One manufacturer in Oregon, Aerosight, builds UAV's for civilian use, and sees a bright future for them although they can not be utilized commercially yet. UAV's in the news from Aerosight. FAA regulations require an experimental type certificate for civil use UAV's which specifically excludes commercial operations, any operation for compensation or hire. The first two drones to receive the type certificate were the Scan Eagle X200 and Aero Vironment's PUMA. Unmanned Aircraft Systems, UAS's as the FAA refers to them are allowed to be utilized by government bodies, for border patrol, search and rescue and disaster relief. Some universities are allowed to utilize UAS's to conduct research as well as police and fire departments to aid in there duties.
UAV's will have to undoubtedly integrate into the National Airspace for the FAA to maintain a high level of safety. As noted on the FAA's website, some missions occur as high as 50,000 feet or more requiring UAV's to travel among and past manned aircraft on the way up. ATC will have to maintain separation of all aircraft whether the pilot is on board or not. Some of the problems that develop with this mingling is that the see and avoid principle would not apply to UAV's for obvious reasons. The responsibility would lie solely on manned aircraft to avoid UAV's compromising safety by having one set of eyes involving two aircraft in the same vicinity. Also there are enough citizens in the US that think they are being watched by the government already, that having UAV's fly over head would only heighten there anxiety levels.
The militaristic use of UAV's has been phenomenal, many lives have been spared with improved selective targeting practices. The ability to get a close up view of a target, and strike only that target has saved many civilian lives in active warzones. The US militaries ability to gain surveillance with UAV's, at a cost much lower than other projects such as the SR-71 Blackbird, has dramatically changed the way war is fought. The relativley low risk of a piece of equipment being shot down or captured has spared many pilots lives as well, due to the ability to control UAV's from 1,000's of miles away. The UAV's are much less expensive to build and operate, burn less fuel, and can stay in the air longer with no human physiological needs on board to tend to.
Civilian UAV jobs- here is one from Northrop Grumman that requires a commercial certificate and 500 hours minimum flight time. An AUVSI study reports 70,000 new jobs with the integration of UAV's in the U.S. While there are a number of jobs for pilots, there are less jobs available for Aviation Management. I feel with the integration of UAV's into our everyday lives, the management jobs will surely follow.
UAV's are really easy to build and give aviation a whole new realm on our capability to do whatever we want to do. How can the FAA regulate such a profitable industry when they know how much profit can be made.
ReplyDeleteUAVs have been a major benefit for military use thus far, and i think that is the segment where they will provide the most benefit. Yes, there are several civilian uses for UAVs, but not really any that aren't already being safely completed by human pilots. Given the several problems with incorporating them into the NAS maybe we should leave it that way.
ReplyDeleteI disagree slightly. Search and rescue (specifically for individuals lost in the wilderness, not coast guard operations) has a potential for UAV use. If there is a margin between an aircraft's limits and what is safe to send it out into with a pilot, you lose the ability to operate under some extreme conditions that the plane could handle but is to risky. A UAV would be able to operate all the way to its limits in these circumstances and not risk lives.
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