Bob Fraser explains what it feels like to pilot a Jetstream airliner containing passengers on 800-kilometre trips from his desk at BAE Systems in Warton, UK
Why is BAE Systems trying to fly planes from a desk?
It鈥檚 part of the UK government鈥檚 to get drones flying safely and routinely in civilian airspace. To do this, BAE has been treating a 19-seat Jetstream airliner like a giant remotely supervised drone, to test how other crewed airliners and air traffic controllers react to its presence. 鈥淭he aim was to make our flight look as normal as possible to other air traffic and to air traffic controllers, despite being controlled largely from the ground,鈥� Fraser says.
How did it feel to fly the Jetstream from your desk?
鈥淰ery different. You have no sense of the feel of the aircraft that pilots develop over many years. There鈥檚 no seat-of-the-pants sensation. You can鈥檛 feel engine vibration, or turbulence, or the aircraft turning, and there鈥檚 none of the sound associated with advancing or retarding the throttle levers 鈥� all factors that usually influence your sense of what you perceive the aircraft is doing in the air.鈥�
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What might make it more real?
鈥淲e are doing a lot or work to increase the sensory awareness of the operators at the ground control station. There are smart seats that vibrate in simulators. So one thing that could be useful for future ground pilots 鈥� and this is work in progress 鈥� might be some kind of wearable force-feedback device: it could have straps that tighten when you turn and pull g, say, to give you some sensory awareness of the plane鈥檚 motion at your ground control station.鈥�
What are the legal risks?
Under aviation law, the Jetstream had to have safety pilots on board who could take over if Fraser lost navigational control at any point. He didn鈥檛. But even with this human backup on board, it was concerning, he says. 鈥淚 had a slight sense of worry primarily because I was responsible for the airliner 鈥� so it was my pilot鈥檚 licence on the line. But if the safety pilots saw anything they did not like the look of, a hazard they thought I was not responding to, say, they could have taken control at any time.鈥�
What were the chief technical challenges?
The main issue was the lag, or latency, of the ground station鈥檚 satellite link to the plane: it took 4 seconds 鈥� 2 seconds each way 鈥� for Fraser to tell that a turn he had made had been completed. 鈥淪o the scientific community really have to get their heads together and decrease that lag. But that鈥檚 not a great concern, it鈥檚 just a matter of developing the technology. I am sure it will happen in a relatively short number of years.鈥�
Will unmanned planes ever be able to fly safely amongst our holiday jets?
鈥淚t is coming: we will be seeing unmanned air vehicles in all airspace around the world. You can鈥檛 undo technology 鈥� we just have to make sure we take public opinion with us.鈥�
Read more about what it would mean to jet off on holiday without a human at the helm: 鈥�Who鈥檚 flying this thing? End in sight for pilots鈥�
