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Transpower drones? Don't count on it

According to media reports, Transpower is about to blow a few million bucks on unmanned aerial vehicles or "drone" as they're more commonly known.

This craft will be used to inspect power pylons and lines in "rural areas" and, on the face of it, would be a sound investment -- effectively reducing the cost of such operations by a significant amount over the medium to long-term.

Apparently, the Schiebel UAVs weigh in at a hefty 150Kg and have been known to (accidentally) kill people in the past -- but that problem has reportedly been addressed.

However, I wonder what CAA has to say about the prospect of 150Kg "killer" drones flying about the countryside?

Well we know for sure that CAA won't have a bean of 900g foam RC models being flown as "drones" so how on earth could they sanction a 150Kg craft with rapidly spinning rotors? Especially in light of the fact that a much smaller RC helicopter was responsible for the death of its pilot in the USA just a week or two ago.

Well the reality is that I'm sure the guys at Transpower will be able to meet all the demands placed on them by CAA. They'll have a commercial pilot on the team, bright fluro jackets, hard-hats, clip-boards, forelocks ready to be touched and a raft of other "compliance" issues well in hand.

According to the information released to date, these things have a range of up to 200Km and operate from a huge "container-sized operating base" so it's safe to assume that they will be flown "beyond visual range" -- meaning there's no way to guarantee that they will not become a hazard to general or agricultural aviation.

After all, when persons like myself argue that there's no real reason that RC models shouldn't be able to fly beyond visual range by using hi-tech onboard video gear, CAA counters by saying that it is too dangerous to fly a model in any environment where you can't actually see it -- because it could collide with a full-sized craft.

Hmmm... a real "government department" there. One set of rules for some (with their huge 150Kg lethal drones) and another for those with harmless 900g foam RC models.

But to be serious -- with large and potentially dangerous unmanned craft like this about to be put into service, you'd think that the whole issue of "sense and avoid" technology would be foremost in the minds of the department charged with maintaining the safety of our airspace.

Meanwhile... my own, not insignificant investment in developing such technology, sits idle on the bench because I am forbidden to continue its testing and refinement using those 900g foam RC models -- because to do so would be far, far too dangerous -- apparently.

To the best of my knowledge (and I've searched far and wide), nobody has ever been killed or even seriously injured by a 900g foam RC plane -- but that clearly doesn't matter.

Of course I could have misread the situation in respect to Transpower and their proposed drone purchases. There's still a very good chance that, just like the Police and Fire Service, they'll spend a fortune on this stuff and then find that, because of CAA's backwards-looking, arse-covering policies, they can't actually use them.

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