Florida Hopes to Fill its Skies with Unmanned Aircraft

With the Congress approving drone flights over the US, Florida is seeking to be one of the test bed states for implementing their use.

Folks around here are wary of this move, but it is interesting to see the "sell" technique being used in this piece.

I can see the advantage of being able to monitor wildfires and storm aftermath for assisting in rescue efforts, but saying that it could be used for personal errands, looks like a tease.

Oh well, I know folks are tuned into this deal so I thought I would share this with the members

www.usatoday.com

From Cape Canaveral, a 66-foot wingspan, remotely piloted U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft takes off in search of drug traffickers, illegal immigrants and terrorists from heights of up to 50,000 feet.

On Lake Okeechobee, researchers hurl a custom-built, 9-foot wingspan plane from an airboat to launch an automated, low-altitude flight to monitor invasive plants.

From large to small, the number of such unmanned aircraft systems — popularly called "drones" — is expected to surge as the federal government works to open civilian airspace to them by 2015. Florida officials hope to position the state as a hub for this fast-growing industry by becoming a test site.

I live in St. Petersburg, FL, and I would put my big toe on this;

I saw an unmanned aircraft making circles above my neighborhood two nights ago. I kid you not.

It was way to low to be a commercial jet, it was not a propeller propulsion system. I only know that Florida holds some seriously angry people when it comes to the constitution being spat on. This does not bode well, time to stand up and pack some bags, I think things are going south.

And south of Florida, one simply drowns.

Smoke another one all Bull crap.

Rubio the cfr vice pres candidate, why am I not surprised.

Ill bet 100 to 1 that they will be flying over here in Tampa during the RNC.