On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 13:27:31 -0500, "Gig 601XL Builder"
wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in
:

Larry Dighera wrote:
Are any other airmen uneasy about sharing the sky with these blind
robots?


If you like that you are going to LOVE this.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=11250026


So, the plan is to first fly cargo in unmanned aerial vehicles to
demonstrate to the public that UAVs are safe, then start UAV passenger
service, ostensibly because it's cheaper, there's no chance for pilot
error, nor hijacking. I'm highly skeptical.

It's not so much that it can't be successfully accomplished for
technological reasons, but more that it will take decades of
development to produce a system that is anywhere nearly as reliable as
our current human piloted system, IMO. And then there's the issue of
Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) and Coronal Mass Ejections (CME).

Should an aircraft, indeed any electronic device, be subject to short
duration EMP, it's circuits could be rendered permanently or
temporarily inoperative depending on the strength of the pulse at the
location of the aircraft. Without electronic guidance and control,
how is a UAV supposed to function? A human pilot, relatively immune
to EMP, can shoot the stars for navigation and hand fly for control.

I know there are electronic circuits that are supposed to be fast
enough to protect against EMP, but it seems to me there would be a
delay in circuit functionality during the time the system reset itself
after encountering an EMP. During that time period, the electronics
wouldn't be performing their normal functions. Presumably the F-16,
and other nuclear delivery systems, would be equipped with this sort
of protection.

In the event a UAV is aloft during a CME episode, its fate would be
similar depending on the strength of the incoming radiation and it's
likely the event duration will be substantially longer, even hours.
While humans are more vulnerable to CME, the effects would likely be
delayed long enough to permit the aircraft to be flown to a safe
landing. For fly-by-wire aircraft, nonfunctional electronics spells
loss of control in either scenario.

And if NextGen ATC will be solely reliant on satellite communications,
it will be extremely vulnerable to CME events. But neither Congress,
the FAA, Robert Poole, Boeing, nor LockMart has mentioned that little
fact for some reason.

Also not mentioned is the UAV's lack of compliance with the regulatory
see-and-avoid mandate.

I doubt seriously that human aircraft pilots will become obsolete
within my lifetime.