SMALL UAV OK'D FOR NATIONAL AIRSPACE

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message


Are any other airmen uneasy about sharing the sky with these blind
robots?

Not until somebody can prove they present significantly more danger to me
than manned aircraft.

Is this scenario really any different than sharing the sky with the other
guy burrowed deep in the manual of his spiffy new G1000 (or otherwise not
looking out for you)? How often have you been alerted by ATC "traffic,
twelve to one o'clock, same altitude, opposite direction" and never seen
them? Maybe the left coast doesn't have the same hazy conditions we
routinely have on the right coast, but it can be perfectly legal VFR/VMC and
that traffic may not be spotted in time to avoid a collision without ATC
assistance. (The mostly-white paint scheme favored by much of the GA fleet
blends rather well with the milky gray haze - especially if the viewer is
flying toward the sun.)

As near as I can tell, all current military UAVs are operated on IFR flight
plans so ATC can at least alert me to their presence (if I'm talking to ATC)
and they can also alert the UAV operators to my presence. This on top of
their current operation in restricted airspace limits their danger to my
flight. The law enforcement UAVs (like the CyberBug you mentioned) are
typically low altitude and low endurance products. This greatly reduces
their effect on my flight since I'm typically much higher.

--
John T
http://sage1solutions.com/blogs/TknoFlyer
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