Remotely-piloted aircraft

It is difficult to envision that balloon-borne techniques will be able to satisfy the demand for more complex and frequent measurements. Therefore it is critical for maximizing the scientific return of balloon-borne flights to include simultaneous measurements of the right mix of species and photolysis rates. In the absence of frequent balloon-borne measurements it is nonetheless very gratifying to have achieved the coalescence of results by independent techniques as a zero-order substitute for intercomparisons. A possible direction for future stratospheric research with a new platform, remotely piloted aircraft, that alleviates some disadvantages of balloon-borne platforms is discussed in the last section of this chapter. 

Over the past 15 years, the atmospheric science community has developed a series of mobile platforms with highly accurate and specific fast response instrumentation that have revolutionized atmospheric chemistry field measurements. These include high-altitude aircraft, such as NASA s ER-2 and WB-57, and lower-altitude aircraft like the NASA DC-8, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) (Naval Postgraduate School) Twin Otters, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) C-130, and the DOE Gl. In addition, mobile surface laboratories are now being used for a wide variety of urban and regional air quality and emission source characterization studies.4 Typical configurations for the ER-2 and the mobile laboratory are shown in Figures 1 and 2. 

CFC CHC CIRPAS CMAQ chlorofluorocarbon chlorinated hydrocarbon Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies community modeling of air quality... 

An Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is an aircraft and its associated elements which are operated with no pilot on board. UAS is an overarching term for the entire system comprising an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) which is applied to describe a self piloted or remotely piloted aircraft that can carry cameras, sensors, communications equipment or other payloads, as well those which support... 

Today s unmanned aircraft are flown by remote pilots/operators who designate waypoints or a sequence of waypoints, as well as a rendezvous location. However, as was mentioned above, communication (lost link) failure is a common and challenging nmesolved issue for UAS. Addressing this problem will require that developers not only improve the availability of links, but simultaneously pursue technological advances that will render links less critical to safety. 

A UAS is an aircraft that flies without a human crew on board the aircraft. A typical UAS consists of the unmanned aircraft (UA), the control system, the datalink, and other related support equipment. A UAS can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. Their largest uses are in military applications. A UAS is also known as a remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) and unmanned aerial system however, these are essentially obsolete terms. 

RPA may have the same phases of flight - taxi, departure, en-route and arrival - as manned aircraft or they may be launched/recovered and/or conduct aerial work. The aircraft performance characteristics may be significantly different from traditional manned aircraft. Regardless, the remote pilot will operate the aircraft in accordance with the rules of the air for the State and airspace in which the RPA is operating. This will include compl)dng with directions and instructions provided by the air traffic services (ATS) unit. 

The exchange of control information between the aircraft and its remote pilot station will require an extremely high level of availability, reliability, continuity and integrity. The determination of required communication performance and associated QOS levels will be based on functionality considering the level of ATS being provided. ... 

Meteorological services are critical for the planning, execution and safe operation of international aviation. Since the remote pilot is not on board the aircraft and may not be able to determine meteorological conditions and their real-time effects on the aircraft, obtaining meteorological information from appropriate sources prior to and during flight will be especially critical for the safe operation of these aircraft. ... 

Propellant compositions are also used in numerous "gas generator" devices, where the production of gas pressure is used to drive pistons, trigger switches, eject pilots from aircraft, and perform an assortment of other critical functions. The military and the aerospace industry use many of these items, which can be designed to function rapidly and can be initiated remotely. 

Drone. A term which. has been used to designate pilotless aircraft, target missiles and the like (Ref 2). Also. a remotely controlled, pilotless aircraft used as a target or to perform tasks which are hazardous to a human pilot, such. as probing a nuclear cloud, surveying enemy territory, and target practice (Ref 1)... 

Meanwhile, in the area of remote manipulation, electrohydraulic, or electromechanical, bilateral master-slave systems were developed for the nuclear power industry to reduce the mental burden placed on the operator by providing force reflection. Aircraft controls for large planes and some high-performance military aircraft, building on work from the field of teleoperation or remote manipulation, have done away with the direct physical interconnection of the pilot and flight surfaces and now use fly-by-wire systems. 

A UA is an unmanned aircraft it is one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). A UA can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely. It is also sometimes referred to as an unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). 

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