Civilian UAV's are an incredibly fast moving market. Even though they are being used now, there will be many more purposes in the future. Currently, drones are being used for hurricane hunting, 3-D mapping, protecting wildlife, on farms, and during search and rescue missions (Handwerk, 2013). UAV's making hurricane hunting much safer, as you can imagine. The human element no longer needs to be in harms way to collect data. 3-D mapping and is quite monotonous, so it makes sense to hand a job like this to an unmanned aircraft. Spraying fertilizer on a farm can be hazardous so this reduces risk. Finally, with a drone you can travel into areas of more risk, such as a dangerous search and rescue. UAV's are being regulated by the FAA. Currently there are two ways to get FAA authorization for a civil UAS. One way is to receive Section 333 exemption. This is a granted exemption in accordance with Section 333, as well as a civil Certificate of Waiver or Authorization. This is mostly used for low-risk environments. The other route is to get a Special Airworthiness Certificate. In this situation an applicant must describe any and all aspects of there system, as well as where they are going to fly it (FAA, 2015).
Due to the vastly growing use for a UAV I assume they will be integrated into the NAS in at least the next 10 years. The process is sure to be long and the FAA would probably consider implanting it in steps. The first problem is going to be deciding where a UAV will be legal and safe to fly, especially in urban areas. For instance if amazon were to deliver with drones where would be a safe route to fly in order to get to your house. If an unidentified flying object were to be close to your property some might take action, such as shooting it. Another problem is UAV's interfering with manned aircraft. This could lead to disaster if the UAV were on a collision path. The general population may not feel welcome to the idea of UAV's for these reason's.
UAV's have taken the soldier out of harms way, but that brings with it a new set of challenges. With this system a soldier can go to war in Afghanistan and be home for dinner. What a crazy thought! It's safer and provides convenience that has been unheard in past wars or civilization. Targets can be identified and killed, as well as being able to watch over soldiers so they can get some shut eye on the battle field. Though this sounds like an amazing addition to the United States military. The major drawback are financial and most of all ethical. Of course a unmanned plane is going to be expensive, but how exactly due ethics come into play. A movie called "Good Kill" (2014, September) exemplifies the moral/ethical concerns of UAV's in todays military. In the movie Good Kill Major Thomas Egan went from flying F-16's directly in Afghanistan to flying a UAV remotely from Las Vegas. He is challenged with the feeling of being a coward and would give anything to be actually back in Afghanistan, but the demand is shifting towards drones and he won't be shipped back. This man see's horrifying things everyday, then is sent back to his family as if nothing happened. This plays very strongly on Major Egan's conscience and show's a very good depiction of the ethics of UAV's in war. Doing research I found potential management and flight jobs here if interested.
Due to the vastly growing use for a UAV I assume they will be integrated into the NAS in at least the next 10 years. The process is sure to be long and the FAA would probably consider implanting it in steps. The first problem is going to be deciding where a UAV will be legal and safe to fly, especially in urban areas. For instance if amazon were to deliver with drones where would be a safe route to fly in order to get to your house. If an unidentified flying object were to be close to your property some might take action, such as shooting it. Another problem is UAV's interfering with manned aircraft. This could lead to disaster if the UAV were on a collision path. The general population may not feel welcome to the idea of UAV's for these reason's.
UAV's have taken the soldier out of harms way, but that brings with it a new set of challenges. With this system a soldier can go to war in Afghanistan and be home for dinner. What a crazy thought! It's safer and provides convenience that has been unheard in past wars or civilization. Targets can be identified and killed, as well as being able to watch over soldiers so they can get some shut eye on the battle field. Though this sounds like an amazing addition to the United States military. The major drawback are financial and most of all ethical. Of course a unmanned plane is going to be expensive, but how exactly due ethics come into play. A movie called "Good Kill" (2014, September) exemplifies the moral/ethical concerns of UAV's in todays military. In the movie Good Kill Major Thomas Egan went from flying F-16's directly in Afghanistan to flying a UAV remotely from Las Vegas. He is challenged with the feeling of being a coward and would give anything to be actually back in Afghanistan, but the demand is shifting towards drones and he won't be shipped back. This man see's horrifying things everyday, then is sent back to his family as if nothing happened. This plays very strongly on Major Egan's conscience and show's a very good depiction of the ethics of UAV's in war. Doing research I found potential management and flight jobs here if interested.
References:
FAA. (2015, March 17). Civil operations (non-governmental). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/uas/civil_operations/
Handwerk, B. (2013, December 3). 5 surprising drone uses (besides amazon delivery). National Geographic. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131202-drone-uav-uas-amazon-octocopter-bezos-science-aircraft-unmanned-robot/
Amin, M., Cartier, N., Foreman, Z., & Niccol, A. (2014, September 5). Good kill. United States of America: IFC Films.
I like how you talked about the military aspect of UAV's. Specifically I liked how you talked about how UAV's can monitor sleeping soldiers on the battlefield so they can sleep soundly. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is to fall asleep on a battlefield but I bet the UAV's watching over them make it a little easier for them
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