[AT] AT Digest, Vol 116, Issue 18

[John Slavin]

Tom-I reread my post and see that it comes off like I'm talking about drones generally.  I was really only talking about the Navy.  While they just announced earlier this year a couple successful landings on a carrier, I think operational deployment of full-sized strike drones on carriers is a ways off.  I just googled it and found this article:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/10/first-drone-landing-aircraft-carrier/2507061/

This article talks about the fact that the test drone was being retired and going forward there would be "design contracts" and "future plans".  This speaks to me as a ways off.  Whereas what I was talking about is already part of the F-22 spec, although it doesn't land on carriers, and the F-35 which obviously will, when they're operationally deployed in a couple years.

I think we're guilty of thinking about technological advances in terms of major historical milestone, at least I know I am, but in reality, scientific advances is made up of little steps that go almost unnoticed that get us to the same place, but over time.  Case in point, is cars that drive themselves.  The idea of google having a driverless car scares the bejesus out of me.  Yet  our current crop of cars aren't far off from that.   I didn't think twice when my son-in-law bought his new 2014 Dodge Durango.  It has adaptive cruise control.  You set the cruise speed and the distance to the vehicle in front.  When it comes upon a vehicle that is slower than cruise, it slows to match the speed of the vehicle ahead.  I was riding with him a couple days ago when he had it set.  We were following a vehicle that was slowing for a stop sign.  The durango came to a COMPLETE STOP on it own.  He didn't touch the brake pedal at all.  I can't imagine what my grandparents would have said if they saw that.

John C. Slavin
jslavin at marktwain.net

I think you're a bit behind on the progress on drones and/or the News...:-)

Tom



> ________________________________
> From: John Slavin <chaunceyjb at sbcglobal.net>
> To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
> Sent: Tuesday, 22 October 2013 8:21 AM
> Subject: Re: [AT] AT Digest, Vol 116, Issue 17
> 
> 
> On a similar but slightly different vein, I think testing is ongoing to 
> have some of the back seat duties for two place jets be offloaded to remote 
> sites as well.    I suspect you're gonna see that in the near term, quite 
> some time before you see unmanned jets or drones regularly (I know, I know, 
> they've tested drones already) landing on carriers. You're probably going 
> to see that when the F-35s start getting deployed to the carriers.  In my 
> mind, that's no less remarkable that a controller great distances away is 
> controlling when a bomb gets dropped and what, when, and where it hits.
> 
> John C. Slavin
> jslavin at marktwain.net