An S800 Drone Shreds Off a Southwest Boeing 737 Winglet

Reckless flying in paths of passenger aircraft. Thanks Mr. Drone Pilot for messing up the rules for the rest of us.

*update: obviously this has been outted as a hoax showing off digital graphics and video editing. Read the winglet which shows branit.com instead of Southwest. Sorry for the confusion. *

Do Pilots Still 'Fly' the Plane?

True, these days pilots spend only a short amount of time with their hands on the control column or stick. But that does not mean we aren’t controlling the airplane throughout the entire flight. Our hands might not be steering the airplane directly, as would have been the case in decades past, but almost everything the airplane does is commanded, one way or the other, by the crew. The automation only does what we tell it to do. On the 767 that I fly, there are multiple ways to set up and command any routine climb, descent or change of course. Meanwhile, more than 99 percent of landings, and a full 100 percent of takeoffs, are performed manually.

Exactly what I'd tell you when you ask me, "Isn't it always on autopilot anyways?" Great Op-Ed by Patrick Smith.

My Career Goal

Now this...I wanna fly! Ever since this aircraft was first announced back in January 2003, I knew that it would be my "end-all," my one point in life where I knew that I was flying the best of the best! In all her glory, check out the new livery on Boeing's first 787 (ZA101 / JA801A) set to fly passengers in the All Nippon Airways Network as early as late October. Now where I can buy a ticket for the back, or better yet, request the jumpseat?

As reported previously, the blue lines at the rear of the fuselage are designed to highlight how the three core elements of the airline’s service brand – innovation, uniqueness and the inspiration of modern Japan – operate across the ANA network. Only two Dreamliners will be painted in the special livery, the rest will be in standard ANA livery.

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(via Seattle PI via AirlineReporter)