A story on SlashDot got me to do a bit of digging to find out if you could legally fly your own UAV/UAS.
Alas I found even the coolest UAV/UAS run by GNU/Linux probably are not legal for you to fly most places, at least in the US.
See:
"Subcommittee on Aviation Hearing on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and the National Airspace System"
-- from March 29 2006, which now has turned in to this, on Feb 24th 2009:
"Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs)".
Also take a look at the Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO):
Updated: 12:19 pm ET May 15, 2009
Our Mission: To safely integrate Unmanned Aircraft Systems into the U.S. National Airspace System
In recent years, unmanned aircraft (UA) were primarily developed and flown by the military services. This is rapidly changing. Interest in using UAs for a broad range of purposes is increasing, not only by U.S. governmental agencies, but also by the civil aviation community. Because of this increased interest and activity, UA access to the National Airspace System (NAS) is a priority.
There are many challenges we must meet before the procedures for certification, licensing, training, inspection, maintenance and operation of UAs are standardized and routine. Further, we must find methods to support the integration of UAs in the NAS without causing delays, capacity reduction, or placing current NAS users at increased risk. The UAPO is responsible to develop the necessary guidance and regulations for UA certification and operation to ensure their safe integration into the NAS.
DO-178B, and the newer DO-178D, has become a de facto standard for aviation software, and DO-254 Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware.
I'm holding out for a good Counterbary based system myself...
