Any RPV(Remotely Piloted Vehicle) schools out there?

[Black Bear]

One year ago, while watching Flight For Life of Denver fly a low recon over Staunton State Park west of Denver, I cringed, having just read a post on our local community forum, that an amateur UAV flyer had lost control of his toy in the same area, at the same time. That was the start of my awakening, as to how our industry was beginning to face new challenges in regards to the RPV explosion in popularity.

 

Today, I received my latest edition of Rotor and Wing, and in it, a plethora of articles about the the UAV or RPV industry. I regard this publication and it's contributors as trust worthy and pertinent conveyors of industry information. I had to double check and make sure I wasn't reading the latest issue of RC Flyer or a comparable publication. After some consideration, I began to ask myself a few questions. Why is it, on page 8 that we are just know being asked to chime in on the issue? There have been enough discussions about the subject to hopefully get a fire started in someones belly. Is anyone lobbying against this industry on behalf of our own? Who are they and what are they doing? Would they like some support? Where do I sign up? What is the discussion of trends, for example, insurance. With a shift in helicopter use in the next decade, what will the insurance market projections be for helicopters as they will now be faced with insuring a more high risk RPV industry? How will it affect our maintenance as new techs begin to focus on other industries? How will it affect financing of an aircraft? Are OEMs projecting an allocation of funds for support of partnership in this new industry in lieu of supporting and progressing advances in their current market? What are the aftermarket, family owned companies like Soloy, planning for their future? What are RPV companies planning to charge for their services? How much will it cost to attend their schools and become qualified? And, how much do they plan on paying a pilot, based on what scale? We all know that there are, for now, aspects of what we do that can't be touched by the this industry, but for how long and are there any assurances for anyone wanting to fly a helicopters as a career in the future? I read a recent article that stated that there are more pilots training to fly for fun than there are striving for a career. This should be strong signal to our industry leaders that we may be facing a horse and buggy era in need of some critical thought and consideration. Maybe in the next edition of R&W, we will read about what proactive steps we can take to preserve our industry's future. As for the safety issues, as I explained in the beginning of my post, I already know the answer to that question.

 

On a lighter note, I recently bought my first , indoor RC helicopter. The sales person tried to sell me a quad copter. After expressing my opinions, in a diplomatic fashion, we had a nice conversation about the differences between the the hobby and the real thing. I bought the helicopter and he received a copy of the Rotorcraft Flying Handbook. Where he goes from here, is up to him. Cheers.

[eagle5]

I read a recent article that stated that there are more pilots training to fly for fun than there are striving for a career.

 

 

Maybe more people are just finally realizing that the pilot shortage claims that come around every few years or so are complete bullshit and the industry really does have too many entry level (and even mid level) applicants with no where near enough jobs to accomodate? Or perhaps they're seeing through research on the internet that the life of a career pilot isn't as awesome as they fantasize it to be?

 

Anyway I have seen a few colleges with programs that seem to be geared towards flying these types of aircraft (just google it) and a job flying an unmanned helicopter sounds pretty cool to me.