Learn English – the word used for “Make best use of”

I would probably use 'would' in a sentence like that if I was discussing something that might or might not happen:

If she goes, it seems as though she would be so far separated from us.

On the other hand, I would be more likely to use the author's construction if it was something that was definitely going to happen, and I was talking about what I thought the result would be:

When she goes, it seems as though she will be so far separated from us.

The use of 'will' indicates that the event is certain to happen, while the weaker 'it seems as though' indicate that the results of that event are subjective and/or uncertain.

It's also worth noting that 'will' does not have to imply a strong certainty. It indicates that the speaker/author has no reason to signal uncertainty, but it's a default option as much as a positive signal. If a positive indication of certainty is needed, most people will add an extra modifier such as 'will definitely' or 'will obviously'.

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, you can use take off about either a plane or a pilot: in other words, it is correct to say

The pilot took off.

So the sentence in your comment would work as

He took off, but couldn't fly the plane for a long time and had to land it a minute later.

As you said, take off is definitely intransitive, so you cannot say something like

Have you ever taken off an Airbus 380?

You would have to say

Have you ever piloted an Airbus 380 at take off?