Cloud storage of flight data would be complex
Why aren't data and voice recordings and similar information automatically uploaded to the cloud?
– An aviation geek, Indianapolis While it is technically possible to upload flight and voice data into the cloud, there are many other unresolved issues. The amount of data would be very large if we constantly upload every airliner’s flight and voice data for every flight, making storage an issue.
In addition, who owns the data? Is the data subject to legal proceedings in the country where it is stored? Is it subject to legal proceedings in the country where the airline is based? Can the data be used by regulators for enforcement against the airline? Can the data be used for enforcement against pilots? Can the data be reached by the media?
These are just a few of the many legal questions that remain unanswered. Under ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) rules, there are protections for the DFDR (digital flight data recorder) and CVR (cockpit voice recorder). Until worldwide protection for flight data are in place, it will be hard to make the case to upload flight and voice data.
This is a case where the legal system has not caught up with technology. It is one of the challenges of our time.
On a few modern aircraft, I noticed that the pilots use a stick on their left or right side to control the plane instead of the center yoke. Is it difficult for a right-handed captain to use his left hand to fly the aircraft, and vice versa for a left-handed co-pilot to use his right hand? – Mike Kirchberg, Chicago
Many airplanes have side sticks. Pilots learn to fly the airplane using both left and right sticks in the simulator. On commercial airliners, first officers fly in the right seat, using a right side stick while the captain, flying from the left seat, uses his or her left hand. Modern side sticks are very intuitive to use.