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The article said 2800 miles of testing? Was that a misprint - a single one-way trip from San Francisco to NY is about that distance? Does the FCC or the Air For

The article said 2800 miles of testing? Was that a misprint - a single one-way trip from San Francisco to NY is about that distance? Does the FCC or the Air Force get final say in this maybe a little more testing? I AM aware there are drones so maybe a lot of that technology transfers over BUT then there should be a lot more than 2800 miles of flight time data applied no?

lm28469 3y ago
> a single one-way trip from San Francisco to NY is about that distance? You can't go from SF to NY while staying in California airspace afaik. That being said the distance doesn't matter much, I'd be more interested in take-offs/landings
- primax 3y ago
  Especially any rapid unscheduled landings
nradov 3y ago
The Air Force gets the final say on their own operations because they aren't legally subject to FAA rules (the FCC only comes into the picture for spectrum use by data links). But they operate under a Memorandum of Understanding and closely consult with each other to minimize risks. Military uncrewed aircraft are typically restricted to specially designated airspace because they can't safely mix with regular civilian traffic (no ability to talk directly with controllers, no "see and avoid" for VHR traffic).
- morpheuskafka 3y ago
  I thought government agencies can get spectrum permissions from NTIA rather than FCC?
  - HWR_14 3y ago
    I think the NTIA owns some bands, the FCC others. If the USAF wants to use an FCC regulated band, they talk to the FCC. For instance, a base radio/tv station that broadcasts on a standard frequency. But I could be wrong.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
paxys 3y ago
Distance is anyways irrelevant to the conversation. A commercial airplane can fly itself on a fixed path while at cruising altitude basically forever. It's the takeoff, landing and unexpected situations that you have to worry about.
- HWR_14 3y ago
  And clearly with cargo planes, the acceptance of the risk of a crash from an unexpected situation (over an unpopulated area) is a lot higher than if people were on board.
- sargun 3y ago
  Heh, perhaps we'll end up with inverted-ETOPS, where autonomous airplanes need certifications to spend more than 15, 30, 60 minutes over populated areas (or not water).
engineer_22 3y ago
Obviously multiple trips. The aircraft in question doesn't have that much range.
dragonwriter 3y ago
> The article said 2800 miles of testing? Was that a misprint - a single one-way trip from San Francisco to NY is about that distance? The 2800 miles was multiple flights within California between Jan. 22 and Feb. 4. This article has more detail: https://www.flyingmag.com/xwing-awarded-military-airworthiness-for-autonomous-cessna-caravan/ https://www.flyingmag.com/xwing-awarded-military-airworthine...

lm28469 3y ago

> a single one-way trip from San Francisco to NY is about that distance? You can't go from SF to NY while staying in California airspace afaik. That being said the distance doesn't matter much, I'd be more interested in take-offs/landings

primax 3y ago
Especially any rapid unscheduled landings

nradov 3y ago

The Air Force gets the final say on their own operations because they aren't legally subject to FAA rules (the FCC only comes into the picture for spectrum use by data links). But they operate under a Memorandum of Understanding and closely consult with each other to minimize risks. Military uncrewed aircraft are typically restricted to specially designated airspace because they can't safely mix with regular civilian traffic (no ability to talk directly with controllers, no "see and avoid" for VHR traffic).

morpheuskafka 3y ago
I thought government agencies can get spectrum permissions from NTIA rather than FCC?
- HWR_14 3y ago
  I think the NTIA owns some bands, the FCC others. If the USAF wants to use an FCC regulated band, they talk to the FCC. For instance, a base radio/tv station that broadcasts on a standard frequency. But I could be wrong.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

paxys 3y ago

Distance is anyways irrelevant to the conversation. A commercial airplane can fly itself on a fixed path while at cruising altitude basically forever. It's the takeoff, landing and unexpected situations that you have to worry about.

HWR_14 3y ago
And clearly with cargo planes, the acceptance of the risk of a crash from an unexpected situation (over an unpopulated area) is a lot higher than if people were on board.
sargun 3y ago
Heh, perhaps we'll end up with inverted-ETOPS, where autonomous airplanes need certifications to spend more than 15, 30, 60 minutes over populated areas (or not water).

engineer_22 3y ago

Obviously multiple trips. The aircraft in question doesn't have that much range.

dragonwriter 3y ago

> The article said 2800 miles of testing? Was that a misprint - a single one-way trip from San Francisco to NY is about that distance? The 2800 miles was multiple flights within California between Jan. 22 and Feb. 4. This article has more detail: https://www.flyingmag.com/xwing-awarded-military-airworthiness-for-autonomous-cessna-caravan/ https://www.flyingmag.com/xwing-awarded-military-airworthine...