Border Patrol shows Predator B to ease public concerns about new technology
Jeff Bollier • of The Northwestern • July 31, 2009


The Airbus A380 draws attention for its imposing size on AeroShell Square.

Virgin's VMS Eve draws attention for its role in making private space travel happen.

But only the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's Predator B draws a crowd because of both its size and capabilities.

And, of course, that Predator pilots like Peter McNall can get up, stretch their legs and grab a cup of coffee while the aircraft is hundreds of miles away using infrared technology to detect illegal border crossings.

"It's very common to have 15 or 20 interdictions each night," said McNall, director of the Predator program that patrols the border in the southwestern United States. "They can't hear the propeller. They might be able to see our navigation lights, but we can see them from 10 to 15 miles away. You'd probably think we were just another aircraft not one that's looking down at you."

To Watertown's Dave Odekirk, the 60-foot wingspan and 30-foot length of the Predator on display outside the Federal Pavilion merits comparison of a different sort.

"I thought they were smaller," Odekirk explained. "It's bigger than my Cessna 150. And I betcha a bit more expensive."

At $10 million each, Odekirk is right.

The crews who operate, monitor and maintain U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's eight Predators brought the unmanned aircraft to the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture for the first time this year to show how big they are and what they can do.

"Coming to places like AirVenture is critical to our program," McNall explained. "There's a lot of apprehension out there about unmanned air vehicles, so it's a great opportunity to talk with people about what we do and to expose them to the actual aircraft."

The Predator is on display all week, but will not fly during the air shows because unmanned aircraft still cannot fly when manned aircraft are in the same airspace, McNall explained.

Customs pilots fly the aircraft from three bases in the United States on missions that push the Predator B's 30-hour endurance in the air.


"The Predator represents emerging technology that we don't have in our manned inventory," McNall explained. "And often, people don't understand how the aircraft is staffed and operated, which always piques their curiosity."

The version of the Predator at AirVenture flies unarmed, but similar models have been armed for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner Maj. Gen. Michael Kostelnik said the aircraft have flown for more than 500,000 hours in military situations since the Predator was first introduced 15 years ago.

"It doesn't replace man, it just enhances our abilities," Kostelnik told a crowd Thursday morning. "When you bring the aircraft to bear in any situation, it's not just the Predator, it's an entire team at work on the mission."

McNall said flying the Predator from the ground can take some getting used to, and that it's never really the same as being in the cockpit.

"We're looking at a world two-hundredths of a second old," he explained. "All the sensory inputs you get as a pilot—weather, the surroundings, crosswinds—are not available to you. But we still do all the things a manned aircraft would do on takeoff and landing: We taxi. We take off. We talk to air traffic control. It's a learning process."



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