James, you have no idea what you’re talking about.

Also, it’s DRIVEL, not “dribble.”

As to why that’s especially funny here, you need to see the move “Burn After Reading.”

Only a video game? Really? I’m gonna remember that comment the next time I’m in in the simulator, or the next time I’m flying a complicated departure out of Bogota, or an arrival into SFO, or the RNAV to 13L at Kennedy with a 25-knot crosswind…. or a thousand other examples. If you really are a pilot, you ought to be ashamed for giving people such a misleading idea of what flying actually entails.

Did you actually read the article that I wrote?

You state that you were a Gulfstream pilot and have 17,000 hours. I really HOPE that’s not true, because this crap about how you “only fly the plane for four minutes”…. no pilot with an ounce of self-respect would type something so misleading, throwing his profession under the bus and giving people a completely distorted idea of what “flying” actually entails.

Meanwhile, for pilotless planes to become a reality would require a complete reinvention of the entire aviation infrastructure, from airports to ATC. That alone would equate to tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars and would take a LONG TIME.

Not to mention perfecting a technology that effectively doesn’t exist yet. Right now, it takes almost ten years to develop a “normal” jetliner. How long would it take to develop a reliable, equally safe pilotless one, and THEN work that plane into that currently nonexistent infrastructure?

And don’t start going on about drones? If you are going to equate drones or military UAVs to commercial aircraft, then it’s clear you have NO idea what you’re talking about and this entire conversation is pointless.

Okay, I’m calling bullshit.

I have somewhere around 15,000 hours, over 13,000 of them with commercial airlines, and I’ve made more go-arounds than I can remember. Most of my colleagues would say the same. Once in a Beech-99, and once in a Boeing 757, we were forced to make TWO go-arounds on the same approach (both because of ATC spacing)!

And your remark about “third world airlines” is obnoxious. Avianca is one of the oldest airlines in the world (older than any U.S. carrier) and its pilots are highly skilled.

Hi Denzel pick another career there will not be a job for you in the future as the pilotless planes will doom your chances of actually flying a plane. Sad but true. Already it’s only a video game at best. Good luck Denzel.

I agree Steve, but I don’t think we have that much time left. The other day I saw Avianca make two go arounds in Medellin Colombia on a crystal clear day on a long runway with passengers on board. Other than pilot training I have only made one go around in my 50 year career of 17,000 hours so it just goes to show you the pilots especially in those third world countries are weak at best. Where we require a minimum of 1500 for SIC they put them up there with 250 hours. Come on man that’s dangerous crap.

“…Yeah yeah organic and fluid or any other adjectives you can conjur to romanticize flying…”

It’s not to romanticize anything. I chose that word because it’s the best one I could find to underscore how complex and changing every flight is.

“…You sounded like a mid 1970s flight engineer when you talked about all of the moving parts, and where are the flight engineers now?…”

Oh my gawd, Charles. That’s the most irritating comparison I’ve ever heard: the idea that the elimination of the flight engineer is somehow analogous to the elimination of pilots altogether. Gimme a break. And when I said “moving parts,” I obviously didn’t mean it in the literal sense. I was talking about all the various factors that affect how a flight is operated, from gate to gate.

“…All I can really say is let’s meet back in 25 years and see how things look…”

Twenty-five years? Nah. Let’s make it forty. Planes under development right now, like the 777-X, etc., are forecasting out at least 25 years with no significant changes to design or operation. And we haven’t even STARTED working on the ATC and airport infrastructures.

Yeah yeah organic and fluid or any other adjectives you can conjur to romanticize flying. I get it. I love it too. However we’re already seeing ATC data link upgrades that will help eliminate read back hear back issues and allow for direct input from ATC, the biggest issue for CAT3c landings are emergency crews ability to assist in the event they’re needed on the ground. You sounded like a mid 1970s flight engineer when you talked about all of the moving parts, and where are the flight engineers now? They went the way of the navigator and radio operator. All I can really say is let’s meet back in 25 years and see how things look. My bet is that there will be far fewer of us on payroll with many more flights per day. Again, I want to agree with you but the heads of the major aircraft manufactures are already in preparation for the inevitable.