Originally Posted by
NutLoose
Well put post theuglyfendoffguy, as for the above, the difference is risk, the guy in the AAR is at risk to life and limb if anything goes wrong and simply because the aircraft has autopilot does not mean he cannot fly the aircraft, he can, end of the day his life is on the line, the RPAS pilots isn't.
Thanks Traffic, that made me smile, those poor Army pilots really have to rough it not having an air conditioned portacabin in the field
The AAR metaphor was directly related to your opinion of rpas pilots not being 'real pilots' and not to do with the risk discussion.
By your definition then anyone taking off in a manned aircraft anywhere deserves a medal...I think not.
It's worthy of debate at what point in the tiered system of rpas/UAS/UAS one could term the operating crew aircrew/pilot etc. For simplicity sake then it's probably easy to say there is a difference between that hand launched 2Lb uav and the 10000Lb reaper rpas that flies hundreds of miles for many hours carrying significant payloads through conventional airspace constructs.
Plus, since that guy will launch it at the front line line-of-sight then the medal argument is a guaranteed one for him!!
