I have searched the web and most of the other pilots I talk with seem to agree in the near future the FAA will have to come up with some sort of flight hours for the UAS community.

I'm talking about large category 4 & 5 UAS platforms, ie Predator, Global Hawk, Reaper UAS platforms---NOT Radio shack camera drones purchased for $300.

I'm wondering if the FAA would allow us UAS operators some sort of hours credit, like the 3:1 flight engineer hours. All of us operating the Cat 4/5 hold commercial fixed wing with instrument ratings, but the hours we are accumulating count for nothing in the FAA's eyes or anyone else.

Has anyone heard of any proposed change for hours or what's your opinion if the FAA will ever allow UAS hours to count for something. And yes for you real pilots, I understand us UAS guys aren't real pilots since were not actually in the air, but I would like to get some type of credit for all these hours down the road in hopes of getting to a regional or 135 operation.

If they are considering applying duty/rest rules, that's for the safety of people on the ground, not because large UAS flying resembles manned aircraft flying.

The FAA is staffed by pilots and bureaucrats, neither of which has any incentive to stick their necks out and propose risky rule changes to favor UAS operators.

If anything like that is going to happen, the UAS community will have to lobby and advocate for it. The industry stakeholders (airlines, ALPA, flight schools) will probably have to concur to the NPRM (or at least not protest). Nobody is going to just hand it out (well maybe if the pilot shortage gets REALLY bad in ten years).

Personally I think a *little* credit might be appropriate, but not a lot of credit. Flight engineers are exposed to a jet cockpit and crew environment so they get some benefit from OJT. Like with helo pilots, the real concern is if things get ugly during landing, you need the right instincts because you might not be able to think it through.

[QUOTE=rickair7777;2600374]The FAA is staffed by pilots and bureaucrats, neither of which has any incentive to stick their necks out and propose risky rule changes to favor UAS operators. QUOTE]

Very True statement

On the flip side, maybe the OP / UAS Lobby groups could get enough industry interest to generate a petition to change Part 61?

That' a great idea, I will have to research what a petition would require. The only people operating Cat 4/5 UAS that I know of are DOD,DHS, NASA and General Atomics.

Not a huge community, but with a little luck maybe I could get a point of contact with each agency