How can non-pilots fly PAVs safely without extensive flight training?
Greatly simplified flight training for PAVs will be made possible by standardization, simplified controls and NASA’s Naturalistic Flight Deck (NFD). The NFD uses computers and on-board sensors to make the PAV an intelligent vehicle with “horse-sense.” NFD sensors augment the pilot’s capabilities with engine and situational awareness that pre-empt hazards before they occur. Fully-developed, intelligent PAVs will refuse to perform a maneuver that is unsafe or illegal and will fail-safe to an automatic pilot and/or vehicle parachute if necessary. The NFD will be like having a highly trained flight instructor on board at all times. The NFD can be nicknamed “the electronic Certificated Flight Instructor” or ‘eCFI.’ The importance of the eCFI is emphasized by the statistic that flights with CFIs aboard have the lowest accident rate of all, even lower than airline flights.
