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from the queue-the-'Airplane!'-references-in-3,2,1 dept.
Pilotless commercial airliners are about to be tested, but potential passengers are wary:
How comfortable would you feel getting on a pilotless plane? That is the question millions of people may have to ask themselves in the future if they want to jet off on holiday around the world.
As we move closer to a world of driverless cars, which have already been on the road in some US cities and have also been tested in London, remotely controlled planes may be the next automated mode of transport. Plane manufacturer Boeing plans to test them in 2018.
A survey by financial services firm UBS suggests that pilotless aircraft not be too popular, however, with 54% of the 8,000 people questioned saying they would be unlikely to take a pilotless flight. The older age groups were the most resistant with more than half of people aged 45 and above shunning the idea.
Only 17% of those questioned said they would board such a plane, with more young people willing to give them a try and the 25 to 34 age group the most likely to step on board.
[...] Steve Landells, the British Airline Pilots Association's (Balpa) flight safety specialist, said: "We have concerns that in the excitement of this futuristic idea, some may be forgetting the reality of pilotless air travel. Automation in the cockpit is not a new thing - it already supports operations. However, every single day pilots have to intervene when the automatics don't do what they're supposed to. Computers can fail, and often do, and someone is still going to be needed to work that computer."
Fnord666: So how about it soylentils? Would you fly on a pilotless plane?
(Score: 2) by ledow on Wednesday August 09 2017, @06:16PM
Er... I live in the UK. Europe is literally a 30 minute car journey through the Channel Tunnel. I don't even have to get out of the car (drive on train, drive off over end). Or on the multitude of ferries (drive onto ferry, drive out the other end). And on both I can take what I want in the car (I think LPG and weapons - banned anyway - are the only exceptions that can't go in the tunnel, but you can buy LPG the other end if you need it). Just from where I'm sitting, I could be in France, the Netherlands or Ireland in an hour, and from the first two, I can literally go anywhere in Europe, Asia or Africa just by driving if the desire takes me.
Three continents, dozens and dozens and dozens of countries without getting my feet wet. I don't think I need a plane, thanks.
And that's before you even include things like proper boats (cruise ships, etc.).
Air travel is only necessary if you isolate yourself on a continent and never move outside it. Most US citizens have never been to Canada, or Mexico. That's just sad.
100 miles South from where I am, nobody speaks English. I know, I tried to camp around that country. East, you have the same problem with a multitude of languages, but they tend to speak English too.
To be honest, South America is the only thing I couldn't get to that I might miss in terms of culture - Oz is just hot English people. America is... well... American. We had cultures before those countries were even populated by their modern cultures. In fact, excluding a minority of indigenous tribes, they were both seeded from with a couple of hours of me!
So I don't think I'll suffer, thanks.