UAV Airliners.

Something we always felt would be useful (got nowhere in promoting it tho) would be total aircraft surveillance. You could easily send back really good multi-camera images of the interior and cockpit in real time.

If you see something happening, no sweat, the ground instantly knows what is going on.

Originally posted by Imperium Americana

The Pentagon admits that the Global Hawk UAV has a crash rate more than 50 times that of F-16 piloted fighter jets, and has set a target to reduce this by 2009 (see graph)
NS

Percentages are not relevant in this compairiosn. How many Global hawks are in service... FIVE? How many f-16s... 1000? So, one Global Hawk (basically prototypes) crashes and it is a TWENTY PERCENT crash rate 20%. 200 f-16s would need to crash to equal this number. So, your stats are purposely skewed to prove a point. Also, you have a time tested, production aircraft vs. basically a prototype. Your comparison is moot.

Originally posted by Imperium Americana

Opps so much for no pilot error with UAV. I think you are confusing AUAV with UAV. Big difference there.

The Global Hawk is an AUAV. There ids not actual joystick piloting going on.... the flight plans can be changed by a controller but other than that it can fly completely autonomously after it has been given a destination. So, no, I am not confused.

[edit on 17-8-2006 by Slap Nuts]

Originally posted by Imperium Americana
What system can taxi a commerical aircraft, from the gate to the active? LOL

There much more to flying than just pushing a few buttons. But yeah I can see how that would "wind them up"; you know diminishing their value in a profession wherer they have worked very hard to get where they are.

Me bad, doesn't appear to be operational yet.

But its pretty simple. GPS tells aircraft where it is, it matches position to airport layout, and goes on bearing to selected destination [like a hold point or gate] via the waypoints [taxiway corners].

Dunno who told me about it, one of the pilots, or one of the guys working with airbus I guess.



Really? There is much more to it... if you [the pilot] want there to be, but put in a few coordinates, hit a few buttons and you've your flight plan set-up. Turn it on and off you go. No more input required.

@ the work bit. From those that I know, they are doing something they love, its not work.