Modern commercial airliners can fly by themselves.?

Pressing GO or ENTER is an oversimplification, but large airliners have been capable of flying themselves for decades. Today's airliners can automatically handle everything except parts of take-off (and they don't handle that only because the technology isn't cost-effective, not because it cannot be done).

Most airliners are flown by computer for most of the flight. Pilots still land by hand most of the time, because it's fun and because the regulations are a bit easier if you land visually. However, airliners can also land entirely by themselves. Pilots today spend most of their time keeping an eye on the computer, and periodically they give the computer instructions as circumstances change. They can always take over if they have to or want to, but airlines prefer flying by computer, as computers are better at minimizing fuel consumption and wear and tear, since their flying is more precise than a human being can manage by hand.

Even the route and details of the flight may be provided by a computer—another computer on the ground that communicates with the computers aboard the aircraft. The pilots simply approve the computer's plan after reviewing it.

One thing that hasn't changed is the weather. The pilots review the weather in advance. If the weather is bad, they may still choose to delay the flight or take a different route. Computers are useless for working around bad weather. If there are thunderstorms about, you don't fly, period.

Pilots always have the last word on the flight, and can override the computer at any time and to any extent. Usually they don't, however, since the computers are extremely reliable, and it would be pretty tiring to fly constantly by hand for a ten-hour flight.

most airplanes can fly by them self also. You just enter the flight data into the computer and autopilot, and press a few buttons and the plane will fly itself. It can even land for you at certain airports, if the runway (and airplane) are equipped with the technology. But you still need a pilot there to take over in case of an emergency, or if the flight data changes.

This is partially true. Being a 747 commercial pilot myself i can tell you that these jets can fly by themselves. We enter our flight plan into a computer and once we have commenced lift off it will fly by itself, this is called autopilot. Hope that helped you thomas.

i think of you're actually not remembering wisely and the flight replaced into in all probability approximately 2 a million/2 hours. advertisement flights at present fly at on the subject of the comparable speeds as interior the previous 30 or so years. The routes are actually not particularly so direct because of the fact there is now greater site visitors, and that could upload somewhat to the flight. inspite of the undeniable fact that, fairly much all airlines now pad their schedule so they are in a position to coach a much better proportion of "on time" flights. the three hours you're finding at on the schedule in all probability includes 20 or perhaps half-hour of "further" time. word that United's schedule shows Washington/Dulles to Tampa as 2 hours 26 minutes non-end.