Say Hello To Drones
Fun facts about Drones
1. Drones can fly for a long period of time
A misconception about drones is that they can only fly for a short period of time. Although it is true for some models, especially the lightweight ones which can only stay in the air for a few minutes, most military or high-end drones can hover for an hour or two.
2. You don’t need to be an expert to fly a drone
There are many drones designed especially for beginners. Although the ready-to-use drones are better for beginners, the DIY one can aid in better understanding and appreciation for the way drones are made. However, lots of practice and skills will be required to operate a high-end quadcopter or when performing air stunts.
3. Drones are too expensive
Although there area lot of expensive drones which offer a multitude of features, manufacturers do produce small, lightweight drones which are lesser than $100. Although the more expensive drones will have more features, a budget-friendly drone is best for beginners as they tend to drop it more often.
4. Drones have multiple purposes
Drones were believed to be only useful for the police or military for surveillance or attack. However, especially these days, most drones are used for recreational purposes such as for a hobby or for photography and recording. Drones are also utilised for action videos as they can perform air stunts.
5. Drones are used to record events
Drones are now a popular choice to record important events such as sports, concerts, and festivals. It is significantly more convenient as they can move easily from one area to another.
Adopted Designations
UAV, condemned to disappear
UAV is the acronym of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Currently, when browsing the Internet looking for related articles, UAV is the most frequent term. This designation is used to define the flying object employed for recreational and professional civilian applications. Even if a common agreement seems to have been reached online, the aviation agencies of many countries have decided to go for different term than today’s UAV.
DRONE, the French way
By being the world pioneer in the creation and implementation of regulations for the use of commercial unmanned aerial vehicles, the French Directorate for Civil Aviation (DGAC) is referring to them as drones.
The French Federation of the Civil Drone and the Belgian BeUAS are also applying the same word for the most common use. In a general way, the French speaking countries are mainly using the drone term.
However, drone refers mainly to an “unmanned aircraft which is mostly used in a military context” while it is used to designate any type of aerial unmanned vehicle in the common language.
Even UAV professionals are using the appellation of drone in the day to day jargon, instead of any other official term disdaining these autonomous vehicles.
RPAS, the most formal & international way
Worldwide, the National Aviation Agencies still need to find the smoothest and safest way to share the airspace with these new flying vehicles.
Before setting the rules to apply for this cohabitation, it is necessary for these agencies to nominate and define those unmanned aircrafts that are entering the aeronautical world.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) employs the acronym RPAS (standing for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System). The definition associated is that these systems as “based on cutting-edge developments in aerospace technologies, offering advancements which are opening new and enhanced civil-commercial applications as well as improvements to the safety and efficiency of the entire civil aviation”.
The term RPAS appears to be the preferred terminology used by the international aviation-related agencies like the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Eurocontrol, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA – Australia), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA – New Zealand) and the BeUAS are following this trend.
UAS, the Anglo-Saxon exception
Despite the global international agreement on the RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) word, some American and British organizations decided to go for the UAS acronym standing for Unmanned Air/Aircraft System. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA – United Kingdom) provides a complete definition and explanation of this choice :
The terms Unmanned Aircraft (UA) or Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) are used to describe the aircraft itself, whereas the term Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is generally used to describe the entire operating equipment including the aircraft, the control station from where the aircraft is operated and the wireless data link.
This UAS terminology is also exploited by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA – United States), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Association (UAVSA).
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