It's A Bit More Complicated Than That, But UAVs Are Coming On Strong

By David Juwel

Let's say you're a young person, and you're spent years of your life and every penny you can acquire enjoying R/C flying. You've started with small planes and moved up to big planes, maybe even jets. But it's time to move on, you just can't justify spending all your time and money in this area no matter how much you enjoy it. So what do you do? 

One thing you can do is join the military. The Army, Air Force and Marine Corp all use variations of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), a Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) or an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). These airborne military tools are flown autonomously or remotely, and are primarily used for real-time aerial reconnaissance. The bigger aircraft can carry weapons. All of them are capable of sending quality video and still images to the commander's of the particular military environment they're deployed in. The smaller aircraft that the Army uses are similar to the largest R/C aircraft you might have flown. These are flown and operated by enlisted personnel. The larger aircraft size RPV's are usually flown by officer's and maintained by enlisted personnel, just like the typical military aircraft.

At AirVenture 2011, the Wisconsin National Guard had an RQ-7 Shadow 200 UAV on display. This particular aircraft is launched by a hydraulic launcher, and then controlled from within a portable command center which is similar to the campers you see on a pick-up truck. The operators within the truck can program the UAV, launch it, record and store what the airplane sees, and then recover it. Very similar to what an R/C hobbyist does in a less sophisticated manner.

In addition to enjoying the continuous flight opportunities, you also have the satisfaction of protecting our troops. Having an aircraft flying over their head serves as a strong deterrent to hostile forces.

The Shadow 200 cruises at 80 mph with 6-hours of endurance. It has a service ceiling of 15,000' and can fly as far away as 78 miles. Usually it is flown line-of-sight within a 600 to 3,000 Km radius. They can program it's flight plan with 99 waypoints. If the aircraft loses its link with home base, it automatically flies back to it and lands. The landing is carrier style. Two cables are stretched across the landing area and the Shadow 200 lowers a tail hook and snatches the cable, coming to a quick stop.

Now I ask you, if you've been bitten by the remote aircraft piloting bug, is there a better way to make a career of it. Look at the advancements in the industry that you'll encounter. The most exotic remote piloting activities in the world today are occurring within the military environment. Then when you leave the military, there are numerous civilian opportunities that are available. They are used for law enforcement, fire surveillance, remote pipeline patrolling, and professional aerial photography.

Don't want to join the military? Emery Riddle University is now offering a Bachelor's Degree in Unmanned Aerial Systems. You can get an excellent education with them as well. Enjoy.

FMI: www.nationalguard.com, www.erau.edu