Posted on 07/31/2014 8:29:07 PM PDT by null and void
“It’s just a matter of time before some little Herkimer takes his toy drone out for a spin in the subdivision built at the end of the runway 25 years after the airport was built and takes out an engine on a 767 at takeoff.”
You’re on the right track, but having investigated this since 2006, it is not little Herkimer but little Muhammad who is more likely to be the problem. Also, it is not the end of the runway but the portion of the runway further back where the plane “rotates”...an area between two points pilots call V1 and VR for large airframes like a 767.
For more details, if you are interested (and don’t mind being a bit more nervous every time you or your family fly from now on):
Drones can not only locate lost or injured people (i.e. hikers, climbers, swimmers, traffic accident sites that re not readily reachable, plane crashes in rough terrain, etc.), but also deliver first aid/medical materials to them (in carrying pods), ropes if needed, flares and flare guns, cell phones, batteries, food/water, clothing, etc.
Let’s use drones for lifesaving projects. They are, as many people say, a “tool” and it can be used for good or evil, depending on who is using it.
But don’t let kneejerk opposition to the “tool” stop its lawful and safety oriented potentialities.
Who knows? One day a drone might save your life.
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