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Civilian Use of Drone Aircraft May Soon Fly In the US

Posted by Soulskill on from the you-get-a-drone-you-get-a-drone-everybody-gets-a-drone dept.

An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from the Seattle Times: "Drone aircraft, best known for their role in hunting and destroying terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, may be coming soon to the skies near you. Police agencies want drones for air support to find runaway criminals. Utility companies expect they can help monitor oil, gas and water pipelines. Farmers believe drones could aid in spraying crops with pesticides. 'It's going to happen,' said Dan Elwell, vice president of civil aviation at the Aerospace Industries Association. 'Now it's about figuring out how to safely assimilate the technology into national airspace.' That's the job of the Federal Aviation Administration, which plans to propose new rules for using small drones in January, a first step toward integrating robotic aircraft into the nation's skyways."

6 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. FAA Director Yoda quoted: by Leebert · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Begun, the Drone Wars have."

  2. Modern Day Kite Fights? by monzie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Kite Fighting is a common festival in many parts of Asia. In a few years from now, imagine if a bunch of dudes do that with drones ( and the drones shooting at each other with Spud Guns in mid-air).

    It will soon become and industry of its own. Microsoft and Sony will soon come out with Fighter Drones.

    Microsoft's will have a "ring of death" ( It'll circle your house twice before crashing into your house and destroying the ceiling/attic.

    Sony's will have the ability to fly carrying a dog as a passenger. But one day it'll disable it via software update and your mutt will no longer be able to fly.

    Nintendo will come out with a cheaper, smaller drone will require you to flap your arms like a bird, which the drone will faithfully imitate.

    I see a good future for the gaming industry with this.

    1. Re:Modern Day Kite Fights? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Meanwhile in the real world R/C clubs are dying off in the cities as land has become way too expensive and the population too densly packed to tolerate small aircraft falling out of the sky just so people can get their thrills.

      Newsflash: Sometimes people leave the city for recreation.

      And now I'll really blow your mind: Some people don't even live in cities to begin with

  3. Japan's Robot Overlords by Dutchy+Wutchy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Japan has been using UAVs for agriculture for years. Pretty cool stuff.
    http://benpheneverything.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/robotic-crop-dusting-in-japan/
    http://www.gizmag.com/go/2440/

  4. Re:Every commercial airliner already is a drone by Starker_Kull · · Score: 5, Informative

    No they don't. If it's not a puddle jumper, the damn thing lands itself.

    Well, unless you count 737s, 757s, 767s, 777s, and a few dozen other 100+ seat commercial aircraft as 'puddle jumpers', you are wrong. These airplanes have the capability to autoland, under a highly restricted set of conditions, involving maximum wind speeds (on the 737, max headwind 25 kts, xwind 15 and tailwind 10), clearing a large ILS safe zone on the surface of the airport to assure no interference with the localizer & glide slope antennas, minimum visibilites (because many autopilot systems work only the ailerons & elevator, not the rudder, and once you are on the deck you need the rudder to track the centerline, which the autopilot can no longer do, and neither can you if you can't see), etc., etc., etc.

    I flew 600 hours for a major airline on the 737 last year. I did exactly one autoland in the entire year, and it was because the Captain & I wanted the procedural practice, the airport had a CAT III ILS, and it was a quiet day & ATC was accommodating.

    I really wish I knew what urges people to forcefully declare they know about something when they plainly don't. It only subtracts from the discussion and your credibility.

  5. Re:I don't see what's to stop... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Have you not seen the video out of Iraq or Afghanistan of individual insurgents being hunted down by UAVs? Just replace the Hellfire with a patrol car and you've got the picture.

    Are you suggesting that civilian UAVs should be outfitted to fire rocket-propelled patrol cars at ground targets? Because that sounds simultaneously awesome and impractical.