I should blipping well copyright ‘skywaymen.’ It’s gonna be big in ten years or so:
The Federal Aviation Administration today issued an experimental airworthiness certificate to an Amazon Logistics, Inc. unmanned aircraft (UAS) design that the company will use for research and development and crew training. The FAA typically issues experimental certificates to manufacturers and technology developers to operate a UAS that does not have a type certificate.
…because somebody’s gonna start going after the delivery drones. I mean, it’s obvious, right? Bunch of objects up in the sky with valuable stuff in them and no guards, eventually somebody’s going to turn air pirate in a big way. Probably a bunch of somebodies, too. It could all get very buccaneer-y for a while.
Heck, in three centuries they might even romanticize the whole thing.
Hey, they’re making Zepplins again just in time. I’ll start arming the autogyro….
Drone launching stealth zeppelins! Just in time for my plan for world domination…er, I mean, world peace!
Peace through superior firepower, yes? I wonder if the 2nd applies to airships….
Nuclear powered drone-launching stealth zeppelins!
Gads, it’s genius!
I’m a space cowboy, bet you weren’t ready for that!
Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series, set in a steampunk Victorian British Empire with vampires and werewolves, has “flywaymen” as some of the baddies.
I have the first one of that series. I should finish it sometime.