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Droning On

Posted by michael on from the drone-drone-drone-your-boat-gently-out-to-sea dept.

MagnetarJones writes "Another washingtonpost.com article reports that Federal regulators have begun considering rules that would allow drones, the pilotless planes being used in the war in Afghanistan, to fly in U.S. airspace. Supporters envision the use of drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, for such tasks as moving cargo, pinpointing traffic problems, patrolling the border, searching for fugitives or fighting forest fires..."

6 of 390 comments (clear)

  1. Great, except the crash rate is high... by User+956 · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is all great, except that during the Kosovo conflict, 10 times as many drones were lost as manned vehicles.

    Three of the Air Force's six Global Hawks, which cost about $35 million a piece, have crashed. About half of the 50 much smaller, $4.5 million Predators have been lost, including some that were shot down, according to the Air Force's own data.

    I don't want to send my packages by drone, thanks.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  2. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  3. Re:requisite paranoid response by EvlOvrLrd · · Score: 3, Informative

    To make a satellite 'stationary' above a single geographical point, it would have to be in geo-sync orbit of roughly 22,000 miles. One, I don't think that spy optics are that strong to support such distances in any real-time capacity. Plus, the costs alone to reposition the bird to cover a specific area, makes it financially futile.

    Aircraft will always be more 'affordable' than satellites.

    --


    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear to be bright. Until you hear them speak.
  4. Re:These drones are way too expensive by gUmbi · · Score: 3, Informative


    Typical cargo planes costs dozens to hundreds of millions. Passenger planes are approaching $1B for new models.

    Passenger planes cost $1 billion? Are you high? Try $50 million for an Airbus A320.

  5. This has been happening for quite a while now by endikos · · Score: 3, Informative

    There's actually quite a bit of work being done to try and enable UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to fly in the National Airsapce System without danger to other aircraft and the ground. Very cool systems are being developed to integrate them into normal airspace traffic; systems which allow them to communicate with air traffic control, "see" other aircraft and respond to them (SAA or see and avoid systems), contingency equipment for communications failures etc. It's really some fascinating stuff. I work along side one of the groups comissioned by NASA to develop a "cradle to grave" roadmap which outlines the steps that would be necessary to certify UAVs, individually and as classes of aircraft, from inception to the junkyard. One of the reports that goes with that roadmap is the concept of operations. For more information, you may want to check out AUVSI or google for "Unmanned Systems".

  6. Re:These drones are way too expensive by canadian_right · · Score: 5, Informative
    747 prices range from 70 to 250 million (frieght only versions seems to be less).
    The a380 airbus lists for around 230 million (most people think this price is subsidised by gov in Europe)
    A brand new Peterbilt tractor is about $90,000 (much less than $500,000!!), and a trailer is only $30,000.

    So... $35 million isn't a bad price for a large jet, but it maybe a bit high for a small one.

    All you people who modded this price list up, should have a look at Google first.

    --
    Anarchists never rule