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How does a single pilot flight allow the only pilot to visit the lav? Putting a cabin crewmember alone in the cockpit seems like a terrible bet that no emergen

How does a single pilot flight allow the only pilot to visit the lav? Putting a cabin crewmember alone in the cockpit seems like a terrible bet that no emergency (or even abnormal) will occur over the thousands of such occurrences.

belter 3y ago
That is not the idea. It's having full autonomy but still having one pilot because going from two to zero would be considered too much of a jump right now. The reason Airbus is pushing for one pilot is because they can do the full autonomy. Next will be Traffic Controllers - "Airbus Unmanned Traffic Management" - https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/autonomous-connected/airbus-unmanned-traffic-management https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/autonomous-connected/ai...
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> How does a single pilot flight allow the only pilot to visit the lav? Autopilot becomes the first officer. When the pilot goes to the lavatory, they hand control to the autopilot. (Same in case of incapacitation.) In practice, I assume the first flights to test this will be on short routes. The pilot needing to go to the bathroom would constitute an emergency.
- gedy 3y ago
  > Same in case of incapacitation. Though how tf would they land?
  - belter 3y ago
    "The Autonomous Taxi, Take-off and Landing (ATTOL) project" - https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020-06-airbus-concludes-attol-with-fully-autonomous-flight-tests https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020-06-ai...
  - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    > how tf would they land? Most planes—including many GA planes—can land themselves.
    - wkat4242 3y ago
      Yes the Cirrus vision even has a land at nearest airport mode that can be activated by a passenger in the back. It's not exactly graceful though. It'll just announce its intentions on the emergency channel and picks the nearest runway it wants. You'd better have a really good reason for it. It's still better than activating the CAPS parachute though which will usually total the airframe and can cause injuries.
    - sokoloff 3y ago
      Most? Like more than half? I don’t think that’s correct, even with a flight crew that's not incapacitated, but vanishingly few can auto-land with an incapacitated crew.
  - dharmab 3y ago
    Aircraft have been reliably landing themselves for decades now. Tom Scott did a video where he was coached through a simulated landing of an airliner with zero flying experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbTDzPUDxqY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbTDzPUDxqY The technology is even to the point where drones can reliably land on aircraft carriers. US Navy fighter pilots now have software assistance for landing on carriers (Magic Carpet/Precision Landing Mode). What was once one of the most dangerous feats in aviation is now a routine and reliably safe operation. https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/Navys-latest-flight-control-technology-sustains-safety-skies/Tue-12142021-1541 https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/Navys-latest-flight-control...

belter 3y ago

That is not the idea. It's having full autonomy but still having one pilot because going from two to zero would be considered too much of a jump right now. The reason Airbus is pushing for one pilot is because they can do the full autonomy. Next will be Traffic Controllers - "Airbus Unmanned Traffic Management" - https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/autonomous-connected/airbus-unmanned-traffic-management https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/autonomous-connected/ai...

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> How does a single pilot flight allow the only pilot to visit the lav? Autopilot becomes the first officer. When the pilot goes to the lavatory, they hand control to the autopilot. (Same in case of incapacitation.) In practice, I assume the first flights to test this will be on short routes. The pilot needing to go to the bathroom would constitute an emergency.

gedy 3y ago
> Same in case of incapacitation. Though how tf would they land?
- belter 3y ago
  "The Autonomous Taxi, Take-off and Landing (ATTOL) project" - https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020-06-airbus-concludes-attol-with-fully-autonomous-flight-tests https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020-06-ai...
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > how tf would they land? Most planes—including many GA planes—can land themselves.
  - wkat4242 3y ago
    Yes the Cirrus vision even has a land at nearest airport mode that can be activated by a passenger in the back. It's not exactly graceful though. It'll just announce its intentions on the emergency channel and picks the nearest runway it wants. You'd better have a really good reason for it. It's still better than activating the CAPS parachute though which will usually total the airframe and can cause injuries.
  - sokoloff 3y ago
    Most? Like more than half? I don’t think that’s correct, even with a flight crew that's not incapacitated, but vanishingly few can auto-land with an incapacitated crew.
- dharmab 3y ago
  Aircraft have been reliably landing themselves for decades now. Tom Scott did a video where he was coached through a simulated landing of an airliner with zero flying experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbTDzPUDxqY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbTDzPUDxqY The technology is even to the point where drones can reliably land on aircraft carriers. US Navy fighter pilots now have software assistance for landing on carriers (Magic Carpet/Precision Landing Mode). What was once one of the most dangerous feats in aviation is now a routine and reliably safe operation. https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/Navys-latest-flight-control-technology-sustains-safety-skies/Tue-12142021-1541 https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/Navys-latest-flight-control...