http://wtop.com/120/2846813/Live-Blog-Ask-the-Chief-with-David-Rohrer-Charlie-Deane

NICE! Hopefully drone helicopters.

One can hope that, for the first thousand flights or so, they don't fly a drone anywhere where falling out of the sky will be hazardous to people or property.

If they're flying around in this crowded airspace, I'm assuming they'll have high visibility lighting installed on them (unlike their military counterparts). But wait, that will take away the 'stealth' aspect of the drone. So perhaps not.

Even with lighting, I'd think there's a high risk of mid-air collision since these things are small and hard to see.

Just a matter of time before a drone and an airliner come crashing down somewhere in the DC area. It's pretty self evident that flying a drone in this airspace is very, very risky (unlike the virtually empty skies of Afghanistan).

So who's going to be responsible when 100's of people are killed by a clipped 767 ? Who's going to write all those checks to the families?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2012 08:19AM by trogdor!.

trogdor! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...It's pretty self evident that flying a drone
> in this airspace is very, very risky (unlike the
> virtually empty skies of Afghanistan).

Nah, drones fly too low to be a hazard like that, in general.

Birds - THEY fly low, too, so are a greater hazard to drones than any other sort of aircraft.

I'm more concerned (where "concerned" is being very loosely used) about a drone simply failing in some manner - like the drone that the Iranians now have - simple loss of communication and the drone is now "autonomous"...going anywhere IT likes...no thanks!

[I think it is VERY unlikely drones will be used anywhere near airports in the area, thus not a hazard to planes during takeoff/landing]

trogdor! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If they're flying around in this crowded airspace,
> I'm assuming they'll have high visibility lighting
> installed on them (unlike their military
> counterparts). But wait, that will take away the
> 'stealth' aspect of the drone. So perhaps not.
>
> Even with lighting, I'd think there's a high risk
> of mid-air collision since these things are small
> and hard to see.
>
> Just a matter of time before a drone and an
> airliner come crashing down somewhere in the DC
> area. It's pretty self evident that flying a drone
> in this airspace is very, very risky (unlike the
> virtually empty skies of Afghanistan).
>
> So who's going to be responsible when 100's of
> people are killed by a clipped 767 ? Who's going
> to write all those checks to the families?


Do people have any clue? They will have a transponder, nav lights and a pilot in contact with ATC.

dumbitdown Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do people have any clue? They will have a
> transponder, nav lights and a pilot in contact
> with ATC.

I seriously doubt each one of those.

They won't have a transponder simply because they're too small (RC plane sized), they certainly won't have nav lights due to the power requirements, and the "pilot"'s only comm, if any, with ATC will be along the line of:

>>> "We'll be somewhere near 123 and 29"

and that'll be it.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Dones-to-Fly-Over-Fairfax-County--149626165.html

Drones are actually a lot larger than I thought they would be...like 16-18' wide wingspan. I saw one up close on the ground at the Andrews AFB show last year.

Maybe they will equip them with hell-fire missiles and light up those a-holes doing the "Maryland Squat" (driving slow in the left lane on the Beltway).

Isn't one drone in Fairfax enough?
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