Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Tony 1963]

Hi there,

I read the following passage:

"That means that the airplane flies itself: There is no pilot on the ground with a joystick maneuvering it around. However, it does get instructions from airmen at ground stations. The launch and recovery element provides precision guidance for takeoff and landing, using a differential global positioning system. That team works from the plane�s operating base."

Why do they say "That team works from the plane�s operating base." instead of "That team works at the plane�s operating base."?

Thank you.

[pugachevV]

They use "from" here, in my opinion, because they are projecting their influence from their base to the location of the UAV, which may be thousands of miles away. However, if you say, "works at..." it is perfectly acceptable.
You may also hear, "that team works out of..."

[Tony 1963]

Thank you. It sure helped.