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CAMARILLO, California — I recently flew in a helicopter over Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, on a Wednesday afternoon.

I took off from a small airport, climbed nearly 10,000 feet, and lay sharply into the hills along Camarillo’s eastern skyline. I quickly crossed the valley before returning to the airport, following a canal winding through the orange groves below. I hovered over the helicopter and landed gently on the edge of a concrete runway.

The flight was short but remarkable. After all, I’m not a pilot.

The helicopter is equipped with new technology to simplify and automate the operation of passenger aircraft. I flew using two Apple iPads and a joystick mounted inside the cockpit. I was able to take off, turn, turn, accelerate, climb, dive, hover, and land with a touch of the screen or a spin of the stick, as I would when flying in the digital space of a video game.

The system, called FlightOS, offers a glimpse into the future of flight. Southern California startup that designed FlightOS, skyryse, said it’s working with major aircraft manufacturers to apply the technology to everything from helicopters to small jets. Other companies are designing similar technologies, including the venerable helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin.

Some manufacturers say they will eventually remove the pilot from the cockpit and fully automate their aircraft using many of the same techniques that underpin self-driving cars. But self-driving cars are still far from everyday realityand so are self-flying airplanes. Most experts believe automated systems will require the supervision of pilots for years to come, perhaps a decade or more.

Skyryse, a 50-person start-up backed by $250 million in funding, has spent years developing and testing a self-flying system that uses cameras, radar and other sensors to monitor and respond to an aircraft’s surroundings during flight. Many experts believe that perfecting such a system is easier than self-driving car technology, as there is less traffic and other activities in the sky. However, the company realized that it was unlikely that regulators would approve autonomous flight anytime soon.

Instead, Skyryse and companies like it are moving towards a compromise. “We can make an autonomous plane and fly it,” said Skyryse CEO Mark Groden. “But still, the final decision maker has to be a human.”

A number of start-ups, backed by billions of dollars in funding, are often “flying cars“Like helicopters, these vehicles can take off and land without a runway. Unlike today’s aircraft, they are completely electric. Many believe these planes can offer a faster, cheaper and greener route in urban areas.

But that would require far more pilots than the 360,000 people flying today. According to a study by McKinsey and Company, the total number could rise to 590,000 over the next decade as new types of aircraft are deployed in US cities.

While some flying car manufacturers say their planes will fly pilotless, most experts believe it’s unlikely that regulators will approve autonomous flight until the end of the decade at the earliest.

“We have a lot of the building blocks needed to automate flight,” said Ian Villa, head of product at electric aircraft company Whisper Aero and former head of strategy for Uber’s electric aircraft project. “The real question is whether you can really go to the market.”

Mr. Groden hopes to fill the void with FlightOS, a system designed for a wide variety of aircraft, including helicopters, jets and flying cars. This technology, which will cost manufacturers tens of thousands of dollars, will be integrated into multimillion-dollar aircraft.

Mr. Groden and his company can expand the existing pool of pilots by adding automation to the operation of these aircraft. If flying is easier and safer, novices can master this skill much faster. And if a system like FlightOS is widely used, experienced pilots can quickly master new types of aircraft. But even this regulation has yet to receive approval from regulators and may not be for years.

I’m not a video game player, less a pilot. But I learned the basics of the Skyryse system in about 15 minutes sitting in a hangar at Camarillo airport. 15 minutes later, I was strapped into the pilot’s seat of a sleek black helicopter.

Flying a 2,500-pound helicopter from an iPad was exhilarating, fun, and a little frustrating. My biggest issue during a 30-minute flight was the intense glare of the Southern California sun from my iPad and other times my glasses.

But there was a caveat: A licensed pilot sat next to me while I was flying. He talked to me throughout the flight and generally kept me under control. At one point I turned east and turned the joystick with a little too much confidence. He reached out, grabbed the joystick and corrected my demeanor.

The new technology required more than 15 minutes of training. Although I was able to turn and climb, I was unable to establish radio communication with air traffic controllers during takeoff and landing and needed help setting up a course through the valley. Learning these tasks can ultimately be scarier and more difficult than flying the plane.

“You still need someone trained in communication protocols, what speed and altitude to fly, and where it’s not safe to operate the system,” said Jessica Rajkowski, head of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems at Miter, a nonprofit that operates a research and development center. for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The helicopter ride reminded me that artificial intelligence is a work in progress. Even the most advanced technologies – everything from chatbots to robotics – best used with people, not for them.

Skyryse hopes to refine its technology in the coming years, further automating aircraft operations in a way that reduces reliance on air traffic controllers and piloting expertise. The goal is not autonomous flight. Thanks to many of the enormous regulatory hurdles this technology faces, the goal is to pilot everyone.

“Everyone can drive today,” said Igor Cherepinsky, Sikorsky innovation director. “What if someone could fly a plane?”