The skies overhead to be filled with drones (CONUS)

The shock of how much the flight still relied on a human pilot hit Rose midair as he contemplated his rusty skills and mortality. "My first thought was, 'Wow, it's insane that a private person is allowed to do this,'" he says. "You have all this navigation that you need to manage and all the communications you have to do between other planes and taking instructions from air traffic control. There's layers and layers of stuff. All the while, you are one mistake away from a fatal accident. I kept thinking, 'How is this OK?'"
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I fear that many of us would disagree. With EFIS that helps you doing most of the Aviate & Navigate thing, flight has became so boring than speaking to a well mooded ATC (and half the time irresistible female voice enhanced by 1930's radio crackings) is often the best moment in a flight...
 
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TomcatViP said:
The shock of how much the flight still relied on a human pilot hit Rose midair as he contemplated his rusty skills and mortality. "My first thought was, 'Wow, it's insane that a private person is allowed to do this,'" he says. "You have all this navigation that you need to manage and all the communications you have to do between other planes and taking instructions from air traffic control. There's layers and layers of stuff. All the while, you are one mistake away from a fatal accident. I kept thinking, 'How is this OK?'"
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I fear that many of us would disagree.
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It's the classic marketing device of running down the competition, or in this case the entire existing industry. It stops people asking awkward questions such as "So if these parts aren't reliable enough for you, how can you rely on then being reliable enough in every other aircraft in the sky, when you rely on them for collision avoidance and have no ability to revert to see-and-avoid".
 
TomcatViP said:
The shock of how much the flight still relied on a human pilot hit Rose midair as he contemplated his rusty skills and mortality. "My first thought was, 'Wow, it's insane that a private person is allowed to do this,'" he says. "You have all this navigation that you need to manage and all the communications you have to do between other planes and taking instructions from air traffic control. There's layers and layers of stuff. All the while, you are one mistake away from a fatal accident. I kept thinking, 'How is this OK?'"
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This deserves so much stronger of a reaction, but this is all the option I have: :rolleyes:

It would probably blow this guy's mind that me, private citizen with no military or professional experience and less than 200 hours, have piloted an airplane within feet of several others, with zero communication with air traffic control and within a couple thousand feet of the airspace of the busiest airport in the world. All perfectly legal, and the risks properly managed.

I guess this Rose character is one of those people (like so many) that imagine anything in life outside the narrow, scripted, lowest-common-denominator mundanity of the things almost everybody has in common must be controlled and prohibited to all those without specific permission (from who?), good justification, and constant government control and supervision.

Excuse me while I go puke...
 
TomcatViP said:
The shock of how much the flight drive still relied on a human pilot driver hit Cowboy Rose midair on the freeway as he contemplated his rusty skills and mortality. "My first thought was, 'Wow, it's insane that a private person is allowed to do this,'" he says. "You have all this navigation that you need to manage and all the communications you have to do between other planes cars and taking instructions from air traffic control lights. There's layers and layers of stuff. All the while, you are one mistake away from a fatal accident. I kept thinking, 'How is this OK?'"
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Sounds like a cowboy on first encountering an automobile.
 
Let's be honest, he has overdone it but it's true that Traffic management can be improved today to the point that voice messages and readback could be probably avoided [trying not to cry].

I see for example a lot of efis's guys that have the autopilot just managing their flight via the heading/alt/cruise knobs. It's perfect to me (if you wonder) and perfect for them. It's then probably the way we'll all do tomorrow.

Instead of re-inventing the wheel and solving a decolerated problem (like most startups do), Cowboy Joe should focus his competences on how to get slightly further in the same direction.
 
TomcatViP said:
Let's be honest, he has overdone it but it's true that Traffic management can be improved today to the point that voice messages and readback could be probably avoided [trying not to cry].

I see for example a lot of efis's guys that have the autopilot just managing their flight via the heading/alt/cruise knobs. It's perfect to me (if you wonder) and perfect for them. It's then probably the way we'll all do tomorrow.

Instead of re-inventing the wheel and solving a decolerated problem (like most startups do), Cowboy Joe should focus his competences on how to get slightly further in the same direction.
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But on the other end of the spectrum we have guys like that Asiana Airlines pilot that crashed in SFO. He would reach rotation for takeoff and almost immediately hit the auto pilot switch until landing. This guy had maybe an hour of actual flight time in his whole career. He did not know how to land the plane without the ILS system running. Might was well get robo-pilots at that point.
 
Unlike vehicles on the ground, I wonder what type of navigation or collision avoidance system will be installed. If one falls from the sky due to a malfunction, who is liable for property damage or injury to persons?
 
When a manufacturing or design fault can be proved - the manufacturer.
When it's a case of drone usage in violation of local regulations, or against the manufacturer's recommendations, or inapproprate drone usage - the operator.
The local aviation authority might be involved as well.
 
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Alas, when the legal eagles get involved, nothing is ever as clear cut as it should be...
 

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