And as long as we're predicting the future...
 

1. We will all be riding in silent, clean, cheap electric aircraft (see electric/hybrid thread).

2. There will be no ATC anywhere except at the biggest airports as we all have ADS-B and keep own separation. No more close calls and mid airs.

3. If we need to talk to a specific aircraft on our screen, we'll just call them up on the ADS-B. Likewise, ATC can call us up.

4. All weather will be instantly displayed on our MFD's, worldwide. No more XM US-customers-only stuff.

5. IR as we know it will disappear. It will be an integrated part of the PPL as we will be able to do precision approaches on WAAS GPS. I can foresee this: for marginal VFR weather approach you may hand fly, but for hard IMC approach an autopilot must take you down to minimums. No IR required.

6. We may choose any height and keep our own separation and not have to speak to anyone. The concept of flight levels will disappear as the QNH will automatically be updated as you pass through each weather region.

7. Non standard approaches for everyone. Whatever goes or fits the mission is possible. You're responsible for your own separation though the ADS-B. Maybe there will be a unicom freq at airports where you can inform other aircraft, like:

-F-UTUR, this is Delta 488, I'll just pull ahead of you here on the final as I'm doing 60kts more and can slot in.
-Delta 488 go right ahead, F-UR.

Man, wouldn't it be great?

It would be great - until the alternator quit!

We're still struggling with the certification requirement that aircraft be able to fly safely with the electrics turned off...

But, I agree, it will happen one day....

8. There will be no windows on aircraft, since nobody will have time to look outside anyway.

9. Private aviation will generally come to a standstill, once it is realized that if you're gonna play computer games it is much cheaper to do so on the ground at home.

10. The history of MMI induced accidents from commercial aviation in the 80's will repeat itself in private aviation, but given the far lower emphasis on training and procedure development in private aviation the problem will persist.

11. Given the above points, particularly 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10, I'm going to buy a very big, very sturdy umbrella. :sad:

12. None of this will happen since nobody will pay for it. :ok:

Er NO!

Amen! Exactly. Save me from such a future. Gimme a stick, a rudder and the bare minimum electronic faff. I came to fly - I get paid to play with computers; it's boring.

We'll all be grounded as a threat to National Security.

Naaa, the least thing on the ground which has the most remote public importance, and all "No over my backyard" guys with or without sturdy umbrellas, will have electronic preprogrammed exclusion zones around their sensative ground based features. General aviation will be relegated to only the vast wilderness (haa, I'm safe here) and those little areas which occasionally exist between the exclusion zones.

All of this will happen because pilot skill will evolve to being a fly where the GX000 unit tells you, and don't think about what you are doing. The public will loose faith in our ability (averaged over the skill set of all pilots in general) to find our way, and deal with emercencies, without bumping into something which could be damaged. All human endeavours "dumb down" over the generations, so technology and exclusion zones must takeover public safety.

Case in point: In the last two weeks in Toronto, 14 pedestrians have been killed by vehicals while crossing the street (not counting injuries). How long will it be before Toronto starts erecting those pedestrian barricades, which I have seen on curbs in London and Hong Kong? Okay, well at least Toronto pedestrians had their freedom longer! (Until they, and in many cases the motorists, abused it with carelessness).

I own my runway, and aircraft with zero electrics and automated navigational capability will always be welcomed here!

What's the point?
 

With such a degree of automation the pilot becomes redundant.

And if the automation fails the pilot will no longer have the skills to fly the aircraft, so is still redundant.

You've certainly got some imagination Adam :D

However: I would have thought the response from your French registered aircraft to Delta's request to overtake would be more like ":mad::mad: you American :mad:" :ok:

Electric aircraft will not need batteries as we will be so restricted we'll be able to leave it plugged into the mains as we fly round in 50ft circles.
DO.

The future of aviation in the UK?

1) Due to a perceived threat to National Security, all private flying will be banned.
2) Thanks to the alleged impact of climate change, all commercial flying will be banned.
3) Because of the national debt, we won't be able to afford the military and will outsource it to India. Ergo, there will be no military flying.
4) To provide the government with intelligence on what the population is doing, UAV's will be the only form of flying taking place
5) Most of us will have had enough and will have emigrated
6) EASA will be producing statistics showing how the accident rate in aviation has decreased since they took over safety (actually because there's no aeroplanes).
7) The CAA will still be producing CAP... documents on pilot licencing...even though there's no pilots to licence.

electric aircraft
 

May be this is the future, an electric aircraft from NASA.

With the next round of batteries, Lithium Air the range will go up by a factor of 5 to 10 and with so much electric power on board, who needs an alternator for the electronics.

Electric Icarus: NASA Designs a One-Man Stealth Plane: Scientific American

But there is no automation - just aids. I wasn't talking about getting rid of stick and rudder skills, quite the contrary, just all the other annoying stuff. Like calling up radar services asking for basic services only to find out no such service is actually not provided, but you still have to squawk. Or being told what level I have to fly on according to some quadrantal rule. Or having to be excluded from an airport because they can't cope with the workload. Just the freedom to fly wherever I want.:ok:

That's half the fun of flying gone. There needs to be some skill involved, and you must take the rough with the smooth. If everything goes perfectly, everytime, I wouldn't call that fun at all.

I actually enjoy all of the hurdles that come with the territory, a bit of challenge keeps the mind active, and the rest of the time you sit and look out the window.

I like our non-MFD, polluting, noisy aircraft just fine, thanks. The noise and vibration, smells and smoke puffs, that's all part of the package for me. Having a windfarm upfront powering you isn't much fun. :(

Haven't seen this one yet.

13. Avgas 100LL will disappear either because the market becomes too small so no oil company is interested anymore, or because it's made illegal due to environmental concerns, or both.

14. For certain engines alternative fuels will be produced or allowed (STC), but a lot of older, high-performance planes will be stranded.

This is the future Flight for the private pilot:ok:
I`like The End..


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