http://www.livescience.com/49259-navy-helicopter-drone-tests.html

On 12/25/2014 12:24 PM, Wayne.B wrote:


http://www.livescience.com/49259-navy-helicopter-drone-tests.html



This is not the first attempt at flying drones from a Navy vessel. The
first ship I was assigned to in 1969 had the DASH system installed,
including the required flight deck and hanger. DASH wasn't all that
successful primarily due to the primitive control and communication
electronics available at the time.

The DASH equipment was removed and the hanger was converted into
additional sleeping quarters for members of a (then classified) special
projects group of which I was a member. We were tasked with testing and
deploying a passive towed sonar array called ITASS which was used to
locate and identify Soviet subs. ITASS evolved from the land based
system called SOSUS and is now standard equipment on both anti-sub
warfare surface ships and on nuc subs. Tom Clancy mentioned it in "Hunt
for Red October" which got him into a bit of trouble with the Pentagon.

Here's the history of the original DASH gyro-copter and system:

http://www.gyrodynehelicopters.com/dash_history.htm

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 14:10:48 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/25/2014 12:24 PM, Wayne.B wrote:


http://www.livescience.com/49259-navy-helicopter-drone-tests.html



This is not the first attempt at flying drones from a Navy vessel. The
first ship I was assigned to in 1969 had the DASH system installed,
including the required flight deck and hanger. DASH wasn't all that
successful primarily due to the primitive control and communication
electronics available at the time.

The DASH equipment was removed and the hanger was converted into
additional sleeping quarters for members of a (then classified) special
projects group of which I was a member. We were tasked with testing and
deploying a passive towed sonar array called ITASS which was used to
locate and identify Soviet subs. ITASS evolved from the land based
system called SOSUS and is now standard equipment on both anti-sub
warfare surface ships and on nuc subs. Tom Clancy mentioned it in "Hunt
for Red October" which got him into a bit of trouble with the Pentagon.

Here's the history of the original DASH gyro-copter and system:

http://www.gyrodynehelicopters.com/dash_history.htm

===

Interesting. Sometime around 1972 I was an imposter on the "To Tell
the Truth" TV program for a fellow name Ken Brock. Ken's claim to
fame was that he had flown a gyrocopter 3,400 miles cross country. It
was an interesting day in the television studio filming that sequence,
meeting the other contestants, and meeting the panelists.

On 12/25/14 8:54 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 20:21:51 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 14:10:48 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/25/2014 12:24 PM, Wayne.B wrote:


http://www.livescience.com/49259-navy-helicopter-drone-tests.html



This is not the first attempt at flying drones from a Navy vessel. The
first ship I was assigned to in 1969 had the DASH system installed,
including the required flight deck and hanger. DASH wasn't all that
successful primarily due to the primitive control and communication
electronics available at the time.

The DASH equipment was removed and the hanger was converted into
additional sleeping quarters for members of a (then classified) special
projects group of which I was a member. We were tasked with testing and
deploying a passive towed sonar array called ITASS which was used to
locate and identify Soviet subs. ITASS evolved from the land based
system called SOSUS and is now standard equipment on both anti-sub
warfare surface ships and on nuc subs. Tom Clancy mentioned it in "Hunt
for Red October" which got him into a bit of trouble with the Pentagon.

Here's the history of the original DASH gyro-copter and system:

http://www.gyrodynehelicopters.com/dash_history.htm

===

Interesting. Sometime around 1972 I was an imposter on the "To Tell
the Truth" TV program for a fellow name Ken Brock. Ken's claim to
fame was that he had flown a gyrocopter 3,400 miles cross country. It
was an interesting day in the television studio filming that sequence,
meeting the other contestants, and meeting the panelists.

Gyrocopters are pretty scary. I knew an old IBM guy who loved them but
he will always have a limp from a crash on the garden state parkway (a
leg and hip full of pins, screws and other man made parts) and he had
a bunch he walked away from. He said they were the motor cycles of the
sky.
I suppose that was viable when IBM had good insurance ;-)


Not to worry; the military will "surplus" them to the police.

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 20:54:11 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 20:21:51 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 14:10:48 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/25/2014 12:24 PM, Wayne.B wrote:


http://www.livescience.com/49259-navy-helicopter-drone-tests.html



This is not the first attempt at flying drones from a Navy vessel. The
first ship I was assigned to in 1969 had the DASH system installed,
including the required flight deck and hanger. DASH wasn't all that
successful primarily due to the primitive control and communication
electronics available at the time.

The DASH equipment was removed and the hanger was converted into
additional sleeping quarters for members of a (then classified) special
projects group of which I was a member. We were tasked with testing and
deploying a passive towed sonar array called ITASS which was used to
locate and identify Soviet subs. ITASS evolved from the land based
system called SOSUS and is now standard equipment on both anti-sub
warfare surface ships and on nuc subs. Tom Clancy mentioned it in "Hunt
for Red October" which got him into a bit of trouble with the Pentagon.

Here's the history of the original DASH gyro-copter and system:

http://www.gyrodynehelicopters.com/dash_history.htm

===

Interesting. Sometime around 1972 I was an imposter on the "To Tell
the Truth" TV program for a fellow name Ken Brock. Ken's claim to
fame was that he had flown a gyrocopter 3,400 miles cross country. It
was an interesting day in the television studio filming that sequence,
meeting the other contestants, and meeting the panelists.

Gyrocopters are pretty scary. I knew an old IBM guy who loved them but
he will always have a limp from a crash on the garden state parkway (a
leg and hip full of pins, screws and other man made parts) and he had
a bunch he walked away from. He said they were the motor cycles of the
sky.
I suppose that was viable when IBM had good insurance ;-)

===

I think all of the ultra light flying machines are death traps of
sorts. We had a neighbor down the street from us who put himself in
the hospital for some major repairs after crashing his ultra light in
the boondocks out past Lehigh Acres. He was hanging upside down in a
tree and would have died there except that he was able to reach his
cell phone and they triangulated his position.

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 22:49:25 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 21:01:01 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 20:54:11 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 20:21:51 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 14:10:48 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/25/2014 12:24 PM, Wayne.B wrote:


http://www.livescience.com/49259-navy-helicopter-drone-tests.html



This is not the first attempt at flying drones from a Navy vessel. The
first ship I was assigned to in 1969 had the DASH system installed,
including the required flight deck and hanger. DASH wasn't all that
successful primarily due to the primitive control and communication
electronics available at the time.

The DASH equipment was removed and the hanger was converted into
additional sleeping quarters for members of a (then classified) special
projects group of which I was a member. We were tasked with testing and
deploying a passive towed sonar array called ITASS which was used to
locate and identify Soviet subs. ITASS evolved from the land based
system called SOSUS and is now standard equipment on both anti-sub
warfare surface ships and on nuc subs. Tom Clancy mentioned it in "Hunt
for Red October" which got him into a bit of trouble with the Pentagon.

Here's the history of the original DASH gyro-copter and system:

http://www.gyrodynehelicopters.com/dash_history.htm

===

Interesting. Sometime around 1972 I was an imposter on the "To Tell
the Truth" TV program for a fellow name Ken Brock. Ken's claim to
fame was that he had flown a gyrocopter 3,400 miles cross country. It
was an interesting day in the television studio filming that sequence,
meeting the other contestants, and meeting the panelists.

Gyrocopters are pretty scary. I knew an old IBM guy who loved them but
he will always have a limp from a crash on the garden state parkway (a
leg and hip full of pins, screws and other man made parts) and he had
a bunch he walked away from. He said they were the motor cycles of the
sky.
I suppose that was viable when IBM had good insurance ;-)

===

I think all of the ultra light flying machines are death traps of
sorts. We had a neighbor down the street from us who put himself in
the hospital for some major repairs after crashing his ultra light in
the boondocks out past Lehigh Acres. He was hanging upside down in a
tree and would have died there except that he was able to reach his
cell phone and they triangulated his position.


I remember that.

===


It made the national news at the time. We heard about it while we
were out cruising the Carib. He's made a surprisingly decent recovery
considering how many serious fractures he had.

On 12/25/2014 1:52 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 12:24:32 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:



http://www.livescience.com/49259-navy-helicopter-drone-tests.html

I doubt these will be man rated any time soon but for cargo or as a
weapons platform they look very promising.
Of course, if being overrun and killed or going for a ride on a drone
are the options I think I would take my chances with the drone, man
rated or not.

I do wonder if they use some kind of beacon on the deck of the ship to
assist landing, maybe IR or some other, fairly low range and focused
beam.



I don't think they are ever intended to be man rated. Sorta blows the
whole concept.

On 12/25/2014 4:00 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 14:48:13 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/25/2014 1:52 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 25 Dec 2014 12:24:32 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:



http://www.livescience.com/49259-navy-helicopter-drone-tests.html

I doubt these will be man rated any time soon but for cargo or as a
weapons platform they look very promising.
Of course, if being overrun and killed or going for a ride on a drone
are the options I think I would take my chances with the drone, man
rated or not.

I do wonder if they use some kind of beacon on the deck of the ship to
assist landing, maybe IR or some other, fairly low range and focused
beam.



I don't think they are ever intended to be man rated. Sorta blows the
whole concept.


I was just going on what the article said

"U.S. defense contractors are also working on several other variants
of pilotless helicopters, including an unmanned version of the iconic
Black Hawk helicopter, which could one day be used to deliver cargo —
and even troops — into battle. An unmanned medical transport
helicopter is also being developed, as well as vertical takeoff and
landing (VTOL) drones that combine the hovering capabilities of a
helicopter with the speed of an airplane."



I think the future of military aircraft will include many unmanned
variants. Heck, unmanned Naval vessels and robotic infantry are already
being developed.