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Bye, Bye Military Pilots

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fastbird said:
This year, a research group flew a UAV accross the Atlantic ocean and with the marvel of GPS they parked it (after the landing) 35 feet from where they expected to.
35 feet is good when you're talking about INS - - it's pretty sloppy if you're talking about GNS. 35 feet in the vicinity of a jetway, fuel truck, or terminal building is a huge deal.

[COMPUTER VOICE (think HAL of 2002)] "Ladies and gentlemen, you may begin your disbarking procedure now. Please exit via the left overwing hatch, as the jetway is 33.5 feet from the L1 door. As you reach the ground, please move quickly away from the airplane in order to avoid injury from the fire that now blazes around the number 2 engine cowling. The fuel truck that was hit just prior to automatic engine shutdown will explode in approximately 42 seconds. Remember to retrieve all of your personal belongings from the overhead bin, as you will never have a chance to reboard and rescue them again. Thank you for flying UAV Airlines."
 
I agree 35 feet is pretty sloppy for GPS, but they didn't expect the thing to make is across the Atlantic. That is what makes it a milestone.

It was a launch and recover operation, not ground controlled like a USAF Global Hawk or Predator.

From what I read about it, they programmed a flight path from US to Ireland and gave it a GPS receiver to get position and make course corrections. Once it was launched, it was either going to arrive or not.

In a 757, there would be no reason that SATCOMM capabilty would prevent "flying" it to a destination from your office. At least, we'd be home after the trip, eh!
 
Interesting thread, someone looking ahead!

I think fighter aircraft will be affected early. Lets face it the days of "dogfighting" are over. Today its fire and forget from 20+ miles away.

UAV's are certainly capable of that. plus they are ideal for air to ground missions which is what most fighter aircraft are used for nowadays anyway.

Maybe there will be an even GREATER need for civilian trained pilots.

Delta might even have to start hiring civilian guys!
 
Aren't a lot of you left wing tree huggin types...

Sorry dude...left wing, doesn't apply here. I have too much money stuck into BATF tax stamps, to ever be allowed to join the Democratic party or to be considered a liberal.


WrightAvia needs to get a girlfriend or a hobby.

Hobbies I have. A girlfriend however, would result in half of my stuff going up the road. So I'll have to pass on that suggestion.
 
Hi, everyone,

Here is my 2 cents... I'm very lucky to have flown some UAVs before coming to the airlines. I've done pretty much everything the media mentioned.

A couple of things I want to mention that the media didn't. First, there is always at least one pilot behind the control. He is just not there on the plane but on the ground. This can be a very awesome job if you like to be home everynight with the wife and kids. Imagine flying from LAX to BOS without leaving your home at the end of the trip. I know it's not that fun to most poeple, but I still think it's pretty cool.

Someone mentioned about missing the jetbridge while parking. Actually, every UAV has a nose camer that pilots use while taxiing around. So, it will not be a problem at all as long as you have a wing walker and a mashaller.

Another thing that the media fails to mention is that UAVs are flown just like the way we fly manned airplanes. There are memory items for every systems failure or scenario. So if you have an engine problem while flying over a congested area, you can still manuever the aircraft to an uncongested area just like the way we would do on manned airplanes.

Lastly, I do feel bad for our military fighter pilots. As you all know there are Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) being tested everyday. UCAVs pilots(on the ground) can pull 25 Gs without breaking a sweat. Now, that's pretty hard to compete with.

Oh, the next group of pilots that would be affected, I think, would be the US customs and fire tankers/ the lead planes. With the type of cameras/sensors on board the UAVs and the long endurance (up to 24 hrs) it is very easy to patrol the borders and fight the fire - day or night.

Just my two cents.
 
Military UAV Pilots:

Help out future pilots, ensure your future in manned aircraft: crash a UAV today!

Has the military learned nothing from the Matrix or the Terminator? Its just a matter of time before they turn on us!
 

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