'Optionally manned' spy plane to fly this summer A make of spy plane known to be in use by the British forces is now confirmed to have an "optionally manned" version, allowing it to be crewed - for legal reasons, or to save bandwidth - or to fly itself, as desired. The DA42 Twin Star. Credit: Diamond Aircraft Ideal for the misanthropic parachuting enthusiast. The …
"... and will be delivered from 2011. Its first customer will be NASA, who plan to use it for surveying the Greenland ice pack."
Here's where the "optional" pilot becomes a liability. Can't have any pesky "human" pilots with their "observable facts" and "photographic proof" getting in the way of nutburger, er, I mean climate scientist data.
My tinfoil hat is out being cleaned and blocked. Might I borrow one of yours?
Or, has Citizens Band nadgered that? Or, maybe I'm way behind the times. (Bet the plane doesn't use "Galloping Ghost" technology You'll have to search for that...)
OK, I've done it for you... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBSRmlIGSWQ
To think, I used to fly (a model) using that...
What are they going to monitor?
Maybe everything , all the time like Big Brother of 1984 fame.
What with Google Steet view and sky view , we don't have much chance of privacy.
In my small town in New Zealand , we have just had a local driver in the Google street view car driving around. Usually we are about 30 years behind the rest of the world .
At least the rest of the world will know what we look like.
The reason why the DA42 is so popular in the UAV scene is that it is powered by two diesel engines with very high fuel economy. There are reports of DA42 UAVs with 40h endurance. This is impressive for a system using a conventional (infernal combustion) propulsion system, allowing for persistence at the target.
The beer? Well if it is a "Sink the Bismarc", then it can probably be used to fuel the DA42...
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