Airbus A380 - Fully automated

[Librankris]

In this age of UAVs, I was wondering what might be the possibility and the practicality of getting an Airbus A380 fully automated without a pilot - Airbus A380 coz I have always been awestruck at the size of this huge flying machine. Additionally, I also think that making these aircrafts unmanned would actually reduce the risk of incidences like 9/11 from happening in the future. What are your thoughts and insights about this? Also, I would like to add that this topic wasn't created with an intention of undermining the potential of all the great pilots out there. :)

[Crazy Voyager]

An automated plane does IMO not reduce the risk of a hijack, but the difference is that you can now hijack it while sitting safely on the ground.

[scotbill]

Would the guy on the ground have been able to save the Qantas 380 at Singapore?

[parabellum]

Some discussion here, generally accepted that the day of the pilotless passenger aircraft is still a very, very long way off! (If ever, there are several threads in the archives on this subject).

http://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/375688-uaf-unmanned-freight-aircraft.html

(EDIT: the thread above goes quickly to Pax aircraft, not just freight).

[wiggy]

But on most modern aircraft, like the A380, most of it is automated.

A lot of the mechanical actions are automated ( push/pull, follow the purple line, open valve/close this valve or that valve). OTOH little, if any, of the critical decision making is done by HAL ( stop/go? left or right of the next thunderstorm?).

That's still a long way off.

[Dont Hang Up]

It is worth remembering that UAV's are primarily about removing the pilot from danger in high risk operations.

Can you imagine an airline trying that argument out their customers!

As for "the terrorist threat". Iran successfully brought down a UAV - whether by jamming or true hacking-in remains unknown, but down it came.

[WindSheer]

Unmanned passenger flights will happen.....probably in some 100-200 years time.

So lets be honest, do we actually give a :mad: ?

[emeritus]

Is there a salesperson out there who could sell a ticket for an unmanned flight ?

I suspect that a lot of people only fly because there is some comfort in the fact that the pilots self preservation instinct provides comfort to their own instinct.

Emeritus

[Romulus]

Unmanned passenger flights will happen.....probably in some 100-200 years time.

So lets be honest, do we actually give a ?

I'd say unmanned passenger flights will occur about 5 years after the economics of getting rid of the flight crew is established. If airlines really wanted it to happen it would, but the costs of doing so simply don't justify removing the meat sacks up front.

[500N]

Apologise to the orignal poster on here but this was his reponse to the question of pilotless aircraft.

"That's as maybe, but numerous studies have shown that the paying public won't fly on an aircraft without a pilot.

The passenger aircraft of the future may well be flown by the computer, but the minimum crew will be one pilot and a dog.

The pilot will be there to re-assure the passengers and feed the dog.

The dog's job will be to ensure that the pilot doesn't mess with the computer.

[scotbill]

In those long gone days when passengers could visit the flight deck, one was frequently told that "you guys have nothing to do now that the computers do it all."

My response was usually along the lines of:

a) It is true that this aircraft has many computers. They enable two of us to manage a machine that once upon a time would have had a crew of five.

b) Do your computers manage your office?
These computers are moving through space at speeds up to 600mph. If we allow our thinking to lag behind them your safety could be seriously compromised. We don't have a pause button.