Posted: 4/29/2003 6:51:15 AM EDT
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Talking to an Army Recruiter about getting back on active duty as a UAV Operator. Seems to me this would be a pretty kick ass job. Anyone have any experience with this? Aviator |
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I looked into it. The Predator's operated by three Air Force personnel: an officer pilot and two enlisted men working the sensors. The pilots usually disdain flying the predator because they're mainly flying by instrument and have a tunnel view ahead. They became pilots because they love to fly and to them, this isn't flying. Plus, they dont get hours of experience applied for flying the Predator. The Air Force has to bribe them with choice assignments afterwards or early retirement to fly the Predator. You need to be a full IFR Air Force pilot in order to fly these things. In contrast, the EM's LOVE Predator duty because it's really dynamic with the powerful sensors. One air woman said that after operating on a Predator team, she wants to get involved with UAV's for the rest of her career, either in the Air Force or the company that makes the Predator. |