Discussion 1.6 History of UAV

Good evening everyone! Posted below is a brief finding of my research in regards to the history of UAVs. Please feel free to post replies (good or bad) criticism is always welcome.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles can be traced back-to-back to the earliest winged aircraft and back to even the lighter than air vehicles set up for photographic reconnaissance (Merlin, 2013).  In the early days, controls were not nearly as sophisticated as they are today. The Kettering bug did not have satellite global positioning systems (GPS), remote steering, or real time uplink/downlink. It was directed by no more than a fixed propeller, a gyroscope, and a barometer/altimeter (Kettering, 1918).

One of the more significant and historical breakthroughs in remote aircraft manipulation came during World War II with ‘Operation Aphrodite’. Operation Aphrodite took what the United States had learned and compiled about flight, remote control, and television broadcasting, and turned it into a weapon. The mission entailed outfitting a Navy Liberator aircraft with ten tons of explosives, two live feed television cameras, a remote controlled flight control system controlled by a follow plane, and two daredevil pilots to take off in it and then bail out after arming the bombs (History of Wings, 2012). Looking back at this particular ‘Unmanned Mission’ it’s easy to see just how far we have come in unmanned flight. At that time the mission was to create a kamikaze, without the kamikaze, by using the latest technology to perform a dangerous mission without harming the crew. In essence, today’s missions are no different than those of 70 years ago. Perform a dangerous mission using the most up to date technology, while putting a crew in as little danger (if any at all).

            While technologies are improving by leaps and bounds the basic fundamentals have only evolved from their predecessors. Advanced gyros are still used in today’s aircraft, sensitive GPS and remote control functions are used from great distances, much like those “line of site” remote flights of decades past. Basic theories of flight must remain constant as properties such as lift, drag, thrust, and weight will remain factors, at least for now (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2014).

            Some of the newest and most refined technologies when it comes to Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) come in both military and civilian fronts. Troops on the ground can now benefit from live video images sent to tablets, laptops, etc. Providing them with real time situations and well as opportunities to make better, safer decisions before going into an area with zero, or old information (PM Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 2011). From the civilian sector, Amazon is in the early stages of using GPS guided drones to deliver packages to customers, right onto their doorstep. Obviously this technology (along with the FAA regulations) is still years away. Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos had this to say in regards to his “by drone mail”, “Octocopters will pick up packages in small yellow buckets at Amazon’s fulfillment centers and fly through the air to deliver items to customers after they hit the buy button on Amazon.com. The goal of the delivery system is to get packages into customers’ hands in 30 minutes or less.”

            In conclusion, unmanned flight has come leaps and bounds from the hot air balloons and rudimentary propeller driven torpedoes of yesteryear. Though it may appear that the systems of today prove the originals to be relics, much remains the same. Provide information from any given situation, whether it be dangerous or not, in the safest and most efficient means possible to facilitate a goal.

References

History of Wings. (2012, August 12). Operation Aphrodite ? HistoricWings.com :: A Magazine for Aviators, Pilots and Adventurers. Retrieved August 12, 2014, from http://fly.historicwings.com/2012/08/operation-aphrodite/

Kettering. (1918, September). F-0180 Aerial Test of Torpedo. Retrieved August 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnYqskCSzBk

Merlin, P. (2013). Crash Course. Retrieved August 12, 2014, from https://erau.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-15170435-dt-content-rid-76607725_4/institution/Worldwide_Online/ASCI_GR_Courses/ASCI_530/External_Link/M1_Readings_Crash_Course_Lessons_Learned_from_accidents_involding_remotely_piloted_and_autonomous_aircraft.pdf

PM Unmanned Aircraft Systems. (2011, September 16). Manned Unmanned Systems Integration Capability Overview [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x4JCfweve0

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. (2014, August). Forces of Flight | How Things Fly. Retrieved August 12, 2014, from https://howthingsfly.si.edu/forces-flight

Jake Forbes Bio

       My name is Jake Forbes. Growing up on a farm in Iowa, the only aircraft that I was exposed to for all of my adolescent life were crop dusters. When I was 8 years old my grandparents took me to see the Blue Angels, I was hooked. From that moment on I loved airplanes and everything associated with them. Coincidentally, my first time on an airplane was when I was 18 and on my way to Navy boot camp in Great lakes, IL. I'm sure I wasn't the only kid on the plane who was enjoying his first ride, but at that moment everything and everyone faded out while I stared down at the ground.
       No matter what platform or what location we were operating from, the Blue Angels to the carrier, Diego to Qatar, I loved aviation. For 12 years I traveled from Florida to Maine, Hawaii to Florida, Florida to Virginia and 4 deployments along the way. The Navy gave me some of the greatest opportunities that I have ever had the privilege of enduring. In 2006 I met my wonderful wife while stationed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. She was a midwesterner just like me and working as a travel nurse while going to school full time to be a Nurse Practitioner.  In 2009 I was selected to be a maintainer on an outstanding team,with the most fantastic people I have ever encountered, the Blue Angels. I watched and partook in the same air show over 300 times and it never got old. From Florida I went on to VFA-31, the Fighting Felix Tomcatters in Virginia Beach, VA and spent the next 3 years working harder than I ever had while in the Navy. While deployed to the Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom aboard the Aircraft Carrier George H. W. Bush I was told that this would in fact be my "last ride", I was being separated from the Navy under the Enlisted Retention Board (ERB) which disconnected over 3000 Sailors from the only life they ever knew.
      Me being the optimist that I am chalked it up as the greatest experience of my life and moved on. In January 2013 I finished my BAS from ERAU, in March I received my FAA Airframe and Power Plant License, and in April my wife and I had our first child, Hayden (Go Hawkeyes!!). In June of 2013 I was contacted by L3 Communications and in August we packed our bags and headed west to Texas (Go Hawkeyes!!) where I began working as a Mechanic and my wife is currently working as a Cardiology Nurse Practitioner. In Fall of 2013 I decided that my best opportunity for continuing my love of Aviation at a higher pay-scale would be to go back to school, I started my MAS in November.
     While everyone around me cursed the Navy for separating me, I put all of the training that it gave me in one pocket and put all the lessons learned the hard way in the other (everything comes in handy sometime). Looking back I do wish I'd been able to continue my enlistment and push through to my retirement, but on the the other side of the coin I could not imagine a life where I was not at home everyday by 4 o'clock to spend with my family.