Thanks to the moron who just flew his drone near LaGuardia airport
- Thread starter Turdle
- Start date
The FAA executive in charge of integrating unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) says that if and when a small UAS (sUAS) and a manned aircraft collide, the manned aircraft isn't likely to suffer serious damage. Jim Williams was speaking to a nervous audience of helicopter operators at HAI Heli-Expo in Orlando (March 2015) and said that while there's never been a reported contact between an sUAS and a civilian aircraft, the military has some experience in that regard. In all cases the aircraft was virtually unscathed while the UAS was "smashed to pieces."
The military drones tend to be a lot bigger and heavier than our Phantoms.
It's an interesting angle, but in the LaGuardia incident, the pilot is a fixed-wing commercial airliner pilot.
Clearly drones can replace helos in some areas. They're much cheaper to operate, easy to fly, and portable enough to launch from anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if news vans started carrying drones and operators.
Where quads fall short is loiter time. There isn't a multi-rotor equivalent of a news helicopter that can fly for a few hours while carrying the heavy optical equipment to zoom in and out of news events.
I'd be interested in learning what the job market looks like for helicopter pilots. Years ago, I thought there was a shortage of helo pilots relative to the demand. Perhaps some folks knowledgeable about the helicopter pilot supply and demand can weigh in here.
I was having this discussion with one of my patients the other day, a recently retired helicopter pilot and current RC pilot (flies fixed wings and heli's, and a kit drone). He says drones will not put news helicopters out of business. He said the prime reason for a station to invest in a news helicopter is the ability to get the the story quickly and be the first to break the news, the aerial shots are just icing on the cake. He believes that drones will supplement what the helicopter crews do, but doesn't think they will replace heli's in the forseeable future, at least for reporting the news.
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Some of the stories of idiots flying their drones dangerously are exactly as reported.
But a lot of it is media sensationalism. Boring stories don't sell advertising slots.
The media is definitely the problem often.
Anyone who would say the media is honest and trustworthy and sticks to facts has been on that deserted Island with Forest Gump (aka Chuck Noland aka Tom Hanks) for too long and is out of touch with reality.
Cast Away (2000) - IMDb
Why does the media lie?
Why The Media Lies - The Corporate Structure of The Mass Media (by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed) - Media Monitors Network
The tech is still in it's infancy.....by the time we're all playing checkers in the park (well, I already do sometimes) , instead of in-flight refueling, they'll have drone in-flight battery swaps
We just can't see far enough ahead
One for Mythbusters to deal with. Especially as Adam is a confirmed Inspire pilot now.
LOL, no in flight swaps, but they will be recharging while in flight:
How It Works: Laser Recharges UAV
Or solar powered drones - several companies are working on them. Titan is developing a drone that could fly for 5 years in our upper atmosphere.
incredulous
Oh my! That's a fancy word ya got there bubba Clipper. I'm just a lowly drone operator.
Yeahhhh.. Imma borrow that one for posterity sake and loan you a few.....
"Pissed"..."Annoyed"...."twisted"......you don't have to return em but you can use em ;-)
But now about the 2700ft....yeah that's stupid. agreed.
Depends on who you discuss it with
I tend to agree with your perspective personally.
imo, our massive bloated government reminds me of North Korea more and more.
The powers getting too centralized and we peasants have less and less say.
Neither pissed, annoyed, nor twisted are synonyms for incredulous. Let me know if you need help with "synonym."
With today's tech it ought to be embedded in the firm ware that if you fly in a restricted area (airport) especially then the bird should look for the closest body of water and/or woods and do a nice cannon ball !!!! Of course it could give the moron a warning to get out of the area then if not, sorry about your luck. Or maybe just land and self destruct.... Punish the moron - not everybody.
lol....some of you folks need a hobby!
Truth be told, I admit, I forgot what it meant and thought it meant displeased or angry.. I still wonder where they get the term "Golden" years.
Anyway, I looked it up and refreshed my sorry arse memory. Thanks !
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N017RW
Premium Pilot
These automobile analogies are so lame.
But.. It's likely the 'moron' and his vehicle are licensed. In which case at least he had to take tests and prove a MINIMUM level of skill in operating the vehicle and understands the rules-of-the-road.
He likely has liability insurance to cover damages resulting from his operating the vehicle.
There are laws regarding his conduct with fines and other punishment for operating his vehicle recklessly or causing harm to persons or property.
Fortunately new cars are very safe and there's a good chance my vehicle will save my life should the moron be involved in an accident with me.
If a person who has never driven a car before were to be able to walk into the car store and drive away with no previous instruction or experience, What do you think would happen?
Hey, "It's Ready to Drive!"
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