UAV

With technology constantly advancing, we are capable of doing things we normally wouldn’t be capable of doing. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are quickly advancing, and they are opening up more opportunities for civilian operators. One use that I found very interesting is that farmers can now use drones to monitor their fields. Being able to monitor the fields with drones gives the farmers countless capabilities such as“ precision applications of pesticides, water, or fertilizers, which drones can help by identifying exactly where such resources are needed and delivering them there, is better for the environment and for a farmer's bottom line” (Handwerk, 2013). UAV’s are also capable of hurricane hunting, which is a huge step forward simply in regards to saving human life. I found it very interesting that NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Northrop Grumman collaborated together to use long range UAVS to monitor evolving storms.  It is extremely impressive that the “Global Hawk drones can stay aloft for 30 hours and fly 11,000 miles (17,700 kilometers) with their 116-foot (35-meter) wingspans. That lets them reach and stay in stormy areas that manned planes can't, performing valuable surveillance” (Handwerk, 2013). If there is a way to eliminate the risk of sending a human pilot into a hurricane, then why not seek further advancements with UAV’s. Currently, the FAA has regulations in place for UAVS which consist of flying below 400 feet and remaining clear of obstacles, remain clear of manned aircraft operations, keep the UAV in sight at all times, and it must weigh under 55 pounds. Also, the FAA states that civilian operators should not be “careless or reckless with your unmanned aircraft – you could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft” (FAA,2015). It is good to see that the FAA will enforce these regulations on civilian UAV operators, because they should be held just as liable as general aviation pilots.

Eventually, with further advancements in technology I can see UAV’s being integrated into the National Airspace System. If they utilized flight plans for UAV’s or even designated a specific altitude just for UAV use; that could be a simple way of alerting all pilots. If a specific altitude is assigned for UAV flight operations in the NAS, then it would drastically decrease the amount of potential incursions that could happen. The main problem that I see with integrating UAV’s into the NAS would be the lack of communication from UAV operators to pilots. UAV operators should be expected to communicate just as if they were piloting an actual aircraft. Lack of communication could potential cause a lot of accidents, so that is definitely an area that they would need to strongly focus on.

When it comes to military operations, they have been trying to cut back on human involvement in hostile areas, especially in 50 million dollar aircraft. The use of UAV’s takes away from pilots being fatigued from flying, and the stress of going into a hostile area. There are six general applications that the military uses UAV’s for, which include the following: security, search and rescue, monitoring, impact and disaster management, communications, and munitions. To go into more depth, security entitles operations such as aerial reconnaissance, detecting chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear condition, as well as battlefield management. Search and rescue operations can vary from all terrain search and rescue, deployment of life rafts, and marking rescue points.  The military does monitoring of waterways, shipping, pollution control and even air sampling. Impact and disaster management is self explanatory, as well as communications. UAV’s are capable of air to ground, air to air, anti-tank, wide area munition deployments, and they can even be equipped with guided shells. Although the Navy is capable of taking any target out with the use of their Tomahawk missiles, drones provide a strategic advantage with a heavier munition load.

This website is offering a negotiable payment for UAV operations and PIC time 

 http://www.barefootstudent.com/seattle/jobs/part_time/drone_pilot_in_charge_pic_284638?utm_source=SimplyHired&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SimplyHired

References:

FAA. (2015, March 4). Model Aircraft Operations. Retrieved February 14, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/

Handwerk, B. (2013, December 2). National Geographic. 5 Surprising Drone Uses (Besides Amazon Delivery). Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131202-drone-uav-uas-amazon-octocopter-bezos-science-aircraft-unmanned-robot/