Automatic takeoffs are coming for passenger jets
and they’re going to redraw the map of the sky
Today, automatic landing systems are installed on most
commercial aircraft and improve the safety of landings in difficult weather or
poor visibility. Now, nearly 60 years later, the world’s third largest aircraft
manufacturer, Brazil’s Embraer, is introducing a similar technology, but for
takeoffs.
Called “E2 Enhanced Take Off System,” after the family
of aircraft it’s designed for, the technology would not only improve safety by
reducing pilot workload, but it would also improve range and takeoff weight,
allowing the planes that use it to travel farther, according to Embraer.
“The system is better than the pilots,” says Patrice
London, principal performance engineer at Embraer, who has worked on the
project for over a decade. ”That’s because it performs in the same way all the
time. If you do 1,000 takeoffs, you will get 1,000 of exactly the same
takeoff.”