Drone technology is advancing even faster than anyone expected, and one of the latest trends is unmanned passenger-carrying vehicles. The ultimate aim of developers of these products seems to mirror the efforts of Google and car manufacturers to put driverless cars onto the roads. From a technological and ethical standpoint, driverless cars make a lot of sense; far fewer people would die in automobile crashes if properly programmed computers and not people were at the controls.
But I’m not so sure this translates into aerial vehicles.
Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.
More In Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
