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General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

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Ghost from above
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General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by Ghost from above » Wed Jun 27, 2018 10:24 pm

General Atomics will bring its company-owned MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned aerial vehicle to the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) airshow next month and it intends to fly it from the company’s Flight Test and Training Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

http://www.ga-asi.com/ga-asi-to-fly-fir ... a-male-rpa
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Mavke
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by Mavke » Thu Jun 28, 2018 12:53 am

Would be nice if its full adsb , so we can follow it during this flight !

jem60
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by jem60 » Thu Jun 28, 2018 10:49 am

I don't follow model aircraft!!.

sgtangel
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by sgtangel » Thu Jun 28, 2018 11:54 am

jem60 wrote:
Thu Jun 28, 2018 10:49 am
I don't follow model aircraft!!.
+1.

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big john
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by big john » Thu Jun 28, 2018 12:07 pm

Not only that its Civil. Reg is N190TC hex A169D7. :whistle:
rgds
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by GUNHOG » Thu Jun 28, 2018 4:44 pm

sgtangel wrote:
Thu Jun 28, 2018 11:54 am
jem60 wrote:
Thu Jun 28, 2018 10:49 am
I don't follow model aircraft!!.
+1.
Err? It's not a model aircraft! :S

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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by Sparts99 » Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:01 pm

Maybe a daft question, but why do this style of drone seem to have cockpit shaped humps? if it's full of electronics etc why not just make the nose a few feet longer? Wouldn't that make manufacturing slightly easier?
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by TonyO » Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:16 pm

These humps are dielectric and are designed to fit the satellite communications antenna and give it room to look almost towards the horizon depending on where the controlling satellites are in the sky.
UAVs without humps are usually flown radio-line of sight.
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by jem60 » Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:27 pm

KEVB. Yes it is a model aircraft. Anything that is remotely piloted is no different, basically, and from my point of view, from a large radio-controlled MODEL. Sorry, not interested.Just been having this discussion with a friend in Croydon, who says it's not a model,but could not define at what point a radio controlled model becomes a real aircraft. Whilst we had this discussion, my bungalow was beaten up by a formation of 8 Apaches, travelling west from Bury St. Edmunds direction. 'Ride of the Valkyries came to mind!!! [for us older members!!. :)

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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by turmo » Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:27 am

The PR around this is curious, lots of conditional statements. There's nothing novel about the planned flight; the bigger Global Hawk UAV autonomously crossed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans over a decade ago. It is routinely used by NASA for hurricane-following flights out over the Atlantic.

Yes it's interesting that GA are bringing their UAV / RPV / whatsit to RIAT but I don't see why it needs to be sexed-up.

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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by Fighterfoto » Fri Jun 29, 2018 8:35 am

I guess it’s because this is the first time a ‘medium-altitude’ RPAS has flown across an ocean. GA are also actively marketing the aircraft, the UK is the only customer at present, hence the sales pitching.
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by Sparts99 » Fri Jun 29, 2018 9:16 am

Thanks Tony O, makes perfect sense.
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by big john » Fri Jun 29, 2018 11:55 am

A link to the restricted airspace for the arrival of this thing Here:-
http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/v ... 7#p1006311
Looks like it'll be mixing it with the airliners across the Atlantic? could be fun! :whistle:
rgds
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by GUNHOG » Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:50 pm

Hi BJ,

I think this is the reason for the flight?

An extract from the GA website regarding it:-

"MQ-9B is the latest evolution of GA-ASI’s multi-mission Predator® B fleet. GA-ASI named its baseline MQ-9B aircraft SkyGuardian, and the maritime surveillance variant SeaGuardian. MQ-9B is a “certifiable” (STANAG 4671-compliant) version of the MQ-9 Predator B product line. Its development is the result of a five-year, company-funded effort to deliver a RPA that can meet the stringent airworthiness type-certification requirements of various military and civil authorities, including the UK Military Airworthiness Authority (MAA) and the U.S. FAA. Type-certification, together with an extensively tested collision avoidance system, will allow unrestricted operations in all classes of civil airspace.

Several important MQ-9B milestones were achieved in recent months, including the first FAA-approved flight for a company-owned RPA through non-segregated civil airspace without a chase aircraft, and an endurance record of more than 48 hours of continuous flight.

As part of the trans-Atlantic flight, GA-ASI has partnered with Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications (SATCOM) services. Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband SATCOM will be used by the MQ-9B’s ground control station to communicate and control the aircraft and also will be used in the RPA’s final configuration for capabilities such as automatic takeoff and landing."

Kev

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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by paddyboy » Tue Jul 03, 2018 3:51 pm

Hi John :P

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Love to T ;)

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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by TonyO » Tue Jul 03, 2018 5:06 pm

jem60 wrote:
Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:27 pm
KEVB. Yes it is a model aircraft. Anything that is remotely piloted is no different, basically, and from my point of view, from a large radio-controlled MODEL. Sorry, not interested.Just been having this discussion with a friend in Croydon, who says it's not a model,but could not define at what point a radio controlled model becomes a real aircraft. Whilst we had this discussion, my bungalow was beaten up by a formation of 8 Apaches, travelling west from Bury St. Edmunds direction. 'Ride of the Valkyries came to mind!!! [for us older members!!. :)
Just by the dictionary definition of model, you are wrong. A model is a representation of something, and given there is not a manned Reaper/Protector to model from, and nor is it scaled down from a larger machine, it is therefore not a model.
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by Ghastly Whisper » Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:30 pm

TonyO wrote:
Tue Jul 03, 2018 5:06 pm
jem60 wrote:
Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:27 pm
KEVB. Yes it is a model aircraft. Anything that is remotely piloted is no different, basically, and from my point of view, from a large radio-controlled MODEL. Sorry, not interested.Just been having this discussion with a friend in Croydon, who says it's not a model,but could not define at what point a radio controlled model becomes a real aircraft. Whilst we had this discussion, my bungalow was beaten up by a formation of 8 Apaches, travelling west from Bury St. Edmunds direction. 'Ride of the Valkyries came to mind!!! [for us older members!!. :)
Just by the dictionary definition of model, you are wrong. A model is a representation of something, and given there is not a manned Reaper/Protector to model from, and nor is it scaled down from a larger machine, it is therefore not a model.
It is not anything interesting either
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effects
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by effects » Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:47 pm

Ghastly Whisper wrote:
Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:30 pm
TonyO wrote:
Tue Jul 03, 2018 5:06 pm
jem60 wrote:
Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:27 pm
KEVB. Yes it is a model aircraft. Anything that is remotely piloted is no different, basically, and from my point of view, from a large radio-controlled MODEL. Sorry, not interested.Just been having this discussion with a friend in Croydon, who says it's not a model,but could not define at what point a radio controlled model becomes a real aircraft. Whilst we had this discussion, my bungalow was beaten up by a formation of 8 Apaches, travelling west from Bury St. Edmunds direction. 'Ride of the Valkyries came to mind!!! [for us older members!!. :)
Just by the dictionary definition of model, you are wrong. A model is a representation of something, and given there is not a manned Reaper/Protector to model from, and nor is it scaled down from a larger machine, it is therefore not a model.
It is not anything interesting either
Several years ago I had the pleasure to visit the USAF predator det at Ali Al Salem, once you have had 'the tour' I would challenge anyone on here to be unimpressed.

GUNHOG
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by GUNHOG » Wed Jul 04, 2018 5:27 pm

effects wrote:
Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:47 pm
Ghastly Whisper wrote:
Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:30 pm
TonyO wrote:
Tue Jul 03, 2018 5:06 pm


Just by the dictionary definition of model, you are wrong. A model is a representation of something, and given there is not a manned Reaper/Protector to model from, and nor is it scaled down from a larger machine, it is therefore not a model.
It is not anything interesting either
Several years ago I had the pleasure to visit the USAF predator det at Ali Al Salem, once you have had 'the tour' I would challenge anyone on here to be unimpressed.
:thumbs: :ninja:

100arw
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Re: General Atomics’ owned MQ-9B crossing the Atlantic to attend RIAT

Post by 100arw » Wed Jul 04, 2018 9:33 pm

Maybe the RAF think it's suitable to attend, as it forms the basis for their future "Protector" remotely-piloted air system (RPAS).
P.

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