Lately, I’ve had two images stuck in my head. The first is an Interstate highway overwhelmed by gridlock. The second is a graph of the population of the United States.
As the population continues to climb, real estate continues to increase in value. Along with population increases come surface transportation challenges.
Unless we annex Canada and move millions of people north of the 49th parallel, ground transportation woes — especially in major cities — will continue to be our future.
For that reason, the airspace above us all has never been more valuable and at the same time will never again be this cheap.
That plays a huge factor — I believe — in why Amazon seeks to develop a fleet of delivery drones. The company’s business model crumbles if it can’t deliver your order.
And it is just one of thousands of businesses that see the need — not just a desire — to maximize the use of airspace for business.
Sure, it is hard to see Uber Elevate‘s vision come to reality. But I suppose many naysayers didn’t believe doctors could transplant a human heart until it happened.
There have to be millions of examples of things that were “impossible” until the moment they weren’t.
While the hype that often surrounds a “groundbreaking new technology” that will “re-write the rules” often succumbs to hyperbole, it is shortsighted to dismiss the thinking — and technology — behind the flashy public relations campaigns.
Electric engines will become reality. Battery capacity will improve to the point of being practical.
To prove the point, think back 15 years to the 100th anniversary of powered flight. The year was 2003. If I had told you cockpit navigation — at the time, powered by the lowly paper chart — would be completely replaced, for many pilots, by a handheld electronic device you’d have laughed in my face. And yet an iPad with ForeFlight is all many pilots carry today.
Milestones in aerospace in the near future — and beyond — will not be driven by “can we?” but by “we must!”
The wide open space above us is simply too attractive for business to be ignored. And once those flood gates open, I hope we can all swim.
Yes Ben, I too remember of days gone by (circa late 1950’s), had a grass strip in Illinois located about 35 miles northwest of what was then called Lambert St. Louis, and would on occasion ‘crank up’ on some quiet (and dark and moonless) evening and fly down to Lambert, taxi up to the terminal area (and close to the entrance), walk in, walk around and maybe have a soda, walk out and fly back to my smudge pot lit strip (two on each end and maybe two in the middle), land, (no vasi or pulse anything), and put the plane away in my pole structured hangar. Why ? Because I could. Of course, that experience was invaluable in some of the later corporate flying (21 years) when, on occasion, would fly into some ‘non-vasi’d) airports at night in the mid-west. Taught all my four kids to fly and now have a C 150 with my daughter and am facing the mucho $$ of installing the necessary ADS-B to get off the ground, based in ALN.
From a +12,000 hr ‘non-medicaled’ ATP, CFII, MEI, etc etc, pilot who decided to not go through the expense of faa required medical tests (of which my insurance would not cover (circa 2010) .. they said I did not need it), but still healthy, visiting my doctor every 6 months, for age 82.
The comment about ANNEXING CANADA ?? I find offensive.
Despite what Americans (under Trump) might not recognize … Canada is a free and independent Nation. The United States, as great as it is, can’t just ANNEX a nation.
Please correct the statement made and accept other nation’s sovernty !
Thank you.
Ben, I drove to my little grass airfield yesterday morning, fueled my airplane from the tank in the bed of my truck, started the engine by hand-propping (after tying the tail down to the ring in front of my hangar), and flew for half an hour sans radio. It was glorious. I hope there are people in high places who understand that kind of freedom. If there are none, our airspace is destined to be cluttered and commercialized to the point where no one will be free to enjoy it (but the kings of the stock market will rejoice and clutch their shares of Amazon and Uber and the drone-centrics to their breasts).
Alex, while I also enjoy that very type of freedom from time-to-time, I believe the airspace above us belongs to all of us. That includes drone operators and businesses. I’m sorry your view appears to be either/or. My belief is there will be both. You and I will be able to plod along as we wish while Amazon and Uber will also be able to exist.
the big problem I see in these drone and robot delivery systems is piracy, plain and simple knock it out of the sky catch it with a net or just plain pick up the robot and steal the goods and the robot/drone.
I am sure there will be certain neighborhoods or areas were piracy will be rampant. As much as we like to believe our fellow man is honest I see packages stolen from doorsteps and trucks every day what makes you think they wouldn’t;t go after these vehicles, plus they get the robot or drone too