Pilots a dying phenomena!
 

Pilotless test plane stolen in Israel

12.11.2003


Thieves have broken into an engineering plant in northern Israel and stolen the prototype of a state-of-the art pilotless plane.

Amir Rochman, marketing manager of Steadicopter, said the burglars forced entry to the plant on Sunday and got away with the 1.5m, 14kg aircraft.

Rochman said that while a new prototype could be built relatively quickly, he was concerned that groundbreaking technology could have found its way to a commercial rival. "Our product does not need to be manually guided by a remote-control joystick or other means.

"Once the map co-ordinates are programmed in, it flies itself. As far as we know this is the first to reach such a high degree of autonomy."

Either "a dying phenomenon" or "dying phenomena". ;)

Still, worrying story.

I wouldn't hold your breath troops.

I believe it was in 1947 that a specially prepared DC-4 first flew across the Atlantic, entirely pilotless. (Well, there was a pilot on board, but he did absolutely nothing)

Not much happened in that regard since!

Periodically, the demise of the pilot is predicted. Fifty years ago the dreadful Duncan Sandys decreed that combat aircraft would be rendered obsolete by guided missiles. He was completely wrong but he almost destroyed the RAF as a fighting force trying to prove otherwise. Similarly, clever non pilots decreed that the aircraft gun was obsolete and provided missile only fighters. Another bad mistake as the Americans discovered in Vietnam.

I think that the fighter pilot will be with us for some time. Imagine being in something like an F-16 in a sky full of drones. Target rich environment.

As long as engineers build and maintain aircraft pilots will be needed to make their imperfect craft safe to operate.