| When it comes to landing on the ship it is my plan that all visual referencing will be done from the cockpit of the plane while on approach, using the aircraft's remote cameras (all of which are real time). The flyer would be able to sit anywhere on board and by using a laptop with a link to the cameras on board (the plane that is) be able to land the aircraft as though they were sitting in the cockpit. With this in mind, for recovery operations I do not think it necessary that the pilot be on the aft end of the flight deck, or even able to see it. This might all sound a little risky, but its nothing that a thorough training program should not be able to take care of. Besides for safety reasons I most definitely want the deck to be clear of people. It also important to remember that the aircraft that land toward the end of the recovery cycle will not have a clear deck forward, since that area will most probably be full of planes.
And you are right about the barriers, they will need to be functional. |