In a First, Full-Sized Robo-Copter Flies With No Human Help

Oh dear...we're doomed.
Del

It really does look bad, Del. Did you notice? It was a BLACK helicopter.

Oops. My bad. No men in it, though. So that's OK then.

This article is so much BS, I'm steamed. Apparently nobody does research anymore.

I was on-board a NASA/Army CH-47B Chinook at Wallop's Island Virginia when we did a ground computer controlled flight in 1977. It involved lift to a hover, departure, flying a five mile radius around the field, approach to hover, and landing within 3 feet of departure point. All without pilot input (though we did have safety pilots in the cockpit.

I had the honor of being the crew chief of that flight.

Hooker

I saw a classified film of a Huey following a river in Nam, banked over, full on, clipping trees with the rotor tips. Not because they wanted to, because they had to. The riverboat crew was taking heavy fire and could not be seen from above the trees, the RPB needed air cover bad.

One thing that was obvious, was the fact that the machine was an extension of the man.

How are you going to get a computer to determine how much of a tree branch to clip before you do damage? How are you going to program to take a risk?

Lasers, can they see through pouring rain?

Laser targeting is virtually useless in rain, fog, cloud cover, etc.

What you describe from the film you saw was pretty much SOP for helicopter crews in Vietnam. Everybody that could help usually responded to a call for help from the ground if they were able. The US Navy Sea Wolves Huey gun ships were especially renowned for protecting their own.

There were many times my Chinook became a veg-o-matic while trying to maneuver down into a tight hover hole in triple tier jungle. But we had 5 pairs of eyes on board to make sure we didn't try to chop on major tree trunks. I'd like to see that accomplished with a remotely piloted craft.

And the safest area for helicopters against RPG's and other small arm's fire is either down on the deck or above 3000 feet AGL.

Hooker

Hooker,

Check out that video again and tell me if that is a "full size" helicopter. To me it looks like an RC model, especially the rotor speed.

Yeah, that video is definitely an RC model, apparently a proof of concept or testbed prototype.

That led to the trials of the full size "Little Bird" that's in the still picture.

Hooker