abufletcher

So, at present unmanned drones represent fully one third of all US military aircraft:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/15/bu...html?hpt=hp_c3

So, it this the future for next generation scale modelers? Will we be building precision scale models of Predator drones (remote controlled models of remote controlled aircraft)? How long before we see the first "drone-to-drone" aerial combat?

abufletcher

On the plus side, we won't have to worry about painting dummy pilots.

Frank Sopwith

Don't worry Don,

WWI with all its beautifull planes is still there... the choice is yours .

You know I usually build from scratch/own designs and at the moment working on a 1:5 F84-G (more into the classic jets so to say) the unmanned planes/drones thing is definitely a no go for me [:'(]

cheers,

Frank

Laird SS

I prefer the Golden Age planes as well as WWI. Drones hold no interest for me as a modeler. I am sure there are many who feel this way too. Don't jump overboard just yet.

abufletcher

I'm just trying to imagine the future. "Grampa, what do you mean airplanes used to have pilots? What's a pilot?"

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I'm with Laird SS! Give me the Golden Age and WWI warbirds! I will admit I have a couple of WWII and a few "modern Civilian" aircraft but drones, YUK!

TFF

At least by contest rules it has to have been a plane flown in cockpit to be eligible. The drone people were the start of all the new legislation awakening. They wanted to be able to operate unrestricted at low altitude. When the question on what they would do around model planes was asked, they got their lobbyist to try and shut us down and eliminate the problem. Not too fond of an industry that would shut out most of their employees' past times to make a profit. If I was to build a drone model it would be a scale copy of my Ugly Stick.

Bundubasher

Well,I don't know about a sad future - look at it this way:

1. The eraof wood and canvas planes (1900 -1930tish) have gone, yet we have still wonderful RC models flying.

2. The era ofpropellor driven planesis about gone,everything these days are jet power - even some gliders, yet, we see some wonderfulRC prop jobs flying.

3. Piloted jetplanes will still be around for a while asgoing pilotless globallywilltake a while. Even then we may find some very interesting stuffto model and fly. We onlyhave to look at our own hobby and see how technology have crept in i.e. telemetricswe see from JR/Spectrumthese days...

Perhaps we have to observeand see - withevery technology step change in history there were concerns - sometimes rightfully so, sometimes not. When the automobile was first introduced inBritian, people feared that these new fangled gadgets will scare people andhorse carriagesand causing accidents, make cows dryup, bring bad luckand as a result when driving through villages, aman with a red flaghadto walk ahead of the car.. I'm not implying one minute this is the same with drones and planes but perhaps there might be a good side.

The history of flight since day one until today is so rich in detail and variety that we all will not have a dull day deciding in future what to build andfly.

If we are talking about pilot vs pilotless, let me share this experience with you - I started to fly full scale old school style - with a Jeppeson Flight sliding rule and a map on your lap. I had a conversation recently with somebody who flies full scale Pilatus Porters - I was told that "these planes are so difficult to fly that one have to put them on automatic pilot ASAP after take off". I have flown them too and the trick is to get to cruising height and don't fight the plane, let it settle in and do then only the fine trim. This guy was not aware of this as he got auto pilot to sort the problem out. I see the same with a number of airline pilots (will not name the airlines - still fly a lot) who cannot make a good landing without electronic assistance... they don't land, they plough in... thus the question, how many pilots are these days "pilots" and how many are "button pushers and switch flickers?"

I'm a propslapper myself and have model planes covering all the "ages of flying" - albeit that the Golden Age of Flight Period is my pet project.

Just a few thoughts

Bundu

abufletcher

Maybe I should be happy that they still have wings. But, yeah, I'll happily stick with "wood, fabric, and wire" aircraft.

abufletcher

I guess I shouldn't be surprised:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettering_Bug

jmohn

So far it's mostly the Air Force and Army. I think it will be a while before the Navy gives up it's pilots.

Can't wait to see the remake of Top Gun with the drone nerds in the bar trying to pick-up women

The volley ball scene would be funny too



Jeff

AmishWarlord

My Feedback: (5)

You guys still building physical models? I thought everything was digitized now.

Man, you guys would have seen me flying a simulated,model of the global hawk drone on Real Flight!

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Anyone know a good support group for AmishWarrior with his digital problem?

foodstick

Abu, you have some 100 year birthdays coming up soon for the WW1 birds
Heck even you may tire of building them in another 100 years hahahha

I think I heard one pilot group in the military had been changed to drones, and they are going to try and get rid of the National Guard flight group here.

Simul8R

My Feedback: (1)

And Grampa replies "A pilot is a confused sole who talks all about Airplanes when he is with a woman and all about women when he is in an Airplane".

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

I do not feel any interesting full scale aircraft have been developed since the 1950's. For me, there are scale subjects abound without anything new.

semeraro

The time it would take to build all of the airplanes on my "list" far exceeds my remaining lifetime. I fear losing our freedom to fly our models more than Ido running out of scale subjects.

AmishWarlord

My Feedback: (5)

"And Grampa replies "A pilot is a confused sole who talks all about Airplanes when he is with a woman and all about women when he is in an Airplane".
"

LOL good one!!!

Kidding aside I think reality based aeromodeling is not long for this world.

Way to soon we will have neural hook-ups where you can fully immerse your self into VR.

You'll be able to fly any plane in history you want. If WWI then the plane will look, feel, sound, and smell like your dogfighting in a real WWI plane.

As for real planes, the human body can only take so much. Drones will have flight evalopes so far outisde of what the human body can take it will be a joke to have a body in a plane.

rgburrill

Really? What would you call a Tomahawk? I'd say it's a pretty darn good (and accurate) one way drone.

rgburrill

Drone to drone combat?  Why not?  We have RC tank wars.  And we have had RC ship wars for decades.

What's the name of that game many years ago about all wars being fought by drones?

foodstick

As we slowly move closer to the TERMINATOR being reality

If a drone shoots down another drone, and nobody sees it happen..did it? was there a noise ?

I won't lie, the thought of autonomous aircraft roaming the skies with no apparent reason to those below... is scary..

AmishWarlord

My Feedback: (5)

Yeah FS,

I was thinking about that. It wont be people vrs the machines. It will be the people who live in the machines vrs the people that don't.

Here is a scary article on the matter. Or should I say e-book. LOL

http://marshallbrain.com/discard1.htm

Bundubasher

Hehehe, Amish, just imagine with this neural hookup and VR stuff, it will not be your day if your are dog fighting the Red Baron at about 8000 ft, you're on his tail, you have him in your gun sight, you hear he is going flat out, you see he is out of options, you smell his fear, and suddenly a message pops up "Windows have encountered a severe systems problem", and it left you hanging suspended in space 8000 ft up with a mad Red Baron about........... and you realised that you should have used an Apple Mac...

Cheers

Bundu