On Feb 11, 8:21 am, Scott wrote:
Good idea, but they don't have any VORs there yet. Mars doesn't
appear to have many landmarks that would be good for pilotage. I
suppose they could have an NDB set up at their base camp so they could
get "home."

We were able to use tactical NDB's in the field with two different
length's of antenna for signal broadcast. However, having maintenance
personnel handy was an imperative, particularly in regards to the
antenna guide wires. A break in the cable affected the ability of the
NDB to transmit.

Just the same, very lightweight. If mostly flatlands, no need for
the larger antennas or supporting wire structures. 300 mph winds
problematic to say the least. The NDBs would probably have to sit on
poles that were (the poles) injected into the ground. Might be wiser
to send unmanned landers with NDBs and navigation equipment fitted
into the structure in advance of the mission to establish operational
ATC for the flyers after they've set up base camp.

As for ultralights, looks like the atmosphere won't support
ultralights. Might be better to support a single mission with
multiple landers. Land them in a line across the area you want to
explore, then utilize rovers.

Now I'm curious how Unmanned RC might work from a base camp and what
the specifications of those aircraft would be.

Minature RC landers with rockets and VTOL capability, plus the ability
to return with samples from a site, might be preferable, especially if
the means exist to transmit RC signals over long distance. Unmanned
base camps with staged supplies appear to be the way to go with
landings and supply missions conducted before the actual manned
landing for manned and unmanned exploration of the planet. You could
deliver food, supplies, repair parts, fuel, oxygen, spare rovers,
navaids, water, etc., to await the crews and place your landings of
such supplies along the path of exploration.