Who needs a pilot any longer ?
 

What about this one?

"Plane takes off from Two Rock ranch without pilot

Authorities fail to find craft, say it likely crashed after running out of fuel; search continues today December 27, 2001

An unmanned airplane broke free from its moorings Wednesday while the pilot was working on it, taking off from a Two Rock ranch and flying over southern Sonoma County without a pilot for at least two hours.

Authorities concluded the single-engine airplane eventually crashed, but a search for the wreckage was suspended because of darkness.

"This will be in the aviation history books," said Walt Smith, regional coordinator for the Federal Aviation Administration.

"It's pretty wild," he said. "We're all shaking our heads. We thought we'd heard everything."

The search began shortly after 3 p.m. when Paul Clary III of San Rafael called 911 to report that his airplane had taken off from his son's Middle Two Rock Road ranch with no one aboard and enough fuel to fly for two hours.

Clary, 67, said he was fixing a flooded engine when the plane broke free from its moorings.

"It's a nightmare," he said while waiting to see if authorities could locate his plane before it crashed.

Clary said he had owned the plane, a 1946 Aeronca Champion, for about six years.

Sonoma County sheriff's deputies dispatched a helicopter to find the pilotless plane, but after about four hours of searching they gave up without ever seeing the yellow aircraft for themselves.

CHP also dispatched an aircraft, and some private planes may have joined the search."

Great story !! There is <a href="http://members.brabant.chello.nl/~j.vanderschaar00/news.htm" target="_blank">more about this one</a>

[ 27 December 2001: Message edited by: avt100 ]</p>

ehh..... <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

I heard a story like this a couple of years ago, with the aircraft ended up in (I think) Iowa.

[ 28 December 2001: Message edited by: Evo7 ]</p>

He fixed the engine then.

Wreckage Of Unmanned Plane Found
Plane Spotted Near Lake Berryessa Dam
Posted: 5:57 p.m. PST December 26, 2001
Updated: 1:24 p.m. PST December 27, 2001

PETALUMA, Calif. -- The small plane that took off without its pilot from an airstrip near Petaluma late Wednesday afternoon was found Thursday morning in a remote area of Napa County.



Plane Found Near Lake Berryessa


The wreckage of the plane was spotted by a California Highway Patrol plane near the dam at Lake Berryessa. Officials said there was no sign of fire where the plane crashed, a rural area about 20 to 25 miles from where the plane took off.

"It's intact. It's mostly in one piece," said CHP pilot Rich Portersfield, who first spotted the plane. "There are some small pieces and parts laying about. It landed with the wheels first, or, the belly of the plane against the ground."

According to the owner, identified only as a San Rafael man, a gust of wind blew the plane free from its moorings and it took off about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday with no one inside.

The search for the plane -- an Aeronaca Champion, a small, tandem-seat, high-wing aircraft built in the 1950s -- was called off Wednesday night due to darkness.



The Federal Aviation Administration initially told local authorities that the plane did go down after tracking an emergency signal, although there were no ground sightings.

The plane took off with about 15 gallons of fuel, according to the FAA.

Aeronaca Champions have previously taken flight without a pilot.

In 1997, a Champion was in the air for 90 minutes in Ohio before crashing in a bean field. In 1990, another got lose in Florida, and the same model plane lifted off without a pilot in New York in 1987 and was in the air for 65 minutes.

Pilots told KCRA 3 that the old-fashioned operating system of the Champion was the reason for the incidents. The plane is started with an open throttle before the pilot has to climb out of the cockpit and manually start the propeller, pilots said.

<a href="http://cf.ibsys.com/sac/sh/videoplayer/video.cfm?ID=1139840&owner=sac" target="_blank">Video</a>

Thank God nobody was hurt... er... I'll get my coat.

TW

[quote]
In 1997, a Champion was in the air for 90 minutes in Ohio before crashing in a bean field
<hr></blockquote>

Ohio, Iowa - close enough <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

An Auster did something similar in NSW in the 50s - it was stalked and shot down by RAN Sea Furies.
Rattus

Ah good old Aeronica Airknocker.............The sign of a well designed Aircraft if you ask me.........why include a muppet when the thing will fly itself ? :) :)

Neg G