Short Final: The Lighter Side of Flight

While I was on short final into KFHU (Fort Huachuca, Sierra Vista Arizona): Shadow-1:“Shadow-1 at runway 26, ready to take off.” Tower:“Shadow-1, hold short for landing traffic.” I then looked over at the holding aircraft and noticed that it was a Military UAV, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. This being the first one I’d ever seen, I struggled between landing my plane and looking at the UAV. Landing the plane finally caught my attention. After landing, while on rollout, I overheard: NXXXXX:“Tower, was that an unmanned airplane I just passed?” Tower:“NXXXXX: Yes, it was.” Shadow-1:“There is actually a man sitting somewhere … .” Mark HarrisFlagstaff, AZ

Editorial Staff

Updated Apr 12, 2019 3:29 AM EDT

While I was on short final into KFHU (Fort Huachuca, Sierra Vista Arizona):

Shadow-1:
"Shadow-1 at runway 26, ready to take off."

Tower:
"Shadow-1, hold short for landing traffic."

I then looked over at the holding aircraft and noticed that it was a Military UAV, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. This being the first one I'd ever seen, I struggled between landing my plane and looking at the UAV. Landing the plane finally caught my attention.

After landing, while on rollout, I overheard:

NXXXXX:
"Tower, was that an unmanned airplane I just passed?"

Tower:
"NXXXXX: Yes, it was."

Shadow-1:
"There is actually a man sitting somewhere ... ."

Mark Harris
Flagstaff, AZ

Editorial StaffAVweb