Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck, A/K/A Dolt-45,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset., A/K/A P01135809

Monday, June 14, 2010

A Modest Proposal On Drone Operations in American Airspace

Lots of people, it seems, want to operate pilotless drones in American airspace.

I will agree, on one proviso: If there is a collision between a manned aircraft and a drone and there are fatalities involved, then the drone operator would be killed, right then and there. No trial, no appeal, no finding of fault, just "somebody dies, you also die." The drone operator would assume the same risk faced by any other pilot.

If that's not acceptable, then don't fly the frakking drones.

7 comments:

Fixer said...

I will agree, on one proviso: If there is a collision between a manned aircraft and a drone and there are fatalities involved, then the drone operator would be killed, right then and there.

I'm down with that. You private pilots are scary enough. Heh ...

Comrade Misfit said...

Fixer, if I screw up, I'm the one who gets killed. I can live with that. And one of the things I like bout flying is that, for the most part, I'm less likely to be killed in the air because of someone else's fucking up than I am on the roads.

Eck! said...

I'm with EBM, the Copseyes are a commin
and it is more than a flight risk..

If they midair it's not private pilots
to worry they are small and can turn fast, but a jet will never see them
and it might make a serious mess.

I've had the opportunity to mess with models in the 3-10foot wingspan right under the downwind of Bayport. Messes with your mind when you look down 900ft
and theres what looks like a cub under
you. Takes a moment for the eye to get the perspective right.

I worry more about how they will be used not if they may crash or cause me to crash. That and no question, like
GoodYear blimp people will shoot at the low flying copseyes and if they look
like small planes maybe Cessnas and Pipers too.

Eck!

Fixer said...

I worry more about how they will be used not if they may crash or cause me to crash.

That's my real concern.

Fixer, if I screw up, I'm the one who gets killed.

Exactly! My dad was a private pilot and flew regularly. I know most take safety and flight rules seriously. It's just the ones I hear about that make me say "what were they thinking?"

Nangleator said...

Perhaps the operator gets wired up into a kind of dead man switch electric chair, where, if the drone is destroyed, the chair is activated. That way, no one has to execute their co-worker.

Let's see how many stormtroopers want that job!

Vannevar said...

I love the spirit of the proposal, but the "off with their heads immediately" seems a bit, well... Islamic.

You're right about the drones, though- we're about to see a great tension between (money, industry, cost savings, headcount) and (safety).

Anybody gonna bet on (safety)?

ps think there's an official standard for drone pilots?

Comrade Misfit said...

Vannevar, I'm not betting on safety being triumphant. At least, not until the first drone knocks a Cessna with a family of four out of the sky.

It's not "Islamic", it's about guaranteeing that the drone drivers also have some skin in the game.