[Dick]

Watch the movie Sully … landing in the Hudson River.

The flight crew was second guessed in an inquiry where they were pushed as why they didn’t return to LaGuardia or divert to Teterboro. I can only presume the movie was technically and historically accurate. They had the computer fly the airplane to one or more of the alternatives. I won’t spoil it for you. Watch the movie.

My 550 hours TT in GA aircraft pales in comparison to almost every pilot on the forum. I’ve never flown a plane with LORAN let alone GPS or a fully coupled autopilot or flight director. I was excited to fly a plane with modern pilot aids. But since I was trained by WWII/Korean era pilots and their students … I know I had to fly the airplane.

I feel the same way about cars, trucks, and buses. I’ll accept and probably use whatever driver’s aids are available. But I won’t give up driving the vehicle to a computer and machine.

This entire discussion reminds me of a story my Dad me. When buttoned men’s trousers transitioned to zippers, a good friend of his refused to make the switch. When sweaters transitioned from buttons Dad’s friend had been an early adopter and shortly after buying his first zippered sweater got his tie caught in the zipper mechanism and his favorite tie was shredded. So being a smart guy he wasn’t going to run a similar risk with zippered trousers.

Moral to the story … don’t get yourself caught in a zipper masquerading as an autonomously driving vehicle.