Showing posts with label military service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military service. Show all posts

24 January 2017

Fly the Unfriendly Skies: #UAV Commercial Pilot's License #Drones #FAA #DroneDatabase

I love flying. I became fascinated with all manner of flying machines at a very young age. I dreamt of being a fighter pilot when I grew up and was very disappointed to learn that women were still being barred from such service at the time I graduated from high school. (This is the main reason I did not go to a military academy, though I was heavily recruited by all of them due to my ASVAB scores being off the charts.) I thought to get my pilot's license instead, but got sidetracked by life. I still may get it one day, but my interest in flying machines has recently migrated towards drones.

There are so many practical uses for a drone on an estate. For example, I plan to use drones to inspect fields and crops on my farm, to aid with safety and security (one can survey the property for damage after a storm, for instance), and to monitor areas that could be cumbersome to reach otherwise (rooftops, border fencing, etc.). While I'm a moderately proficient hobbyist, I want to become an expert (commercial level pilot) and have begun researching the FAA qualifications for obtaining a professional drone pilot's license and looking for educational & training opportunities.

To this end, I was pleased to discover last night that a local library will be offering a class on drones. (I think I might have found out too late to attend, I plan to call later today during business hours to see what's required.) Regardless whether this particular class works out for me, I hope to eventually figure out a regimen that will get me properly trained and licensed. Additionally, I also wish to acquire a small fleet of drones to employ upon my private property, automating a list of tasks that previously would have required several people to undertake.

11 November 2016

Salute to Veterans! My #VeteransDay Routine

As a National Holiday in the United States of America, Veterans Day is generally observed annually on the 11th of November and this year it falls on a Friday (today) marking the start of a long weekend for those who get the day off from work. While television adverts would have you believe that Veterans Days in nothing more than an excuse to launch a furniture sale, let's pause for a moment to recall the purpose of the holiday.
On this day, we as a nation commemorate those who have served in our armed forces and thank them for said service.

In addition to my soul mate, my "twin", who is both a Navy veteran and a police officer, my extended family includes a number of active duty military, military veterans and law enforcement officers (many of whom are also military vets); plus several of my neighbors are military veterans, too --- I am a native Southerner living in the deep South after all --- so this holiday has a great deal of personal meaning. I generally spend the day doing good deeds for all the veterans that I know, and while I try to do this any day of the year, sometimes life sidetracks you with white noise, so it's nice to have a special day to remind us to hug a vet and say...

Thank you for your service. Happy Veterans Day!