From: usenet@only.tnx   
      
   On Mon, 3 May 2021 19:25:20 +0000 (UTC), danny burstein    
   wrote:   
   >In <60904d51.11581593@news.dslextreme.com> usenet@only.tnx (Questor) writes:   
   >>>For example, I run into a lot of unpaved and even depaved[a]   
   >>>roads.  I'd be pissed as hell if I had to do a five mile   
   >>>trip on them twice/day. But once/week?  Not so bad.   
   >   
   >>Why wait for drones?  Why aren't helicopters and planes a sufficient   
   replacement   
   >>for roads across Africa today?   
   >   
   >Helicopters are DAMN expensive to own and operate and require   
   >something absurd like an hour of maintenance for every flight hour.   
      
   Okay, so a light plane is probably a better choice.  In either case, you have   
   an   
   aircraft that is capable of transporting hundreds of pounds a couple hundred   
   miles (or more) versus a drone that can lift perhaps a few pounds and fly only   
   fifteen miles (?).  Planes may not completely forestall the need for roads, but   
   they certainly seem to be far more able to fill the gap than drones.   
      
      
   >Plus human pilots.   
      
   If you assume autonomous drones, which are not yet a completely established   
   technology.  In any event, there should be a human somewhere in the loop for   
   when things don't go as planned.   
      
      
   >Drones are dirt cheap.  A couple thousand for a commecially rated,   
   >15 hr/day usage, 15 mile radius unit.   
      
   Absent autonomous, much larger drones capable of carrying bigger loads longer   
   distances, I am more convinced than ever that current drones are insufficient   
   to   
   serve as more than a very small fraction of a replacement for roads.  And a   
   large cargo drone is likely to cost more than a couple of thousand dollars.   
      
   There is still the issue of power.  Electric drones need to be recharged.  That   
   means either an electric grid or solar.  The latter might be feasible with   
   swappable battery packs.  Conventional liquid fuels (gasoline et. al.) require   
   a   
   distribution network, which leads us back to needing roads.   
      
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