“This is your captain speaking. You are currently flying at 30,000 feet. I, on the other hand, am at ground level enjoying a beer at my favorite bar.”
The thought of pilotless commercial airlines might be a bit tough to swallow, but according to a recent article by Tyler Brûlé, this is the future we have to look forward to.
Of course, planes such as the Predator are already flying without pilots; pimply faced kids in Nevada trailers are joysticking them all over Iraq and Afghanistan for the army.
Commercial use, however, still has a few hurdles to jump over. How does a “cockpit-free” airline, for example, deal with the PA announcements while in flight, speculates Brûlé. Will it be a recorded message that will freak out the passengers as though HAL himself is flying the plane? Or will it be a trailer full of Nevada phone sex workers softly cooing into the PA system to buckle up while safely on the ground.
Personally, I think they should pump in sound bites from the old Airplane movies. That, would make flying far more enjoyable in my book!