

Drones Offer Journalists a Wider View - kerben
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/business/media/drones-offer-journalists-a-wider-view.html?pagewanted=1&hp

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clarkmoody
Dear mainstream media: Please stop using the word 'drone' to describe remote-
controlled planes and quadrotors.

That is all.

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cynwoody
So, what attributes does an aircraft require in order to deserve to be called
a drone?

Is it the _degree_ of remoteness of control? E.g., ability to be operated
reliably beyond the visual range of its operator? Or the ability to operate
autonomously or semi-autonomously?

~~~
clarkmoody
Well, as an aerospace engineer, I don't think any vehicle should be called a
drone. Unmanned [Combat] Aerial Vehicle is a better term, or even Remotely
Piloted Vehicle.

But if we must use the label, let's say that a 'drone' meets one of the
following:

    
    
      * Has weapons
      * Operates autonomously
      * Operates over the horizon
      * Requires runway facilities -- large remotely-piloted aircraft
    
    

Everything else is just RC, including the quadrotors in the article.

