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In Flight Flight Simulator

yes, flying with autopilot is easy, but what if...
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Today I read an article on how pilots are losing flying proficiency by relying on auto-pilot. I can only imagine how boring most flights are, and auto-pilot takes the edge of that boredom. Let the pilots keep using auto pilot, but in the mean time have them take turns flying a more challenging version of their current flight in a simulator. Here are some scenario ideas:

What if an engine quit....now

GPS is down, find your way to the destination across the pacific.

Spoilers jam open inbound on landing

Bad weather at the destination airport

.... if this isn't challenging enough, have results or even the play by play shown to the passengers. "Today all of you died virtually"

ixnaum, Nov 23 2013

I thought it was a good idea Cockpit_20In_20Flig...Simulation_20Drills
Same idea, but this got twice the buns. Shorter is probably better. Mine got a bit wordy. [doctorremulac3, Jan 25 2015]

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       "The next generation of civil aircraft will have a crew of three; a pilot, a non-pilot, and a dog. The non-pilot is there to feed the dog; the dog is there to bite the pilot if he tries to touch the controls … "   

       // auto-pilot takes the edge of that boredom. //   

       No, the autopilot is one of the primary causes of boredom.   

       On die-by-wire it would be trivially easy to disconnect one set of flight controls from the actual control surfaces. Of course, it's much more difficult to stop that happening by accident … the problem would be "shared" controls mounted between the pilots; the throttle levers, slats, flaps, trim etc.   

       It's not a terrible idea per se, and the intention is laudable, but it's not good either.
8th of 7, Nov 23 2013
  

       the real solution (as with cars) is to ultimately take the human out of the equation.
theircompetitor, Nov 23 2013
  

       ^ at which point when something goes wrong, 15 car pile-ups will become 1500 car pile-ups.   

       I know that computer driven cars are driving off road rallies and such now, but I'll just keep control of my own vehicle if given the choice.   

       [2 fries], do you mean “..keep the illusion of control of my own vehicle”?
pocmloc, Nov 23 2013
  

       I can imagine that in one future airline crash investigation, the pilot would exclaim "But I thought it was in Simulator mode!"
Ling, Nov 23 2013
  

       //But I thought it was in Simulator mode!   

       The best effect of this In Flight Flight Simulation would be if the pilot could not distinguish between real world and a simulation. In that situation, if she/he crashed the simulation it could be considered as bad as crashing the real thing.   

       That way the pilot will always stay alert. If the pilot has a major systems failure (virtual) on every single flight, when the real one comes she/he won't even break sweat.
ixnaum, Nov 23 2013
  

       This will go a long ways to reduce passenger boredom - with at least one person in every bank of seats attempting to fly the simulated aircraft, the periodic screams and groans of frustrated gamer types should provide plenty of entertainment for those trying to sleep.
normzone, Nov 26 2013
  

       //could not distinguish between real world and a simulation//   

       I always thought that videogames where it says "Sorry you are dead. 11 out of 12 lives remaining. Press any key to continue" or whatever (am I showing my age?) were a cop out. If you are dead you are dead. The controller should zap you with mains voltage, or release Sarin gas into the living room or whatever.   

       So yes this makes a lot of sense. The cockpit should have hydraulic rams mounted in the bulkhead so when the Simulator simulates a crash, the cockpit can be crushed in an instant. The autopilot can complete the flight and land the passengers safely.
pocmloc, Nov 26 2013
  

       Fly by majority. Let the passengers play simulator too.   

       22 playing: 12 bank right, 7 bank left, 1 landing, 2 taking off, 1 talking to the stewardess in the left bank of Paris.   

       Result: Actual plane banks right.   

       ( Pilot uses an override when required to meet schedule. Since most ticketed passengers want to get to the planes announced destination, the majority vote will usually be that same direction. Flying home with a losing sports team wanting to go anywhere but home, might be iffy.)
popbottle, Jan 25 2015
  

       So what happens if a JAL flight packed with IJN veterans happens to overfly Pearl Harbour, or they spot a USN aircraft carrier heading East in the Pacific ... ?
8th of 7, Jan 25 2015
  

       Besides the point of avoiding pilot boredom and having more time on a simulator, this is also beneficial because it means that the pilot doesn't have to spend as much time in a simulator on the ground. Granted that the dedicated simulator might be more realistic, but I suspect that you would get 80 or 90% of the benefit. Maybe continue using the ground based simulators on a less frequent basis.
scad mientist, Jan 26 2015
  


 

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