On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 22:04:06 -0500, Mike Beede wrote
in ::

In article ,
Larry Dighera wrote:

"We are on the cusp of seeing the same revolution we saw with the Internet,"
says FAA Administrator Marion Blakey.

Hundreds of millions of people participate in the worldwide Internet.
I doubt anywhere near that many will pilot SATS equipped aircraft.
Still, it will be interesting to see it deployed...

Yeah, I think that Internet use would be slightly different if
a computer cost $150,000 plus $80 per hour of operation.


It's actually worse than that. Here's what the article has to say
about the price of admission:

This effort by government officials and entrepreneurs like Tirona
was born from the expected growth in so-called microjets. The
small planes will hold up to six passengers, fly hundreds of miles
an hour and be far more affordable than the corporate jets of
today.

Companies such as Eclipse Aviation and Adam Aircraft have already
developed the jets and expect to begin selling them as soon as
next year. Brazilian jet manufacturer Embraer says it also will
produce a small, affordable jet, likely to sell for about $1.5
million to $2.5 million.

Some how, I find it impossible to suspend my disbelief of the average
citizen (or robot) satisfactorily coping with all of that with which
aviating is capable of confronting a pilot. But if the auto-systems
were able to reduce the pilots' workloads to dealing exclusively with
exceptional situations, SATS might evolve into such an enabling
technology.

The article mentions:

Already, the advent of the affordable planes has spawned the
formation of small airlines. DayJet Corp., based in Delray Beach,
Fla., has ordered 310 Eclipse 500s, expected to be the first such
jet on the market. DayJet plans to fly charter flights for
passengers outside major metro areas who want the speed of air
travel without the hassles of large airports.

So it would appear, that SATS will initially be used for charter
flights, presumably with rated pilots at the stick.