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Sensationalistic reporting. An F-4 drone? They got 'em, at Tyndall AFB in Florida, and they're used for active shoot-downs, under VERY controlled conditions with chase aircraft in restricted airspace. This sounds like a scale model RC aircraft, not a drone. They've been flying for years, and have been a hazard for a long time. (I almost hit one myself in an A-10 in the mid 80s.) Sound like an irresponsible RC pilot to me, or maybe an RC that got away from the operator.
We had a very close call with a model rocket departing out of IAH one day. Certainly gets your attention, but there isn't much we could have done to avoid it had we needed to. I'm honestly surprised there hasn't been an accident caused by these hobby craft.
We had a very close call with a model rocket departing out of IAH one day. Certainly gets your attention, but there isn't much we could have done to avoid it had we needed to. I'm honestly surprised there hasn't been an accident caused by these hobby craft.
There have been several airshows where demonstrations of RC aircraft have gone awry, with the aircraft crashing into the crowd, in some cases causing fatalities. (Yes, it happens with manned aircraft, too.)
While flying into Hill AFB in Utah as part of a delivery to the depot in the F-16, I did hit something foreign. Upon landing the depot marshaller found a green toy balloon entangled in my left main landing gear. Turns out a school in Ogden had one of those mass helium balloon launches with messages to see where they'd go, and it was about two miles northwest of Hill. Sucking it down the intake probably wouldn't have caused much damage, if any, to the engine, but it makes the case that launching anything into the sky without considering the consequences is irresponsible. Regrettably, some people believe the onus is exclusively on the manned aircraft to see-and-avoid and that the RC aircraft operator has no real responsibility, as in the first part of this article where the RC pilot blames the Pitts:
Before I retired from the USAF I was activley involved in re-writing doctrine for airspace control, espcially in light of the proliferation of small, handheld RPAs. It's busy airspace below 1000 AGL, and it's only time before someone smacks a Raven or BATMAV.
The skys are getting more crowded and there will be more incidents, not less. Better get used to it. Anyone can buy one and thinking rules and regulations are going to stop this is wishful thinking.
The skys are getting more crowded and there will be more incidents, not less. Better get used to it. Anyone can buy one and thinking rules and regulations are going to stop this is wishful thinking.
That is the truth. Regs will do nothing and it will get interesting in a bad way the cheaper the technology gets.
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