Autonomous civil aircraft could be flying before cars go driverless. The Economist.

Run_to_da_hills

I'm surprised that Michael OLeary hasn't come up with this idea.



Could an unmanned aircraft handle sever bird strikes?

Within the next few weeks a twin-engined Jetstream will take off from Warton Aerodrome in Lancashire, England, and head north towards Scotland. Like any other flight, the small commuter airliner will respond to instructions from air-traffic controllers, navigate a path and take care to avoid other aircraft. But the pilot flying the aircraft will not be in the cockpit: he will have his feet firmly on the ground in a control room back at Warton.

Pilotless aircraft are now widely used by the armed forces, but those drones fly only in restricted airspace and conflict zones. The Jetstream mission is part of a project to develop the technologies and procedures that will allow large commercial aircraft to operate routinely and safely without pilots in the same skies as manned civilian flights.

America’s aviation regulators have been asked by Congress to integrate unmanned aircraft into the air-traffic control system as early as 2015. Some small drones are already used in commercial applications, such as aerial photography, but in most countries they are confined to flying within sight of their ground pilot, much like radio-controlled model aircraft. Bigger aircraft would be capable of flying farther and doing a lot more things.

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21567053-autonomous-civil-aircraft-could-be-flying-cars-go-driverless-your?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/pilotlessaircraft

donvito99

Skynet...:o?

Cork boy 55

I will not be flying in it anyway.

I don't get off the ground unless the craft has two pilots and two engines