"Once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward
for there you have been and there you will long to return." - Leonardo da Vinci "One cannot consent to creep when one has an impulse to soar." - Helen Keller "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the
wind, not with it." - Henry Ford Adventure Quotes
News
Matt Guthmiller, 19-year-old freshman at MIT from Aberdeen, South Dakota, is the youngest person ever to fly solo around the world. The 29,000 mile journey was made in a 1981 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza - N367HP - 2800nm range (with ferry tanks); 155-175 knots at cruise; 11,500 feet (roughly optimal cruise altitude) 6 seats (2 seats for the trip) One 300 horsepower Continental IO-550-B engine; retractable landing gear Full glass cockpit (Garmin G500, dual GTN-750s, GSR-56, GDL-69A, GTS 800, ADS-B out)
Matt Guthmiller has a Commercial pilot certificate, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Instrument airplane, Glider.
Cities Visited:
San Diego; Aberdeen; New York City; St. John’s, Newfoundland; the Azores; London; Rome; Athens; Mersa Matruh, Egypt; Cairo; Aswan, Egypt; Abu Dhabi; Nagpur, India; Bangkok; Manila; Darwin, Australia; Noumea, New Caledonia; Pago Pago, Samoa; Honolulu; San Diego; Las Vegas (to remove the ferry tanks); San Diego (maintenance); Seattle; Aberdeen.
"I hope he made deliveries, it would be a shame to travel all that way just for the record."
Construction Cliff Work Capstone of Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire, Height of 123m (youtube) Incredible Videos 1500' TV Tower (youtube) Adventure Stories Dawn of a revolution in urban mobility - first manned flight with the Volocopter VC200 (youtube) Airlander 10 is the largest aircraft currently flying. It can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned.
Around the World in a Balloon
Fedor Konyukhov completed the solo around the world tour and landed safely in Australia
Konyukhov Aviator Amelia Earhart before becoming the first woman to fly an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. [1928]
 Female pilots leaving their B-17, "Pistol Packin' Mama." [c. 1941 - 1945]
Sarla Thakral became the first Indian woman to earn a pilot's license at 21 years old. [1936]
Drone Wars
Aerial Photography has been around for over a hundred years. And the first Unmanned Flight was done over a hundred years ago. So nothing is new. Except that more people will have the ability to experience this technology, just like we did with cellphones. Yes there are dangers with Aerial Photography. And there is also the possibility of abuse. But dangers and abuses are not new either.
The bottom line is there are many benefits to Aerial photography. Like agriculture monitoring of
crops and farm animals, environmental monitoring of land and wildlife, seeing fires from above to
make better fire fighting decisions, can be used for search and rescue, they can deliver things to remote places, and there will be other benefits too as more people explore the possibilities. So dangers and abuses are not excuses. Dangers and abuses are the unfortunate side effects of a dysfunctional society. A society that would rather punish people instead of educating people. So this is not a Drone Problem, it's another education problem. Undereducated society will always have abuses and crimes. We don't need more laws, we need more education. If you are going to add more regulations then you should also improve education at the same time. Any new bills or laws need to have the corresponding elements that will be added to the education system, as well as, take the necessary steps to fully inform the public. If you don't improve education then you will always have criminals, especially in Governments. So why are Governments so ignorant when it comes to educating the public? And why do we allow The Media to victimize us with ignorant opinions instead of providing people with the facts?
Privacy Rights and Surveillance Abuses and Dangers
Flight Plan: Charting a Course for Drones in Washington (youtube)
Robot Airplane designed for a high level of safety, using many of the same approaches as commercial airliners. It can carry vaccines, medicine, or blood. A fleet of Zips is able to provide for a population of millions. No roads, no problem. Then there's the Problem with all these Surveillance Camera's CCTV Systems (wiki)
Spending on surveillance camera's is expected to grow from $11.5 billion in 2008 to $37.7 billion in 2015, an astronomical waste of time, people, money and resources. And 99% of the time the cameras see nothing relevant or important, so they continue to waste time, people, money and resources long after you paid for them. Total morons. Surveillance Camera's do not solve problems, they can actually cause more problems to happen. In most cases it just forces crimes to happen outside the view of the camera. So they do not stop crimes, they may only reduce the number of crimes in that particular area. Cameras could also promote a false sense of security and make people more susceptible to crime because criminals could easily use surveillance camera's to their advantage. Then there are the people in charge of monitoring the videos from these cameras, they too could easily use this information for corrupt purposes. So Surveillance Camera's do not improve life, or make life safer, they only make life sadder and more pathetic. What a waste. Just like all wars. We can always say that the people in charge can't be that stupid, but be rest assured, they are that stupid, and the proof is literally in your face.
Surveillance Cameras and Crime
Surveillance Camera's Research
Surveillance Cameras effect on Preventing Crimes
It's bad enough that we have wasted time, people, money and resources to put up thousands of Surveillance cameras. London has some 500,000 security cameras, while Great Britain as a whole has about 4 million. Manhattan has over 6,000 citywide and 4,313 cameras in the subway system. People are acting paranoid and delusional. I'm not against surveillance, I'm against waste and abuse. You're not solving any problems, you're just making things worse. Another reason why education needs improving. Does believing in God create a similar effect like when you know that a Security Camera is watching you? Observation Effects
Some Rules and Guidelines, which could also be applied to Drones:
Necessity: The use of camera systems must be justified empirically, ideally by an independent authority. Objectives and intended outcomes must be defined.
Proportionality: CCTV equipment must be appropriate for the problem it is intended to address. Technology should “respond to the established objectives, without going further.” Data should be protected and the length of time it is retained be clearly defined.
Transparency: Citizens should know what the objectives of a CCTV system are, what its installation and operational costs are, the areas being surveyed, and what the results are. Reports should occur regularly so citizens can make informed decisions.
Accountability: Those in charge of public CCTV systems should be clearly identified and accountable to the public, whether the systems are run by the government or private firms.
Independent oversight: An external body should be charged with ensuring that systems respect the public’s rights and are achieving their stated objectives. Ideally citizens would have a voice in the oversight process.
Operational limitations include, but are not limited to:
Daylight-only operations
Operations in Class G airspace only without permission from air traffic control
(in Class B, C, D, or E with permission)
Maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground level
Maximum airspeed of 100 mph
UAS may not operate directly over any person not directly involved in the operation.
RIN 2120-AJ60 (PDF)
FAA Getting Started (FAA)
Model Aircraft Safety Code (PDF)
Drone Waiver (FAA)
Robotics - Artificial Intelligence
Autonomous Unmanned Electric Aircraft Drone Deliveries
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