SMALL UAV OK'D FOR NATIONAL AIRSPACE

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message ...
On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 13:27:31 -0500, "Gig 601XL Builder"
wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in
:

Larry Dighera wrote:
Are any other airmen uneasy about sharing the sky with these blind
robots?


If you like that you are going to LOVE this.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=11250026


So, the plan is to first fly cargo in unmanned aerial vehicles to
demonstrate to the public that UAVs are safe, then start UAV passenger
service, ostensibly because it's cheaper, there's no chance for pilot
error, nor hijacking. I'm highly skeptical.

It's not so much that it can't be successfully accomplished for
technological reasons, but more that it will take decades of
development to produce a system that is anywhere nearly as reliable as
our current human piloted system, IMO. And then there's the issue of
Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) and Coronal Mass Ejections (CME).

Should an aircraft, indeed any electronic device, be subject to short
duration EMP, it's circuits could be rendered permanently or
temporarily inoperative depending on the strength of the pulse at the
location of the aircraft. Without electronic guidance and control,
how is a UAV supposed to function? A human pilot, relatively immune
to EMP, can shoot the stars for navigation and hand fly for control.



Just about all Airbuses are FBW. I don't think there is any fly by cable backup...