On Oct 3, 7:56 am, Richard Riley wrote:

I'm supporting a UAV test program in So. Cal - on the mainland - right
now. Even though we have to have ground observers watching the
vehicle entire flight to ensure separation, it's far easier to fly
than if we had to ship everything and everyone 50 miles off shore by
boat or aircraft.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

What you are describing is quiet different from Global Hawk. A minimum
crew is maintained at the airports where take off and landings are
normally done (although the plane can land w/o any ground crew if
necessary). All enroute flying is done via a Sat link from Beale.
Right now there are guys at Beale flying missions over Iraq. There is
no need to ship anything. The ground support unit used for take off
and landing pilots can be pulled by a Ford F-150.

-Robert