they are dispensable, with no loss of life. trains still run with a driver in charge and they operate in one dimension (aircraft operates in three and is subject to considerably more environmental factors that a train).
pilotless aircraft are controlled from the ground, by err a pilot.. and in civilian use that poses a huge security risk, as well software that controls them is code written be erm a human.
in essence pilotless drones, disposable for military applications have basically bugger all to do with deteriorating T&C's for pilots.
As for doctors, no they are not tested routinely every few months to check that their skills are operating at maximum, nor are required to meet as stringent medical criteria; neither are architects, lawyers, politicians, ophthalmologists, accountants, company chairmen, company directors etc etc.
Last edited by stuckgear; 25th Sep 2012 at 16:55.