Is there a need for a Helm Department?

[USS Excelsior]

Someone also has to maintain and fix the transporters.

 

[T'Girl]

IIRC, there was no transporter set used in Nemesis. What transporter activity we saw was directly to and from the bridge, outgoing controlled by a bridge console.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

In my fanfic, I always have it that the Flight Control Department covers the bridge officer (as well as their relief/cover), the hangar supervisor, shuttle pilots, hangar/shuttle maintenance techs, as well as specialists attached to the navigational systems (such as VOY's elusive 'astrogation plotter') and deflector. It's never a huge department, but it at least adds a few more redshirts to the crew.

 

[TheRoyalFamily]

Automation is all very well and good, but like any system it can fail. Today a plane could take off, fly to it's destination and land all by itself." But would you fly on it without a pilot?

Old-ish pilot joke:

They started introducing dogs to flight crews. Their job: to bite the pilot if he ever tries to touch the controls.

As of 2006 (when I was in school for aerospace engineering) the only thing the autopilot couldn't do was taxi to and from the gate. I'm sure that isn't an issue anymore.

 

[Galactic Alignment]

As for having a dedicated department, sure everyone might receive basic training in piloting a starship, but their is a difference between basic and advanced training.

Spot-on, IMO. Same in all walks of life and in all fields of work - that some basic tasks can be mastered by most people doesn't negate the need for specialist experts. I mean, I can prepare a basic meal with a microwave, kettle and toaster, but doesn't mean that trained chefs are an obsolete profession.

 

[Star Wolf]

I was watching TNG the other day for the first time in years and I had to ask myself if there is any need to helm or navigation. Surely the captain/first officer could just tell the computer where they want to go and when they want to arrive by, and the ship can steer itself.

Captain: "Computer, Set course two-one-three Mark seven."

Computer: ""Unable to comply, the automatic pilot system is offline."

Automation is all very well and good, but like any system it can fail. Today a plane could take off, fly to it's destination and land all by itself." But would you fly on it without a pilot?

As for having a dedicated department, sure everyone might receive basic training in piloting a starship, but their is a difference between basic and advanced training.

The problem is that actual human technology of 2013 has surpassed Starfleet technology of 1966.

Completely automated cars and aircraft are right around the corner and if I was on the newest technology fighter or airliner today I think I would rather have an incapacitated pilot then an inoperable computer.

With the new systems man just can not keep the flying things stable on their own even if he is Chuck Yeager or Hikaru Sulu. The trick isn't running evasive action sequence gamma or changing course to 124 mark 12.5 the trick is just staying stable and not tearing itself apart in the process of flight.

 

[kennysmith]

yes there is, when i start up my club it will try to get people to teach other how to do this.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I was watching TNG the other day for the first time in years and I had to ask myself if there is any need to helm or navigation. Surely the captain/first officer could just tell the computer where they want to go and when they want to arrive by, and the ship can steer itself.

Captain: "Computer, Set course two-one-three Mark seven."

Computer: ""Unable to comply, the automatic pilot system is offline."

Automation is all very well and good, but like any system it can fail. Today a plane could take off, fly to it's destination and land all by itself." But would you fly on it without a pilot?

As for having a dedicated department, sure everyone might receive basic training in piloting a starship, but their is a difference between basic and advanced training.

The problem is that actual human technology of 2013 has surpassed Starfleet technology of 1966.

Maybe not. Essentially, all we see is a helmsman do is input flight commands--or course data--into a console. It could be said that the rest (the actual flying of the ship) is automated with the exception of a single manual lever which apparently sends the ship into warp. Evasive maneuvers and various attack patterns may also be pre-programmed flight paths that are initiated by a single button.

It actually may be far more rare than common for a helmsman to take full manual control. His or her primary job may actually be to input commands, make any necessary course corrections, and to overall monitor the otherwise computer-controlled helm to make sure they're flying in the right direction.

 

[kennysmith]

do you know how to navigate 365 from top to bottom or left or right?

 

[C.E. Evans]

It depends on your relative or absolute bearing, but they're generally measured in 360-degree azimuth and elevation angles.