UAV's are becoming a bigger and more prevalent part of modern day technology. Many people believe that one day UAV's will be a huge part of modern day aviation operations. But as of right now, its still a growing business. UAV's originally were just used in military operations but now have started making their way to the civilian side of things. According to a website online, "A North Dakota court has approved the use of drones to help arrest citizens on US soil. UAVs have primarily been used to conduct strikes against purported militants in countries like Pakistan, but their use at home has been on the rise as of late." This is a big advancement and could definitely be applied across the US. Also, many people have heard of Amazon using UAV's to deliver packages via UAV's. Jeff Bezos said that he "estimates that delivery-by-drone, called Amazon "Prime Air," will be available to customers in as soon as 4-5 years." This could be very beneficial but also very hectic seeing multiple drones flying around so close to the ground. UAV's are also regulated by the FAA. Specifically for first responders, "The bill further specifies these UAS must be flown within the line of sight of the operator, less than 400 feet above the ground, during daylight conditions, inside Class G (uncontrolled) airspace and more than five miles from any airport or other location with aviation activities." Which to me makes sense because that's not affecting as much of the NAS as it could be.
As far as UAV's integrating into the NAS I can definitely see that happening. Maybe not until 10-15 years from now but it will happen sometime and at first there will probably be some issues that need to be worked out. Line of sight will be an issue and the fact the drones are a lot smaller then all other aircraft will make them harder to see especially at night. And another issue is that could arise is that traffic at airports is already busy as it is and with UAV's flying around it will only make traffic more congested.
Military is another aspect that utilizes UAV's heavily. Everything from surveillance, to air support and even carrying supplies, drones have been big part of todays military. One of the negatives with UAV's are cost. Not every UAV created for military is still flying today. Being in a warzone, UAV's either are shot down or crash or just aren't able to fly anymore and they are not cheap pieces of technology which makes the cost go up every time one is destroyed.
There are also opportunities for jobs in the UAV markets. I found an interesting article saying the requirements needed to be a UAV pilot with customs and border protection. There were many different requirements but the main ones were that you needed to be, under 40 years old, be a US citizen and have your commercial pilots certificate. Which to me seems fair especially when you realize the type of aircraft you are flying and the kind of operations you will be doing.
References
Amazon Drones: Amazon Unveils Futuristic Delivery Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2015, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-unveils-futuristic-plan-delivery-by-drone/
Domestic drone justice: US court green-lights police UAV use. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2015, from http://www.rt.com/usa/domestic-drone-court-ruling-743/
FAA Regulations for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Drones. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2015, from http://www.hse-uav.com/faa_regulations.htm
How to Become a UAV Pilot with Customs and Border Protection. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2015, from http://www.borderpatroledu.org/become-uav-pilot/
Yes there will be issues with congestion, but there will always be a problem with congestion in the airways the trick will be designating areas of the sky to certain types of aircraft. I also agree with the issue of being able to see the UAVs while in flight. The only way I could think to eliminate this problem we to designate airways for the UAVs, there could also be certain times of day that UAVs could be in the air. If UAVs were issued certain time slots of air time then it would be one less thing that a pilot would have to watch for while in flight.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting seeing how drones will become a regular part of our society in a few years especially within law enforcement. North Dakota legalizing the use of weaponized drones by law enforcement is a really controversial issue but I can see other states following suit in the next few years.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you think that UAV's will be integrated into the National Airspace System in the next 10-15 years. I believe that UAV's will not be integrated in the NAS simply due to traffic congestion and the communication barrier between pilots and the UAV operators. I think that UAV's are going to be prohibited around congested airspace and terminal areas. However I do think that they should come up with a solution where UAV operators can fly their drones with out interfering with the flow of air traffic.
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