Computer Games.

In high school I joined the Air Training Corp for a couple of reasons, the most important being the uniform that really worked on the opposite sex and the other thinking it would be fun to fly. As so often happens you change directions and I left the ATC when I found out one of our group had been promoted to corporal because he had two left feet and couldn’t coordinate his marching. He did look great though, in that uniform barking out orders from the sideline.

The urge to fly remained but monetary constraints put paid to the actual culmination of that dream. So I did the next best thing and joined the Travel Industry and let someone else fly me around instead. It’s taken a long time but I did finally get to fly with the help of a brand new $22 million 777 flight simulator on a recent trip to Auckland.

So now I’m waiting for the flight stewardess to come running back from the cockpit, with an anxious look on her face, telling the passengers that the Captain and crew had collapsed from food poisoning and was there anyone onboard who could fly the plane?

I casually get out of my seat and push the pimply 15 year old Play Station Champion back down and announce I’ve just completed my first simulator flight and I’m ready to save the passengers. Okay, so one bumpy landing at Heathrow doesn’t quite qualify, but I didn’t crash and the technology onboard nowadays, is so sophisticated that my Mother could probably land the plane, with my help of course.

The days of “Flying High” and “Airport” are long gone and in its place are aircraft built to fly through the toughest conditions with computer software that almost makes human intervention obsolete. The “cockpit joystick” has only honorary significance as a mouse with a click wheel would be just as effective flying today’s aircraft.

So like many things in travel, the romance has gone out of flying by the seat of your pants for many pilots. Sure I would want someone up front if we had to fly through a volcanic cloud but how often does that happen? What’s left if the volcanoes stop erupting? The longing looks from cougars at the bar as they walk through the lobby of their 5 star hotels, the natty uniform and of course the perception of total control over the aircraft.

So where to from here?

Perhaps having a 15 year old remote fly a plane with the latest Sony aviation software or just software alone flying a plane from A to B. After all we did send men to the moon over 40 years ago by just aiming straight up and that worked out okay. Would we even know if there was no one up front? Perception is a powerful emotion and just seeing someone in uniform could allay our fears that someone was in control, even if they weren’t flying the plane.

So get those kids back inside and onto the Play Station. Pilot training was never easier.

Disclaimer – Please do not try to fly a plane by yourself without professional help from a 15 year old.