Bugs66
Registered User
Spokane WA
UAVs in our airspace feels like the beginning of the end of general aviation. The privacy concerns are troubling. The collision threat to VFR pilots is serious. But also consider what these UAVs mean to the future. Here we have another replacement of humans with technology. Remember when video games were introduced and we soon marveled at them at movie theaters and 7-elevens? We dropped the quarter in and had a few minutes of entertainment. Fueled by the Internet, video games and virtual reality became integrated into our lifestyles. Now we realize that over the span of 20+ years an entire generation is dependent and have lost their instinct and desire to go outside, socialize in person, and interact with reality.
Fast forward 25 years. UAVs big and small litter the skies of America for the government and for corporations. Corporations are not satisfied with contract work for fed/state/local governments. You can rent time in their UAVs for many purposes, business and leisure. It can be done instantly from your living room or office with little or no training required and it looks and feels just like “real”. PC sims are toys compared to this. Fly formation with your buddy, fly floats, do aerobatics. Don’t worry, it will recover automatically if you screw up. What a fabulous view from my 4K HDTV. Hardly anyone pilots a real airplane because of all the regulations and fees implemented a few years ago. These regs severely limited where, when, and how “piloted VFR aircraft” could fly. A new airspace designation was created, “(H)otel” that represents the box where actual pilots are allowed to fly and separated from UAV traffic. The justification was they were obsolete, a niche group, and an impediment to progress. To be honest, a dying breed. There’s no interest to experience the real thing anymore except in a few amusement parks that have antique biplane rides overhead. Like mobile telephones, the UAV industry has rapidly evolved into something few people predicted. It’s too big, cannot be changed, and cannot go back.
I hope I am wrong.
Fast forward 25 years. UAVs big and small litter the skies of America for the government and for corporations. Corporations are not satisfied with contract work for fed/state/local governments. You can rent time in their UAVs for many purposes, business and leisure. It can be done instantly from your living room or office with little or no training required and it looks and feels just like “real”. PC sims are toys compared to this. Fly formation with your buddy, fly floats, do aerobatics. Don’t worry, it will recover automatically if you screw up. What a fabulous view from my 4K HDTV. Hardly anyone pilots a real airplane because of all the regulations and fees implemented a few years ago. These regs severely limited where, when, and how “piloted VFR aircraft” could fly. A new airspace designation was created, “(H)otel” that represents the box where actual pilots are allowed to fly and separated from UAV traffic. The justification was they were obsolete, a niche group, and an impediment to progress. To be honest, a dying breed. There’s no interest to experience the real thing anymore except in a few amusement parks that have antique biplane rides overhead. Like mobile telephones, the UAV industry has rapidly evolved into something few people predicted. It’s too big, cannot be changed, and cannot go back.
I hope I am wrong.