Distinctly Montana Magazine

d i s t i n c t ly m o n ta n a • fa l l 2 0 1 4 68 What IS It lIkE to BE a uaV PIlot? Often it is assumed that flying a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) for the military is like a scene in an action thriller, with high-tech computer systems in state of the art facilities and operators surrounded by high- ranking officials giving the orders. in actuality flying a UAV is more sim- ilar to watching surveillance tapes of an empty field or a family doing laundry down by a river. Often the operators are in a dusty tent using simple laptops and sitting in metal chairs. The power is coming from a noisy generator outside and there are no big fancy computer screens on the walls. Missions can last from sun up to sun down without anything interesting happening at all. in some areas the operators will spend an entire year overseas and not actually find a single "bad guy". Most UAV's are not armed and the ones that are have strict rules about how and when to decide to shoot a missile at a target. Still i find the work very rewarding. i enjoy working with the aircraft and all the coordination with Air Traffic Control and the soldiers on the ground. Often soldiers thank me for being there and tell me they feel safer knowing we are flying our "spies in the skies" and looking out for them. The UAV systems them- selves are complex and require a mixture of iT knowledge, good hand to eye coordination (in case the plane needs some manual piloting), and great communication skills in order to talk to the military and fly the UAV where it needs to be. Understanding the basics of flight and aerodynamics is important and being able to troubleshoot technical issues with com- munications equipment is very challenging. IS flyIng a uaV JuSt lIkE a VIdEo gamE? i have often heard people say that flying a UAV is like playing a video game. Having done both i agree that there are some similarities; however, there are some key differences. • As opposed to a quick and exciting game, UAV missions can last for hours and hours. in some cases it takes two crews working full shifts to complete an entire mission. • A UAV requires an exhaustive pre-flight checklist as well as constant attention paid to systems during flight. Memori- zation of a variety of emergency procedures is mandatory in case of a mechanical or software failure. • Unlike a video game, the "player" gets only one plane to play with and may have to restart a career instead of a level if something goes wrong. • it is also not entirely uncommon to have commu- nication problems with the UAV and lose sight of it all together. in these cases you can't just restart your xBOx. Kaleva Law Office Montana K-12 Educational Law 406.542.1300 526 Brooks St. • Missoula, MT www.kalevalaw.com Ka l e va L aw Offi c e Elizabeth Kaleva for Education Law and Employment Law Litigation Defense to School Districts and their Employees School and Employment Law Counseling Special Education and Federal Programs Employee Misconduct and Discipline Student Misconduct and Discipline Contact Preparation and Negotiations 25 Years of combined experience in education and employment law. Best Lawyers' 2015 Missoula Employment Law - Management " L a w y e r o f t h e Y e a r " Tier 1 ranking a moNtaNa DroNE "pILot" JuSt rEturNED from afghaNIStaN aND othEr DEpLoymENtS SharES hIS ExpErIENCE aNoNymouSLy.

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