Because I (and 3 other people) almost got killed by one, yesterday.

We were on final approach to a rooftop helipad when we passed a drone flying right in our flight path. About 700 feet above the ground. We missed it by less than 75 feet.

Scared me bad. Everyone else, too.

I'm very grateful to be posting this here as opposed to you all reading about "the tragedy" on the news.

Don't fly drones near hospitals. Don't fly drones near helicopters.

Please. Just don't.

Bruce

It's only going to get worse, of course. Much worse. Before too long, I imagine there will be a fatal collision between one of these things and an aircraft, probably while the aircraft is taking off or landing.

I thought about getting involved with drones, but it seems to me that it’s just a matter of time before something bad happens that forces some very tight rules and enforcement that I probably wouldn’t want to deal with. I certainly hope that’s true, anyway. Some dickheads just can’t not be dickheads.

Glad nothing worse happened.

On the subject, though, how big would the drones have to be if they were maneuvered into commercial airliner engines on takeoff to bring the aircraft down?
Drone experts: would that sort of precise control be possible?

It's going to get worse before it gets better.


http://www.baltimoresun.com/ne...-20170225-story.html

Late last month, a pair of Islamic State fighters in desert camouflage climbed to the top of a river bluff in northern Iraq to demonstrate an important new weapon: a small drone, about six feet wide with swept wings and a small bomb tucked in its fuselage.

The two men launched the slender machine and took videos from a second, smaller drone that shadowed its movements. The aircraft glided over the besieged city of Mosul, swooped close to an Iraqi army outpost and dropped its bomb, scattering Iraqi troops with a small blast that left one figure sprawled on the ground, apparently dead or wounded.

The incident was among dozens in recent weeks in a rapidly accelerating campaign of armed drone strikes by the Islamic State in northern Iraq. The terrorist group last month formally announced the establishment of a new "Unmanned Aircraft of the Mujahideen" unit, a fleet of modified drones equipped with bombs, and claimed that its drones had killed or wounded 39 Iraqi soldiers in a single week.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/new...1ahOEy8AO/story.html

The Pentagon, concerned about the danger that small, armed drones pose to US troops, is moving forward with a project that looks beyond remote-control aircraft used by the Islamic State to an even more complex problem: an aerial raid of autonomous suicide bombers.

The unmanned bombers have not yet appeared in combat, but defense officials already are researching how to stop them. Laden with explosives or other dangerous materials, they would operate by crashing into US troops in a combat zone and would not be as easy to detect as existing drones used by the Islamic State, because they would not rely on radio frequencies for remote controlling. Instead, they would be programmed to carry out a specific mission, making them especially hard to see coming.

http://www.defensenews.com/art...de-vehicles-in-mosul

CANBERRA, Australia — Islamic State fighters were increasingly using Mad Max-style suicide vehicles and commercial drones armed with grenades in their defense of the Iraqi town of Mosul, Australia's defense chief said Wednesday.

Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin likened the vehicles used by the Islamic State group against Iraqi government troops to those featured in the George Miller-directed post-apocalyptic movie franchise.

Multiple attacks by explosive vehicles were the group's first line of defense, Binskin told a Senate committee.

"These could come as just vehicles that are loaded (with explosives), but more likely now in what you would hear termed 'Mad Max vehicles' — lots of steel around them, small slits for the drivers to see, and they're predominantly suicide attacks," Binskin said.

You do not want to lose a tail rotor. Trust me.

No different than guns, alcohol/drugs, cars or a myriad of other things. It's not really ever about the inatimate object but the person operating it.

quote:

Hanlon's Razor /prov./ A corollary of Finagle's Law, similar to Occam's Razor, that reads "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately

OP's close call has nothing to do with "malice." It is more serious than that. Instead of one or two maliscious people across the world, there are THOUSANDS of drones, many which are controlled by idiots. And these idiots are the reason govts are tightening the restrictions on drone use.

Like firearms laws, the problem won't be solved by putting pen to paper. We need to start enacting and inventing active drone defenses for places like hospitals and airports.

Automated 12g birdshot turrets, perhaps?

Maybe a Prince is important enough?

I wonder what the fallout in England will be after their favorite son's helicopter (he was off that day) almost hits a drone.

Bruce

I thought they were limited to like 400 feet?

Time to start destroying drones near sensitive locations...

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

quote:

Hanlon's Razor /prov./ A corollary of Finagle's Law, similar to Occam's Razor, that reads "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately

OP's close call has nothing to do with "malice." It is more serious than that. Instead of one or two maliscious people across the world, there are THOUSANDS of drones, many which are controlled by idiots. And these idiots are the reason govts are tightening the restrictions on drone use.

He IS the OP. That is part of his signature line.

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If you added a separator line it would avoid the confusion though. You can add the separation line by typing [H R] and taking out the space between H and R.

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quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

quote:

Hanlon's Razor /prov./ A corollary of Finagle's Law, similar to Occam's Razor, that reads "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately

OP's close call has nothing to do with "malice." It is more serious than that. Instead of one or two maliscious people across the world, there are THOUSANDS of drones, many which are controlled by idiots. And these idiots are the reason govts are tightening the restrictions on drone use.

Yup, that's just my normal signature line

Bruce

I'd feel the same way. I have a few cheap drones, mostly smaller than my hand. The rule is anything over half a pound in weight has to be licensed by the FAA. I keep mine in my yard and I'd be surprised if I've ever reached 100 ft high. It becomes hard to see at that height. I treat mine more like a remote controlled car. I also keep my neighbors in mind when I fly mine. Like the airwaves, the sky is going to become more crowded by people who don't know what they're doing.

quote:

Originally posted by RNshooter:

Yup, that's just my normal signature line

Bruce

Refer to this post for how to put a line above the signature line to avoid confusion with content of a post.

What is the range of the drones?

For most of the hand sized drones (approx) the range is around 300 feet/100 yards. However that is usually not obtainable in reality and is severely limited by eyesight. You can't control your drone if you can't see it. As you get into bigger classes and more expensive you can see it farther and if you shell out more $ you get perks like GPS return to point and hover (handy in filming). Battery length on most hand sized it between 5-15 minutes. I don't have any expensive enough to hover or return to point.

This video is from a Hubsan X4 107c and shows about the height limit. It does not have 1st person pov. It's twitchy or maybe I'm twitchy. At this size and weight they are seriously affected by any wind.

https://youtu.be/Og7_WOYB5sc

I have one that will go 4.3 miles out and make it back. Keep in mind that you are always supposed to fly line of sight so I have really only gone a couple hundred yards. Sooner or later the manufacturers will have to add software that doesn't allow them over 400ft in height. Most of the high end ones are set from the factory to not go over that height but it's really only a suggestion and common sense that keeps them lower than that.

The higher end ones also will give plent of warnings when you are getting close to restricted air space. My guess is that this type of software that is currently on the high end drones will be mandated on all civilian drones and also be undefeatable.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/...ayer_rules_in_court/

So far one guy who shot down a drone has been winning in court, through an appeals court win. I
nteresting reading about a 1936 decision involving property and a 83' ceiling.