"Tina" wrote in message
...
Interesting story documenting how much pilotless airplanes are being
used in combat. The article says about 500,000 hours have been used so far.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080102/...ned_killers_11

It's interesting to speculate what this might mean for high risk
flights in general, like space flight, as well as more rountine flying.

Until they figure out how to allow UAVs to share crowded, controlled airspace without
being a hazard to other traffic, they will be of limited use. Best guess is that they
will start out hauling freight using low-density or dedicated airspace.

It's going to take some quantum leaps in the technology before their reliability and
safety even approaches the same levels as piloted airline ops. The biggest obstacle for
airline use is psychological - convincing the public to consign their fate to an unmanned
drone. Who wants to hear a cabin announcement that goes "This is your captain speaking.
Even though I am safely ensconced in a suite of remote control facilities on the ground in
India and have never physically piloted a manned aircraft, rest assured that your safety
and comfort are of utmost importance to us. In the event of a loss of signal between me
and your aircraft, the Airbus A900-U is programmed to seek the nearest airport and conduct
an automated landing using the latest CAT-7 technology. We apologize in advance for any
inconvenience this may cause you. Thank you for flying Remote Control Airlines."

Of course, Anthony is anxiously awaiting this development. It's his only hope for
becoming a real "airline pilot".