Drones threatening commercial a/c?
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RAT 5, yeah, certainly reads that way.
What I see in the posts are the same familiar statements from those who only have commercial interests at heart but don't seem to have a first notion of how the remarkable levels of safety have been achieved in aviation over the decades.
The argument (re methods of delivery and numbers of fatalities, etc.), is understood, but what I see is the reliance upon statistical concepts to justify a continuing acceptance of a known, (and growing) risk.
It's not the kind of thinking that yields continuous improvement in any endeavour, but particularly aviation.
Despite an encouraging responsible use of drone technology by large commercial interests, there remain some drone users who seem incapable of, or unwilling to exercise responsible use and so these kinds of arguments certainly are not going to delimit drone use and curtail regulatory involvement.
What I see in the posts are the same familiar statements from those who only have commercial interests at heart but don't seem to have a first notion of how the remarkable levels of safety have been achieved in aviation over the decades.
The argument (re methods of delivery and numbers of fatalities, etc.), is understood, but what I see is the reliance upon statistical concepts to justify a continuing acceptance of a known, (and growing) risk.
It's not the kind of thinking that yields continuous improvement in any endeavour, but particularly aviation.
Despite an encouraging responsible use of drone technology by large commercial interests, there remain some drone users who seem incapable of, or unwilling to exercise responsible use and so these kinds of arguments certainly are not going to delimit drone use and curtail regulatory involvement.
Last edited by FDMII; 30th Dec 2015 at 16:52.
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Satellite Tracking Is Weighed For Drones - WSJ article
From an article from the Wall Street Journal, Dec 30, 2015, page B1:
Regulators Weigh Satellite Tracking for Delivery Drones - WSJ
To me: "automatically", "receivers wouldn’t broadcast the drones’ location", "confound" and "overwhelm" sounds like a bad recipe.
Regulators Weigh Satellite Tracking for Delivery Drones - WSJ
Federal Aviation Administration official Don Walker said at a public meeting earlier this month that drones flying beyond sight of operators ultimately “are likely to have ADS-B receivers.” The receivers would enable drones to sense manned aircraft and automatically avoid them. The receivers wouldn’t broadcast the drones’ location, which could confound air-traffic controllers’ view of the airspace.
Mr. Walker said ADS-B likely wouldn’t be used for drones within sight of the operator, which include virtually all drones flying today, because that would overwhelm the system’s capacity.
Mr. Walker said ADS-B likely wouldn’t be used for drones within sight of the operator, which include virtually all drones flying today, because that would overwhelm the system’s capacity.
Last edited by airman1900; 31st Dec 2015 at 09:39. Reason: Added my comment
The receivers would enable drones to sense manned aircraft and automatically avoid them.
And if that was the means by which drones and aircraft were going to safely share the same airspace, doesn't that mean that ADS-B (and everything behind it, such as the GPS, etc) then becomes safety critical equipment? And doesn't that then mean that jamming GPS becomes a good way of creating dangerous airspace?
I think there would have to be more to it than "just" ADS-B.
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never mind the collisions
Once they find it more rewarding than clays or tasteless sinewy birds, the field sportsmen will probably see off the menace. Could injure the odd lab though..... If they don't, the Vinnies of the inner city will! It is too tempting.
Let's see: There are 24 bits of address for ADS-B. USA has a 20-bit address space, or just over 1 million unique addresses. 915,000 of those correspond to N-numbers that are, or can be, issued. That leaves 100,000 for all the drones.
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Originally Posted by Ian W
The problem is that there are idiots around who have graduated from l@ser pointers to flying these small UAS who are going to cause the entire commercial industry and for that matter model aircraft flying to be outlawed. They will do that by bringing down a passenger aircraft.
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It is the same lack of thought and similar ignorance of effects that will have a toy UAS 'pilot' see if they can get a close up picture of an airliner. If you find some of their websites you will see examples of such idiocy - I saw one in UK where the 'pilot' liked flying the UAS up through the cloud base to see if the UAS could get above the cloud layer.
There was zero thought that being in London might mean that the UAS was now at the same level as final approach patterns into one of the airports. All airports with final approaches over towns are at risk of this mindless 'play'. It is just the same lack of thought that leads to the l@ser pointer 'play'. All 'players' involved will be able to give you detailed breakdown of the programs. charts and performers on MTV - but have zero knowledge of aviation. Fulminations here or in governments, severe sentences even given, are not going to stop these 'players' as they will be ignorant of them.
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Last night, at 00.00 there were many people letting off the new fad of Chinese Laterns (mini hot air balloons powered by an internal flame). I was 500m south of the centreline of a major international hub. The wind, a healhty 5-10kts was from the south. I watched as a squadron of these lanterns scrambled on their flight path through the centreline what I'd estimate was not far off the 5-700' of the ILS.
We all accept, in our profession, that Murphy's Law is alive and well and it needs our vigilance & provocativeness to safeguard against its consequences. If it can then someday it will. It's a when not if philosophy, to be delayed as long as possible.
It does not, IMHO, seem a negative attitude to apply this philosophy to drones and their mis-use. There are more ignorant muppets out there than intelligent ones.
Most model aeroplane flyers have a strong code of ethics and common sense. They feel part of our industry and respect it. I'm not sure the drone fraternity shares that same culture.
We all accept, in our profession, that Murphy's Law is alive and well and it needs our vigilance & provocativeness to safeguard against its consequences. If it can then someday it will. It's a when not if philosophy, to be delayed as long as possible.
It does not, IMHO, seem a negative attitude to apply this philosophy to drones and their mis-use. There are more ignorant muppets out there than intelligent ones.
Most model aeroplane flyers have a strong code of ethics and common sense. They feel part of our industry and respect it. I'm not sure the drone fraternity shares that same culture.
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Hmm, since my responses are being removed by moderators with a "little" bias, I have become less interested....
However, yes, can I help you?
Have drones suddenly caused mass death to confirm your pre-conceived ideas?
Have Heathrow decided to stop flying for buzzards too?
However, yes, can I help you?
Have drones suddenly caused mass death to confirm your pre-conceived ideas?
Have Heathrow decided to stop flying for buzzards too?
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Intel joins Qualcomm in Rush to Create "Smartphones with Wings"
Intel announced the acquisition of German drone maker Ascending Technologies.
Intel Follows Qualcomm into Drone Market, Buys German Startup
Meanwhile, Parrot has introduced a fixed-wing drone capable of autonomous take-off and flies at 50 mph:
Parrot's new Disco drone ditches quadcopter design for a fixed-wing aircraft
Intel Follows Qualcomm into Drone Market, Buys German Startup
Meanwhile, Parrot has introduced a fixed-wing drone capable of autonomous take-off and flies at 50 mph:
Parrot's new Disco drone ditches quadcopter design for a fixed-wing aircraft
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How low can a drone fly without being shot at?
"Property owners deserve to be free from harassment and invasion of their privacy," he said in a statement sent to Ars. "Likewise, aircraft operators need to know the boundaries in which they can legally operate without risk of being shot down. This lawsuit will give clarity to everyone."
...
Brendan Schulman, the top lawyer for world's largest drone manufacturer, DJI, told Ars that if drones are being treated increasingly like aircraft—particularly given recent US registration requirements—then that should extend to being shot at as well.
...
Brendan Schulman, the top lawyer for world's largest drone manufacturer, DJI, told Ars that if drones are being treated increasingly like aircraft—particularly given recent US registration requirements—then that should extend to being shot at as well.
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Most drones are designed to be no danger to people on the ground by using GPS with return home capability and are very stable so merely releasing the controls on the remote will bring it to a rapid hover at the altitude it was flying.
Shooting down a drone makes it a falling object that could hurt people on the ground. Therefore the shooter should be charged with endangering the public by creating a hazard by his stupidity.
Shooting down a drone makes it a falling object that could hurt people on the ground. Therefore the shooter should be charged with endangering the public by creating a hazard by his stupidity.