UAV Crash in Arizona (Long)

Steve Davis wrote:

airspace is owned by the American people I vote for increased usage
of Predators and other UAV's along our borders and suggest you keep
your sailplane away from them.

It's not just sailplane pilots that are concerned about UAVs. Some of
the other owners of the airspace are plenty concerned: From the AOPA
"ePilot" bulleting (10/19):

NTSB VALIDATES AOPA'S CONCERNS ABOUT UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OPS What
standards apply to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design and
certification? UAV "pilot" training? Integration into the National
Airspace System? AOPA has repeatedly voiced these concerns to the
FAA. On Oct. 16, the NTSB highlighted these same concerns and issued
22 recommendations after investigating a 2006 UAV accident. Currently
no FAA certification or regulatory standards exist for UAVs operating
in the National Airspace System. AOPA believes they should be
certified to the same level of safety as piloted aircraft. Read more
on AOPA Online [http://www.aopa.org/epilot/redir.cfm?adid=13323].

UAVs are not just on the border, either. There is a NOTAM for UAV
testing still in effect at the Arlington, OR, airport, an area we
frequently fly near; fortunately, the airspace involved is relatively
small, about the same as a Class D airspace. Testing is done in other
places around the country, of course.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org