Mystical Adventures

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"Global Hawk looks cool, but problem is getting the FAA to allow UAVs to share airspace with general and commercial aviation.

Homeland Security is flying a UAV along US-Mex border in Arizona, but FAA has created a TFR (temporary flight restricted area) to keep other aircraft out of the area. Some police departments want to fly UAVs for surveillance, but FAA has said,'no'. Currently FAA does not allow UAVs to fly over urban areas.

Pilots have to see and be seen, and talk to each other to avoid problems"

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Then the problems started. No way was the FAA going to let us test a rocket plane. NASA just laughed and handed us a bunch of test requirements that would have cost a hundred million dollars to comply with. ... We looked into moving to another country but the cost was out of our reach.

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Jake led me to the crew hatch, above which was stencilled "EXPERIMENTAL SPACE ROCKET - DANGEROPUS AS HELL." The aircraft dataplate from the Learjet was attached to the frame.
"You've heard of outfits that build an airplane around a dataplate? That's basically what we've done. That's the tail number of the original Lear."
I shook my head. "That can't be legal."
Jake grinned. "Sure cuts down questions when you file a flight plan, though."

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"Lear 4 Papa Whiskey, radar contact over Loomis ,approved on course as filed. Clear above, climb to flight level 600 at your discretion. Flight level 600??! Uh, what model of Lear is that?"
"I'd like to climb pretty quick. You sure it's clear above us?"
"Four Papa Whiskey, Centre," the controller answered testily, "nobody above you for two hundred miles in any direction. You could take off straight up if you wanted."
"Straight up? That sounds like fun. Think I will."
At that point, Gore opened the throttle and showed the controller just how special his little business jet was. Dervish pitched up and accelerated for the sky like, well, a rocket. In eighty seconds, it had passed its assigned altitude.
"Centre, orbital rocket 214 Papa Whiskey is now clear of your airspace. Maybe you could call NORAD and and let then know a crazy bunch of amateur rocket scientists has just launched a manned flight southwest from the Pacific Northwest for a retrograde orbit. I'll give Hawaii a buzz in about sixteen minutes and be back with you in about an hour and a half."
I will not print the controller's reply, in the interests of his continued employment.

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Tom Ligon wrote:

Better late than never?

Tom Ligon checking in. Thanks for the kind words about "Amateurs", although it was not about UAVs (Dervish did have a pretty good autopilot to allow it to be crashed at a designated point).

The FAA invited me to speak at a commercial space transportation conference in February 2008. It turned out, when "Amateurs" appeared, they were already working to make that sort of thing possible. Turns out I have a couple of fans there! They're actively working to set reasonable rules for things like Space Ship One, Virgin Galactic,

But, since writing that story, I took a job at Athena Technologies, a UAV controls company that very much wants to create circumstances that allow UAVs to operate in civilian airspace. The only good argument against it is UAVs are limited in "see and avoid" capability, which would not matter much if they operate in controlled airspace, working with air traffic control.

If anyone is interested in a copy of "Amateurs", I think I have a few spare copies I might be coaxed to part with. I can be contacted via tomligon.com.

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