“It is coming: we will be seeing unmanned air vehicles in all airspace around the world” (Image: BAE Systems)

Bob Fraser explains what it feels like to pilot a Jetstream airliner containing passengers on 800-kilometre trips from his desk at BAE Systems in Warton, UK

Why is BAE Systems trying to fly planes from a desk?

It’s part of the UK government’s Autonomous Systems Technology-Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment (ASTRAEA) programme to get drones flying safely and routinely in civilian airspace. To do this, BAE has been treating a 19-seat Jetstream airliner like a giant remotely supervised drone, to test how other crewed airliners and air traffic controllers react to its presence. “The aim was to make our flight look as normal as possible to other air traffic and to air traffic controllers, despite being controlled largely from the ground,” Fraser says.

How did it feel to fly the Jetstream from your desk?

“Very different. You have no sense of the feel of the aircraft that pilots develop over many years. There’s no seat-of-the-pants sensation. You can’t feel engine vibration, or turbulence, or the aircraft turning, and there’s none of the sound associated with advancing or retarding the throttle levers – all factors that usually influence your sense of what you perceive the aircraft is doing in the air.”


What might make it more real?

“We are doing a lot or work to increase the sensory awareness of the operators at the ground control station. There are smart seats that vibrate in simulators. So one thing that could be useful for future ground pilots – and this is work in progress – might be some kind of wearable force-feedback device: it could have straps that tighten when you turn and pull g, say, to give you some sensory awareness of the plane’s motion at your ground control station.”

What are the legal risks?

Under aviation law, the Jetstream had to have safety pilots on board who could take over if Fraser lost navigational control at any point. He didn’t. But even with this human backup on board, it was concerning, he says. “I had a slight sense of worry primarily because I was responsible for the airliner – so it was my pilot’s licence on the line. But if the safety pilots saw anything they did not like the look of, a hazard they thought I was not responding to, say, they could have taken control at any time.”

What were the chief technical challenges?

The main issue was the lag, or latency, of the ground station’s satellite link to the plane: it took 4 seconds – 2 seconds each way – for Fraser to tell that a turn he had made had been completed. “So the scientific community really have to get their heads together and decrease that lag. But that’s not a great concern, it’s just a matter of developing the technology. I am sure it will happen in a relatively short number of years.”

Will unmanned planes ever be able to fly safely amongst our holiday jets?

“It is coming: we will be seeing unmanned air vehicles in all airspace around the world. You can’t undo technology – we just have to make sure we take public opinion with us.”

Read more about what it would mean to jet off on holiday without a human at the helm: “Who’s flying this thing? End in sight for pilots“