On Sky News Excitement, page-63

Even though there is little on the announcement front from NEA at the moment to discuss, it seems discussion about Drones/UAVs and NEAs opportunity within this rapidly growing industry is unwanted, so this will be my last post on the subject, if anyone is interested in continuing discussion open a new thread different forum or they can email me directly.

Firstly good post, however it's unfortunately flawed because in your comparison of a Cessna over UAV, you are directly comparing the two as if the UAV has to operate under same restrictions as a manned fixed wing aircraft, they don't.

UAV offer huge cost advantages over manned fixed wing for various reasons from initial UAV manufacture cost to UAV operations itself.

Some of key cost advantages would be as follows:

- Your example above you point out pilot cost for one aircraft - UAV operator who would be at minimum CPL qualified can control 10-30 UAVs each.

- Endurance is more important when it comes to cost savings than speed, UAV's are not restricted by human factors, UAV can remain airborne for 10 to 40 hours or more and cover thousands of miles per flight.

- Fuel is one of the biggest cost savings with UAVs, due to being unmanned they are lighter and more efficient with significantly reduced fuel consumption which yields greater range

imho UAVs are the most interesting aviation development in decades and will be the most significant change to the industry since the jet age. Opportunities are almost limitless at the moment, especially within air cargo space, FAA predicts that 40% of cargo flights will be unmanned by 2040. It's not the technology holding back UAVs it's industry regulations. Once those are cleared it will be an exciting industry to be invested in.

For anyone who thinks unmanned cargo flights or other commercial operations won't happen they will and within the next ten years, major air shows like Dubai have seen a rapid increase in number of UAV exhibitors, industry leaders like DHL,UPS,FEDEX have released multiple reports on the discussion of unmanned cargo flights and their economical advantages, there are regular conferences now solely dedicated to discussion and industry regulation of unmanned commercial operations.


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Kat.