A pretty fart smeller!

[Thumper]

Lynn's brother has been an Engineer for Toyota since the day he got out of college something like 35 years ago. Now that Toyota's North American headquarters is relocating from Southern California to Texas, he's decided to retire in spite of the huge bonuses they're offering him to relocate. He has a bazillion dollar house in Huntington Beach, Ca. and simply doesn't want to move.

So, I was talking with him the other day and asked what he plans to do once he retires. He said he's already back in school! Huh! "What kind of school?", I ask. Seems he's enrolled in classes as a drone pilot! WTF? I guess he's really thinking ahead and says once the FAA licensing requirements kick in, there will be a big demand for "professional" drone pilots!

Anyway, I just took a peek on the net and found an article from last year. Who'da thunk it? So, I guess we'll soon have a "pilot" in the family. ;)

Currently, the FAA allows for commercial use of drones below 500 feet, within the line-of-sight of the operator, and during daylight hours. However, the FAA will release regulations, which are expected to allow for much broader commercial use, within a year from June, 2015. The FAA has said it will require pilots using unmanned aerial vehicles, for commercial purposes, to obtain certification of training or competence. Colleges, anticipating the commercial demand for drone training, are offering certificates, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees on piloting, engineering, and repairing drones.

[Thumper]

And this:

The commercial and military impact UAV’s will have in the coming years is very significant, creating more than 100,000 new jobs by 2025, with an economic impact of $82 billion, according to a 2013 report by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (a group representing 7,500 individual members and 600 corporations). The U.S. budget for drone warfare has increased from $667 million in 2002 to more than $3.9 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service. And the number of drones in military service has increased from 167 to nearly 7,500.

Career opportunities for students with drone training include military drone pilot, firefighter, disaster relief, search and rescue, law enforcement, oil and gas operations, seismic study, border patrol, traffic reporting, storm chasing, agriculture, package delivery, forestry, engineering, computer science, commercial contractors, film, and other industries. Companies that hire drone engineers and pilots include aerospace and defense companies Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, and aircraft manufacturer Boeing. NASA is currently working on an air traffic control system for drones, and online retail giant Amazon is ready to deliver packages via drones.

I guess he's a workaholic and doesn't believe in retiring.

[Big Muddy]

Might be some jobs for drone-killing eagle trainers, too. ;)

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/02/01/watch-police-eagle-take-down-drone.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl28%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D-1976486113

[Thumper]

Yep, who knows? Once the commercial licensing thing gets in full swing, maybe they'll be required to file flight plans with the FAA or sumpin'. I wouldn't think they could just take down drones indiscriminately while being operated legally.