DSK wrote:
Joe wrote:

War always brings new technology to the common man.


Yep... sometimes war not only brings new technology to the
common man, it insert little pieces of new technology into
his chest cavity.


UAV's soon we be a tool every cruiser and sailor can afford.

It would be nice to throw a little plane up into the air to scout a
nice anchorage, look for fish, make sure the harbor ahead is not full
of pirates, check on a friends during races ect...

This is one of the cheapest going now:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell...n-eye-pics.htm


Doesn't say how much it costs. Can't be less than a fancy
model plane of the same specs. Personally I would want more
sensors than that, too.

I've seen them in action, the have a very nice picture and 3 diffrent
camera forward sections. It's like watching TV . One guy flys on looks.


Fits in a backpack has about a 10 mile working range.
Made with COTS items.


What does it need for take-offs & landings? Do you think it
could be flown off a cruising sailboat (or racer)?

A 10 ft rubber band launch off a spinakker pole would work nicely, you
could hold up a sheet of just go slow into the sail to recover. It's
kevlar on foam.

About 5K to the military so they are worth about 1,200 now, but as
mass production ramps up the price will fall.



Bart wrote:
It would be a nice option for an auto also. I can see
a navigator in a car using one of these in the desert
while cruising at high speed.

They only fly 35kts, is that high speed in the desert?
Also only 40-60 min flight time


How about to check on traffic up ahead.


I have a few friends that offered to take pictures of
my boat from RC helicopters. I plan to take them
up on it when the boat is a bit further along and more
presentable.


How about one of those RC dirigibles?

To slow, plus you could bring it down with a .22

Joe

DSK