|
Alarm over quality of UK drone pilots
Alarm over quality of Britain
Article in The Times today bemoaning the quality of UK 'drone' pilots. Seems to be focused on the Hermes 450, but is there read across to Reaper....or would this be a comparison of oranges & apples? |
I thought these thing were "flown" by pilots. Reminds me of a very experienced trainer who said he wouldn't even look at MS Flight Sim until it became impossible for a spotty youth to "fly" in his bedroom.
|
The Times headline implies poor quality operators. But later it says they are poorly trained. Not the same thing. Has someone ignored training needs? It wouldn't be the first time.
|
Unfotunately the link posted by Jumping_Jack is mostly obscured behind a Murdoch paywall....
However, I suspect that they're referring to the SI report into the accident involving ZK515 on 02 Oct 11: Page not found (ignore the title). |
I thought these thing were "flown" by pilots. Whilst there were a few Reaper controllers fed into the system from non-flying backgrounds (can't remember the name of the scheme) the majority of the operators are from the two-winged master race are they not? |
from the two-winged master race |
Here is a reasonable piece from the DT on the topic ...
Telegraph - UK Drones Needless to say usual poor standard of research from the Daily Fail ! They can't even get the right pic for a Hermes ! Daily Mail - UK Drones |
There are some Brits flying Predators on exchange with the USAF who came from non-flying backgrounds under Trial DAEDALUS, but none on Reaper (yet).
Jumping_Jack, I'd say oranges and apples. Currently, everyone flying a UK Reaper is an experienced pilot, with only a couple of exceptions having less than a couple of tours on other fleets behind them. |
Has someone ignored training needs? It wouldn't be the first time. |
That Trenchard fella was so far ahead of his time... Whodathunkit? Driving things about in the air is different to driving things about on the ground or in water and as such might require a different mindset.......:} |
MOD take on the situation, from today's DMC news update:
Report of alarm over quality of Britain's drone 'pilots' The Times reports that there is 'alarm' over the quality of Britain's 'drone' pilots. This is somewhat misleading. The article is based on a Service Inquiry that refers only to Royal Artillery operation of the Hermes 450 Unmanned Aircraft System which was published by the Military Aviation Authority (MAA) on 26 September 2012. It is important to note that the Hermes 450 is an unarmed capability that has been and continues to be a success in Afghanistan, providing vital intelligence for our ground forces. The MAA report did make a number of recommendations which included training and organisational issues - all of which are being followed through. Importantly, it is incorrect to link this incident to any other UK remotely-operated air system, such as the Reaper Remotely Piloted Air System. Reaper is operated by the Royal Air Force which has its own well-established training and organisational frameworks. The RAF is assisting the Royal Artillery in implementing many of the training and supervisory recommendations made in the Service Inquiry. |
The Times areticle didn't mention the 450 in the first 3 Paragraphs
but did manage to get a mention of armed UAV's and killing. The other two articles seem to be more balanced or at least not as sensationalist. |
Perhaps this should be merged with the 'dogs to pilot aircraft' thread?
The average border collie is cleverer than a squaddie :E . |
It's important to differentiate between operators involved in the take-off and landing phase of flight and operators involved in the main mission elements. I suspect that they are not the same individuals and many of the issues that have occured during take off and landing might have been with the airframe under the physical control of contractors rather than Brit Mil.
|
Melchett did you read the SI?
|
The SI seemed very balanced and entirely reasonable, as is the MoD's take on the article in The Murdoch according to the DMC news update.
|
H450 SI
|
F3WMB ... Opposeable Thumbs old chap ... leave the Border Collie out of it :E
|
Just This Once -
No I didn't - I have no connection to the UAV community but seem to recall that many are operated by a different crew to the launch / control element who won't necessarily be military or trained in the same way military personnel would. But given the generally poor standard of journalism these days, it wouldn't surprise me if any such demarkation wasn't mentioned and people were left thinking UK military were entirely at fault. |
Unless things have changed, H450 were/are launched and recovered by off-board pilot contractors (not necessarily a qualified manned aircraft pilot) and operated (point and click waypoints) by Gunners.
Airmanship/awareness ???......Spears |
| All times are GMT. The time now is 08:21. |
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.