Man’s best friend has already demonstrated that it can drive a car, so why not fly an airplane?
On the British TV show “Dogs Might Fly,” instructors train dogs rescued from shelters on how to operate an airplane.
Twelve dogs underwent a series of challenges to test for their learning ability and physical dexterity, from puppetry to playing a drum, and three finalists are selected to attend aviation school.
One of the finalists in the show is Shadow, a bull terrier who was hours away from being put down before being rescued, and is said to be adept at unlocking doors.
At first, the show had wanted to modify the planes to make it easier for the dogs to operate, but the government said no.
“The Civil Aviation Authority was adamant that we minimize changes to the plane,” Mark Vette, the show’s animal psychologist, told the Guardian. “We went through some pretty challenging experimentation.”
The series concludes on April 3rd, where the dogs will be tested on their flying capabilities.
Although many dogs rely on visual cues to obey commands from their trainers, on the show, the trainer has to sit in the back of the plane while the dog operates it, meaning that the dog will have to rely on audio cues only from the trainer on how to fly.
