Posted on 07/05/2024 7:50:45 AM PDT by Red Badger
I managed to avoid pranging anything . . . was a lineboy for the Atlanta Police Helicopter Squad but everything I flew was fixed wing.
Right now, knowing as little as we do about this contraption, this thing looks like an accident just waiting to happen.
“Low-level flight is impossible in any urban or suburban area. It’s bad enough for “real” pilots on approach — even with the orange balls on the power lines!”
I have been working on my VTOL cert. It’s completely different coming in fixed wing at 150kn vs 20kn or less in a heli. People routinely land helis in fields and yards for medicvac and highend upper class airtaxi. Think Hampton’s or Highland Park. These vehicles will never be flown by anyone but a fully licenced PPL with a VTOL cert the FAA is NEVER going to allow anything short of that. So yes it will always be a real pilot in command. Modern LIDAR has gotten so cheap look at AI cars for the proof. LIDAR can map in 3D in real time wires of few millimeter in diameter day or night the lasers are infrared so sunlight is irrelevant.
One of the universities I work with has a full sized drone helicopter. It’s part of the remotes sensing, geospatial, and geodetics group of which I’m staff consultant from time to time. Having one of my Master’s from this uni before I got a PhD elsewhere. It’s a ROV based on a two seater human helicopter. It’s flown with GPS and dual(forward+downward) LIDAR while carrying a very expensive stereoscopic imaging and imaging LIDAR down looking payload so three LIDARs. In the down scan you can see every power line from above clear as day in the LIDAR point clouds. The logic of the autopilot also automatically recognise and avoids lines, trees and birds which also show up in LIDAR at 200m the pixel rez is in the single millimeters 3D in XYZ space. This heli is so large it fills a FAA flight plan when inside Mode B or C to SFC airspace, even in Class E/G a notice is given to the ATC so aircraft in the area in VFR can see and avoid. It carries an ADSB so any other aircraft that’s has ADSB-In will see it and there TCAS will automatically give avoidance. Every commercial aircraft has ADBS and TCAS.
Point is like a large drone these will only be allowed to fly by licenced people.
I left out why I’m getting my VTOL cert. It’s so I can fly that drone helicopter while working for the University. Even as a drone the FAA requires a licenced pilot on the ground to fly a large helicopter drone inside USA airspace that’s the point I wanted to get across. So even if these were remotely piloted aircraft with passengers a real pilot would still have to fly it or be sitting in the seat on board. Joe six pack is not going to be allowed to fly this type of vehicle ever. Maybe after AI has proven itself to be near flawless a ROV with that AI guidance and human real time back up might be allowed but that’s 20 years away.
I have nothing but respect for rotary-wing pilots! :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.