The Drone

 Next to useless

There is always a heated debate about the use of drones, take it from someone who spent years working in the photography section of the Royal Air Force; they are next to useless.

Advantage - you have a limited visiblity from above.

Disadvantages - Limited range, poor image recognition, the main disadvantage is they need to be in line of sight to pick a signal up.

I recall two instances of seeing radio-controlled aircaft - that is what a drone is - a radio controlled flying machine.

One was of a Lancaster model flying over some children in Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland; when the bomb doors opened the chidren were showered with sweets.

The other was not such a happy ending for the model; again a Lancater bomber. It was being flown at an air show, the controller kept taking it higher, until he lost control; it was painful watching this face as he tried in vain to regain control before the model smashed to he ground. Once you lose control, you have an unsupported weight under the control of gravity.

I had an amusing incident in Clevedon, North Somerset with a radio-controlled yacht of a friend when I was in my teens.