Looking into the Future of Aviation
Over the past 2000 years, aviation technology has advanced and transformed significantly. From the acclaimed Muslim inventor Abbas ibn Firnas, who constructed the first successful flying machine, to the well renowned Wright brothers, who were the first to invent controlled aircraft flight. The future of aviation is emerging fast, with numerous technological advances simply waiting to be discovered. This article will assess the aviation industry’s advances in aircraft sustainability, navigation, and finally, in autopilot.
One of the most significant issues occurring in our current society is global warming. As it’s climate effects draw closer and closer, it’s apparent that the issue must be addressed immediately. Numerous aviation companies are using this topic as a motive for technological advancement as according to the Air Transport Action Group, aviation accounts for 2 per cent of all global carbon emissions [1]. Recently, endeavours to address the issues of aircraft emissions have advanced as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have discovered the ability to determine the amount of inflight fuel-burn. This major sustainable breakthrough will potentially execute as a foundation for creating aircraft emission requirements, thus, enabling airlines to increase their carbon efficiency.
Navigation emerges in many forms, from a Bond Chronometer which determines the longitude at sea, to the Pitot Tube which studies the flow of water in rivers and canals, to a global positioning system (GPS) in your car. Navigation is advancing every single day, but this article decree is mainly focusing on one, autopilot, in planes, and cars.
The big enigma that persists is “are people prepared to travel without a human pilot?” It still requires a human pilot, the pilot does not use the yokes or pedals but executes all the commands that the computer executes. In Paris a little over 100 years ago, the first autopilot was manifested by two people flew in a biplane along the Seine River. One pilot raised his hands into the air and the other took off on the plane survived the first public exhibit of this autopilot [2]. Currently, autopilot refers to several systems that operate an aircraft. The complex machine explicates you how to fly your aircraft including navigation, altitude, speed and the driving force that controls the air force.
Autopilot is not only in planes, but the technology for an autopilot to be implemented in cars is also developing. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk stated last year that the first launch of Full Self Driving (FSD) for Tesla cars would likely happen by the end of 2019 in the form of early access. Despite failing to reach this goal it displays how close we are to the release of this technology. Musk later stated the feature was complete and coming soon.[3]
Throughout history, aviation technology has developed and advanced notably. This essay has shown how the aviation industry has developed in the areas of aircraft sustainability, navigation, and autopilot. As time continues, we will only continue to see numerous more notable advances in the aviation industry.
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Story by Sara Swatton & Anjali Grillo
Citations:
- Atag.org. (2020). Facts & figures. [online] Available at: https://www.atag.org/facts-figures.html [Accessed 9 Mar. 2020].
- Person. “The Story of the World’s First Autopilot: Scandinavian Traveler.” Scandinavian Traveler — For the Modern Traveler from Scandinavian Airlines, Scandinavian Traveler, 30 Mar. 2017, https://scandinaviantraveler.com/en/aviation/the-story-of-the-worlds-first-autopilot/ [Accessed 9 Mar. 2020].
- Lambert, Fred. “Elon Musk: Tesla’s Full Self-Driving ‘feature-complete’ is coming ‘soon’” Electrek, 9to5 Network, 13 Jan. 2020, https://electrek.co/2020/01/13/tesla-full-self-driving-feature-complete-soon-elon-musk/ [Accessed 9 Mar. 2020].
