Unmanned aircraft

[fly bhoy]

Scary article about unmanned aircraft (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993868) !!

Surely they could just train the controllers to pilot the thing from the ground as well and cut out the middle men?!?;) :D

FB

[Spitoon]

fb, you could be closer to the truth than you realise!

Work on UAVs is more advanced that the article suggests.

[Point Seven]

Yeah, it's called the passenger cabin on Concorde.

P7

[Spodman]

UAV regularly fly near YHML, in a danger area.

Global Hawk works fine with C airspace/restricted areas. Difficult to see how he could use VFR climb/descent or spot a VFR in E.

[Magic Mushroom]

RAF AWACS controllers have regularly controlled UAV's (RQ-1/MQ-9 Predators, RQ-4 Global Hawks primarily) for many years over various trouble spots and war zones. Many of these areas have had extremely high traffic densities, and sometimes most other aircraft have been non-squawking for operational reasons. Essentially, controlling a UAV is no different to controlling a manned aircraft: there's still a pilot answering your calls, it's just that he happens not to be co-located with the callsign!
Regards,
M2

[tobzalp]

Remembering of course that Global Hawk operates above Flight level 500 and generally climbs and descends in military Restricted areas. Probably don't have to worry too much about traffic (saw it a few times in my neck of the woods)

[Magic Mushroom]

Tobzalp
You are correct that Global Hawk operates at high level where the only conflictions are U-2 and the odd other exotic/old aircraft. Additionally, it is very rare to see more than 2 operating simultaneously right now (although I suspect that this will change as the RQ-4 matures).
However, the Predator and others such as Hunter are down in the thick of it. Indeed, Predator particularly demands care as it's often to be found lurking below CAS stacks (ie just at the levels where CAS roll out of a weapons delivery profile and are preoccupied avoiding AAA and SAMS!
Regards,
M2

[javelin]

Travelling north from Vegas last month on the I 95. Passed a small military airfield with a Global Hawk doing circuits. Now as these are RPV's and can be simulated very well, what is the point of flying circuits - the operator can either fly it or not fly it ! Or did I miss something ?

[Scott Voigt]

Javlin;

You can't simulate everything unless you buy a REALLY EXPENSIVE simulator... So you practice with the real thing. You also can't test out new equippment in a simulator <G>...

regards

Scott

[Magic Mushroom]

Jav,
As svoigt thingy says, there's still no substitute for the real thing, and the UAV's themselves need to be broken out for post maintenance test flts etc.

The Predator OCU includes about 3 live flts for the pilots (who are actually mostly rated pilots in their own right who log the flt time). Additionally, UAV's need to be integrated into trg such as Red Flag due to their increasing operational use.

Regards,
M2