An optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) is a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

between a conventional piloted aircraft and an

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

(UAV). Able to fly with or without a human crew on board the aircraft, OPVs are a low-cost alternative to UAVs in research, experimentation, and concept exploration, but may also become used in mainstream operations as familiarity with them increases. Unimpeded by a human's physiological limitations, an OPV is able to operate under more adverse conditions and/or for greater endurance times. Retaining on-board controls, the OPV can operate as a conventional aircraft during missions for which direct human control is preferred or desired as an immediate option. The US Naval Postgraduate School

Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies The Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) located at the Marina Municipal Airport and is a research center of the US Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), based in the nearby city of Monterey. Among their research is ...

(CIRPAS) in Monterey, California operates a highly modified

Cessna 337 The Cessna Skymaster is an American twin-engine civil utility aircraft built in a push-pull configuration. Its engines are mounted in the nose and rear of its pod-style fuselage. Twin booms extend aft of the wings to the vertical stabilizers ...

-O2 Skymaster OPV called Pelican. The OPV provides a low-risk, low-cost test and evaluation alternative to a Predator UAV. The Pelican has also provided UAV support to military exercises which otherwise would not have had access to a real UAV due to cost, availability, or

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

restrictions. The

Northrop Grumman Firebird The Northrop Grumman Firebird is an intelligence gathering aircraft designed by Northrop Grumman's subsidiary Scaled Composites which can be flown remotely or by a pilot. At Scaled, it is known as the Model 355. It was unveiled on May 9, 2011. ...

is classified as an OPV. The National Test Pilot School certified an extensively modified Cessna 150 as an Optionally Piloted Aircraft for use as a training device to aid instruction of flight testing unmanned systems. Additionally, Autonodyne has operated an OPV Cessna 182 since 2018, which uses their onboard

Avidyne Corporation Avidyne Corporation is an avionics company based in Melbourne, Florida. Avidyne is developer of Integrated Avionics Systems, multi-function displays, and traffic advisory systems for light general aviation (GA) aircraft. Headquartered in Melbou ...

to be piloted from the Autonodyne ground control software, relay communications between Air Traffic Control and the ground pilot, and autonomously detect and avoid hazardous traffic via wing-mounted cameras.

References

External links

; History & Articles
The future of US Army helicopters: pilots optional
- Sean Hollister, Engaget. Posted Apr 28th 2010 7:13{{nbspam * US Air Force Foresees Robotic War By Andrew Koch. Jane's Defence Weekly January 22, 2003. ; Organizations and current news

* ttp://www.uavforum.com/vendors/systems/republic.htm Republic Aerospace Bright Eagle Unmanned aerial vehicles

See also

References

External links