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trof

(54,255 posts)
Mon Sep 29, 2014, 07:41 PM Sep 2014

Drones. Get used to it. Not just for combat.

As a former airline pilot (and USAF fighter pilot) it saddens me to say this.
I still think it's safest to have a thinking human in the cockpit.
At least ONE, anyway.

But statistics will eventually prove me wrong.


UAVs (Unmaned Aerial Vehicles), drones, robot planes, whatever you want to call them, will become part of our everyday lives.
Count on it.

The first non-combat UAVs will be military cargo aircraft.
The military can move stuff a lot cheaper without warm bodies on the flight deck.
Think of a 2nd Lt. working from a base in Nevada or wherever 'flying' a C-130 from Edwards AFB to Ramey AFB in Puerto Rico.
Just cargo.
No warm bodies.
Now think of him doing the same thing from his living room in Des Moines.
Why not?

The safety record of RPCFs (Remote Piloted Cargo Flights) will beat that of 'manned' flights.
Count on it.

FedEx and UPS will soon follow, given FAA approval, based on military RPCF safety stats.

And then...then...eventually, Boeing will come out with the pilotless B-1000!
It will be HUGE and carry 1000 passengers in cramped seats.
This much won't change.
I'm glad I won't live to see it.
trof






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Drones. Get used to it. Not just for combat. (Original Post) trof Sep 2014 OP
And you guys will just hand over your boarding passes and... trof Sep 2014 #1
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