RC Airplanes Being Used For Survelliance

St. Petersburg, Florida - At the Model Flying Field in St. Petersburg, radio operated airplanes soar through the skies. Jim Alman has been doing this since he was a kid.

Jim Alman, Cyber Defense Systems:
“Probably ten or 11 years old flying models."

But he's not flying just any old model airplane, it's a Cyber Bug.

Jim Alman, Cyber Defense Systems
“They're unmanned air vehicles they have cameras on board and they're used primarily for surveillance.”

The light weight planes have come in handy for the military. Jim has sold several to government agencies. The Cyber Bugs cost around 30-thousand-dollars each.

Jim Alman, Cyber Defense Systems
“Actually what they're used for is intelligence gathering and that's what the airplanes are designed to do.”

Jim's also trying to talk to local law enforcement and television stations about the benefits.

Jim Alman, Cyber Defense Systems
“Just recently there was an accident nearby we took video of the accident, a helicopter would have taken an hour to deploy to the area and we were right there.”

David Shelton, Cyber Defense Systems:
“It's constructed mostly from carbon fiber and fiber glass so it's very light and durable.”

David Shelton works for Jim as an aerospace engineer at Cyber Defense Systems.

David Shelton, Cyber Defense Systems:
“The aircraft cruises at 26 mph and can fly for more than an hour.”

The Cyber Bug's operated through a portable computer system.

Even the controller is like a video game.

Jim Alman, Cyber Defense Systems
“The u-a-v operators of tomorrow are the kids that are playing games today and we really wanted to make it as user friendly as we could for the future pilot, so the natural way to go was with a Gameboy controller.”

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