"The pilot can completely control the aircraft without a joystick," he continues. "Instead he commands changes in aircraft flight by using a mouse and keyboard since the onboard computers are actually manipulating the control surfaces. Mission plans are pre-loaded into the aircraft pre-takeoff, so it is conceivable that the aircraft operator can just sit back and monitor his moving map display without interrupting the mission."
However, it is rare that that happens, as no mission can be completely predicted, he says. The level of autonomy or pilot interaction typically is dictated on a mission to mission basis, Walby says. He notes that most often UAV operators are former or current pilots so that they are trained on air traffic control operations and flight dynamics.
