Unmanned aircraft have proved their usefulness and reliability in the
war zones of Afghanistan
and Iraq.
Now the pressure’s on to allow them in the skies over the United
States.
[chicagotribune.com] The Federal
Aviation Administration has been asked to issue flying rights for a
range of pilotless planes to carry out civilian and law-enforcement
functions but has been hesitant to act. Officials are worried that they
might plow into airliners, cargo planes and corporate jets that zoom
around at high altitudes, or helicopters and hot air balloons that fly
as low as a few hundred feet off the ground.
On top
of that, these pilotless aircraft come in a variety of sizes. Some are
as big as a small airliner, others the size of a backpack. The tiniest
are small enough to fly through a house window. The obvious risks have not deterred the civilian demand for pilotless
planes. Tornado researchers want to send them into storms to gather
data. Energy companies want to use them to monitor pipelines. State
police hope to send them up to capture images of speeding cars‘ license
plates. Local police envision using them to track fleeing suspects. (more at chicagotribune.com)
