How Did That Happen?

I have heard lots of stories about how people have gotten interested in aviation.  I know I have recounted my story many tmes as well.  So most of us are probably familiar with such stories.  But one thing you hear very seldom is how people get interested in unmanned aviation.

So how did I get interested in unmanned aviation?  It wasn't from radio control planes.  I'm not sure if there has been a study on the correlation between unamnned aircraft operators and R/C airplane enthusiasts.  It would be interesting to look into that though.  My interest in unmanned aviation actually originates from another hobby of mine.

I am a big fan of Japanese animation, aka anime.  One of my favorite franchises of all time is Macross.  Some folks might know it better as Robotech.  I did watch that when I was a child and when I found out about Macross and the differences in Robotech, I ended up liking Macross more.  Eventually in the Macross franchise, Macross Plus came around.  There are two versions, an OAV (Original Animation Video) and movie version.  Both are excellent, with some minor differences between them.  The entire production is stunning.  Macross has always been about the music first but close behind is the aircraft and mecha.  Macross Plus came out around the time of the YF-22 and YF-23 competition and the anime also features a competition between two advanced, prototype fighters.

**SPOILER ALERT**

There is also a third aircraft.  An experimental unmanned fighter with an AI core.  The project is kept secret and there is behind the scenes maneuvering to discredit both manned prototypes since the inception of the projects in order to leave the unmanned project de facto supreme.  Unfortunately, the unmanned fighter is taken over by a virtual idol using a very unstable and megalomaniacal AI core.  The final battle is both breathtaking and heart-rending.

In later art and source books, it is mentioned that the unmanned program was never quite the same as the project teams were never able to get the AI core working right.  Eventually, the program was dropped. 

Then Macross Frontier came along.  This series was one huge, glorified tribute to the 25th anniversary of the Macross franchise.  Unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) make an appearance under the firm control of humans.  They don't fare any better than their manned counterparts but this is Macross we're talking about.  No one does very well except for the main characters and those with plot armor.  But they do look pretty cool!

So that, in a nutshell, is the origin of my interest in unmanned aviation.