Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) are becoming very popular for various reasons. These aircraft are mostly used in military settings such as for reconnaissance missions and strike/bombing missions. These aircraft are operated from a designated location where the “pilot” operates the aircraft from a control room. It is almost as if the “pilot” is playing a video game. UAV’s have become increasingly popular over the recent years because there is little to no human risk if the plane goes down.

As of right now there are not any regulations when it comes to unmanned aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has only “accommodated” this type of technology. It is going to be hard since there has never really been a situation like this in the past. Ballinger of the FAA says “that at any given moment there is approximately seven thousand aircraft flying in the skies over the United States. The most difficult task is to figure out how to incorporate UAV’s safely into the National Aerospace.” It is going to take them a great deal of time to put rules and regulations in place. It could also potentially take just as long to get the aviation public to adopt and recognize the regulations when they are finally put into place.

I believe one of the initial courses of action for the FAA is develop a training program as well as mandate that all UAV pilots are certified and possibly even type rated. According to UAV MarketSpace, “as of 2005 there are no certificate requirements for UAV pilots and not one civilian training center based in the United States.” Most UAV pilots are trained in the military and/or were hired out of a University sometimes holding an engineering degree. The United States Air force promotes the view that only a qualified pilot can operate a UAV, but this is not the case in the civilian world.

If UAVs is where the aviation future is heading, then I see the FAA making the necessary regulation and requirements to be put into effect sooner than later. I believe that a pilot of a UAV should be qualified and licensed just like all other pilots. Even though there are not human lives at stake on a drone, they still pose a potential threat to manned aircraft in the same vicinity. The “pilot” flying the drone needs to understand that it is not just a video game and that there is a potential threat to civilian lives aboard other aircraft. I am not quite certain as to how the general public will welcome unmanned aircraft commercially, but with growing technology it is always a possibility that UAVs are the future of aviation.

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Editor, T. (March 29, 2013). UAS “Accommodated” – Not Integrated into US National

Airspace – FAA Official. UAS Vision.

http://www.uasvision.com/2013/03/29/uas-accommodated%E2%80%9D-not-integrated-into-us-national-airspace-faa-official/

Bauer, J. NASA: Integrating UAVs into the National Aerospace System. NASA.

            http://uvs-info.com/phocadownload/05_3g_2005/10_NASA-ACCESS5.pdf

Civil UAV Pilot Certification. Developing Commercial UAV Applications. UAV MarketSpace.

            http://www.uavm.com/uavregulatory/pilotcertificationandhumanfactors.html

Williams, K.W. (2007) Unmanned Aircraft Pilot Medical Certification Requirements. Federal

Aviation Administration. https://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/ua-pilot.pdf