Flight International's veteran cutaways artist Joe Picarella was at the Boeing chalet yesterday to sign copies of his drawing of the ScanEagle unmanned air vehicle, built by Boeing subsidiary Insitu. The UAV began life in the late 1990s as a low-altitude unmanned concept that could be used to spot shoals of tuna or monitor weather data.
After the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and the emergence of new threats in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US armed services began to see UAVs - and their ability to carry camera and sensor equipment that could almost silently monitor a single area for hours on end - in a different light. The ScanEagle became a vital part of the US military's surveillance assets and a takeover by Boeing in 2008 opened new opportunities for the Bingen, Washington-based privately owned business.
Picarella is the latest in a long succession of Flight cutaway artists who have been going beneath the skin of aircraft since the 1930s.
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Source: Flight Daily News
