Posted on 07/08/2014 9:03:51 AM PDT by DFG
Future airliner flight decks may do away with windows and move out of the nose of the aircraft, according to Airbus.
The European airplane maker filed a patent application Dec. 23, published June 26, for a flight deck that relies mostly or entirely on electronic viewscreens.
The first advantage is aerodynamic, since flight deck windows require interrupting the ideal scalpel shape of the nose, Airbus wrote. Also, big windows and the reinforcement required for them add weight to the aircraft.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Ha! Good post.
I wonder what Captain Sullenberger and the passengers on his plane would think about this idea?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549
I wonder how many pilots are in on that opinion!
IIRC they didn't want to put windows in the Mercury space capsule, either - until the astronauts got involved.
And ocean liners no longer need lifeboats.
I like it. Chainmail also made a good point in Post #10.
If we don’t need pilot windows in planes?
Do we need pilots in planes?
Why not just build the fuselage skin out of transparent aluminum? The whole thing then becomes a window.
what could possibly go wrong?
No Windows ? Microsoft will NOT be happy about this. . .
This negates the effect of the blinding reflective glare of the VAST arrays of solar panels that are to be installed across every square mile of the world.
and no competing air traffic or towers.
The first Mercury capsule had no windows until the astronauts forced it.
My flying days are over for many reasons (one I cannot carry, two people stink, three no groping allowed...), but I will flat refuse to the point of violence to board an aircraft that has no pilot.
Sorry,you are incorrect. Fully autonomous flight is reserved for toys and some weapon systems. The current state of the art requires thousands of decisions and action for an automated airliner to fly from one place to another. There is no such thing as a computer managed airliner. There are highly integrated computer systems in airliners, but a pilot controls them all.
And neither do (freight train) engineers, apparently.
Just make it a complete robotic operation. Customers sit down, door shuts and everyone is put to sleep. Robot flies plane, no flight attendants necessary. 10 minutes before plane lands, wake everyone up.
The heck with the pilots. How about cameras mounted around the plane, with video monitors for the passengers? I’d love to have a bird’s eye view when flying.
He had a periscope for forward vision. They replaced his windshield with a fuel tank.
Its a screen capture from a flight sim.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.