Robot Planes to Track Weather and Climate

coondoggie writes "The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week announced a $3 million, three-year program that to test the use of unmanned aircraft to measure hurricanes, arctic and Antarctic ice changes and other environmental tasks. The agency said the drone aircraft would be outfitted with special sensors and technology to help NOAA scientists better predict a hurricane's intensity and track, how fast Arctic summer ice will melt, and whether soggy Pacific storms will flood West Coast cities. Starting this summer, unmanned aircraft will take instruments on research flights that are too dangerous or too long for pilots and scientists."

Comments

Announcing themselves?

[mcrbids]

So, there I am... flying along in my rented Cessna 172, with a couple kids in the back, touring a local mountain range and making the kids squeal by stalling the plane every so often so that it suddenly drops a few hundred feet...

How am I supposed to know that there's a UAV nearby? It's not like a UAV will announce, in a friendly tone: "Orland Traffic, UAV N301A 4 thousand feet, 3 miles southeast, heading 140, Cessna in sight, no factor.". (Note: UAV == "Unmanned Air Vehicle") For those who don't know, this call means:

Orland Traffic = the airport in question. Click here if you are curious.

UAV N301A = the type of aircraft, and the registration number.

4 thousand feet = the altitude of the aircraft at the time of call.

3 miles southwest = where the airplane is relative to the airport in question (Orland)

Heading 140 = what direction the plane is travelling. In this case, East of due south. (it's heading away from Orland airport, but crossing due south)

Cessna in sight = I see the plane that was just mentioned on the airwaves.

No factor = I couldn't hit it if I wanted to.

A UAV is controlled by a COMPUTER which has no concept of instruction like what I just gave. It could announce itself in some fashion digitally, which would mean that planes that have digital "situational awareness" systems with RADAR and XM Satellite weather might display them just fine - but many planes don't even have a RADIO! (planes with no radio do not fly over major cities - you'd be shocked at how much airspace this still allows)

How could this possibly work? Until there's a consistent, legally defined way for civil aircraft to know that there's a UAV nearby, this is a non-starter. But no way has been declared, and (as of last summer) it has not even been announced to pilots as a possibility. I don't even have the OPTION of knowing where these UAVs might be.

So when I hit a UAV, am I supposed to sue the Federal Govt? (assuming I live to tell about it)

I sense severe stupidity at work, here, and this is not my sig line. UAVs are not a problem, but they have NOT been incorporated into the existing (human/pilot based) aviation system. This is a slow disaster in the making. When an unannounced UAV hits a private plane filled with a happy, loving family, who is to blame for their deaths?

Re:Announcing themselves?

[nguy]

Most UAVs fly high enough so that there's no chance of a collision. When they fly in regular air space, UAVs avoid you.

Re:Announcing themselves?

[Anonymous Coward]

Rather than looking for the opportunity to show off your pilot's license (I.E. Cptn. bigcock), you should have spent 30 seconds to read the article.

You would have found that unless you fly these happy families into the eye of hurricanes, over the arctic, or from New York to England via ocean route (is there any other way?), you have absolutely nothing to fear of collision with an UAV.

In the incredibly unlikely event that you actually do in fact fly a Cessna over the arctic or across oceans just for the joygasm, you honestly have a better chance winning the lotto by playing your tail numbers (I know, theres letters in there sometimes too) than actually hitting a UAV. I'd give you an actual number, but I make it a rule not to calculate anything that I know will be over 9 decimal places long unless I'm being paid to do it.

Just how does one get a pilot's license without studying the books anyway?

Re:Announcing themselves?

[Anonymous Coward]

This sounds like a pretty uninformed opinion that has not been well thought out.... You say that UAVs will not be able to announce themselves like a manned aircraft, and a moment later go on to say that some aircraft don't even have radios... Well dummy - how do those non-radio equipped aircraft announce themselves? UAVs operating in the national airspace have transponders on board, their operators are in constant communication with ATC, and sometimes even have TCAS systems or ground based radars helping them to look for morons that are tooling about stalling their aircraft with kids in the back and radios not installed... I only wish that you would take the same precautions that these small toy aircraft do to keep the skys safe.

Re:Announcing themselves?

[CompMD]

There's nothing that says these NOAA UAVs will be flying in US airspace, because right now it is still illegal. The only places in the US that UAV can fly are restricted airspaces. There's no "severe stupidity" at work here. There's only your knee-jerk, think-of-the-"happy, loving family" reaction to technologies you are clearly unfamiliar with.

If I were you, I wouldn't try to thrill the kids by inducing a stall in your 172 in a mountain range. Air currents in a mountain range are such that you could easily find yourself flipped over or finding new and exciting ways to attempt to control your aircraft.