UNMANNED, THE WAY OF THE FUTURE

So, how are these pilotless aircraft expected to comply with the
see-and-avoid mandate?


-------------------------------------------------------------------
AVflash Volume 9, Issue 48b — November 27, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------

UNMANNED, THE WAY OF THE FUTURE
As the 100th anniversary of manned flight looms, some navel-gazers are
now suggesting the future of flight is with drones. "It's no longer
'yes or no.' The technology and the systems are accepted," Daryl
Davidson, head of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems
International (AUVSI), told CNN. "These things are here to stay and
they are proliferating. We'll see them on every runway of every
airport doing patrols and day-to-day routine tasks." Some are even
predicting that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be the last manned
fighter. But battlefield conditions, and their attendant attrition
rates, don't apply over a crowded freeway; others suggest it will be a
while before we accept drones for traffic reports or other urban uses.
"The local TV station isn't going to be happy to have a million dollar
plane crash into traffic or someone's house," said aerospace analyst
Steve Zaloga. "It's going to be a hazard and it's going to be a cost
issue."
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#186167