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Mu impression is most commercial flights are largely run on autopilot. AFAIK, pilots typically only get involved for takeoff, landing, flight path changes and
by DoubleCribble 9y ago
Mu impression is most commercial flights are largely run on autopilot. AFAIK, pilots typically only get involved for takeoff, landing, flight path changes and abnormal events. If last-mile piloting was a thing, I'm sure the airlines would try to cut costs by getting rid of the crew for the auto-pilot segments. It seems trivial for an automated truck to pull off the highway and wait for a trucker to deliver a vehicle, yet impossible for an aircraft to hold at 30k feet and wait for a pilot.
- silvestrov 9y agoA huge difference is that when something goes wrong with a truck then the autopilot can just apply the brakes and let the truck come to a halt and wait for help. That doesn't work with airplanes.
- greggarious 9y ago>It seems trivial for an automated truck to pull off the highway and wait for a trucker to deliver a vehicle, yet impossible for an aircraft to hold at 30k feet and wait for a pilot. I think many people will not like the idea of sharing a highway with an unmanned truck. I've done my fair share of driving (including a couple cross country drives to SF for internships), and the scariest parts usually involved passing or being in close proximity to semis.