Poetic license - re 'fly-by-robot'. On another tack -

Ever read Airframe, Michael Crichton's take on the industry via a fictional particular 'incident' ?

It contains a pretty persuasive argument for 'letting the computer help', along with a reminder that most fighters today could not be flown without servo-loops making weird airfoil, pressure and other calculations, second by second.

We'd be really stupid though - not to see the transparent bizness goal of: a traineee in every automated plane, in cel-fone contact with one of the dozen remaining actual pilots. Most big air wanna-be monopolies are morphing to MBA operation, the CIEIO having 0 knowledge of flying.

So while Airbus might not be That naive (let M$ design our controls) they Must remain in death-struggle with Boeing, lest there be just The One US Monopoly. What will they risk to demonstrate 'higher profitability' ??

(Yes the NT epithet ought to be reserved for clear-cut boondoggles. I will do better, er less..)

A.

Ever read Airframe, Michael Crichton's take on the industry via a fictional particular 'incident' ?

...but I'll try and get it sometime soon. Since you can't seem to stop recommending it, and all! :-)

It contains a pretty persuasive argument for 'letting the computer help', along with a reminder that most fighters today could not be flown without servo-loops making weird airfoil, pressure and other calculations, second by second.

Actually, AFAIK, "most" fighters today _are_ still inherently aerodynamically stable. All of them except the SAAB JAS 39 Gripen, that is -- or is the Rafale in production yet? The ATF/YF22 doesn't count; I'm fairly sure it's still just in the prototype stage.

So while Airbus might not be That naive (let M$ design our controls) they Must remain in death-struggle with Boeing, lest there be just The One US Monopoly.

Fuck knows how far they'll go... Not THAT far, I sincerely hope. One little ray of light that contributes to keeping this hope alive is the likelyhood (fact?) that as a European (Pan-, actually) company, they'll be more reluctant than Boing-boing to keep that _other_ "One US Monopoly" in power...

(Yes the NT epithet ought to be reserved for clear-cut boondoggles. I will do better, er less..)

(I just got the "Only the choicest German spam!" LRPDism, BTW. This has to mean *something*...)

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