quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
...

Is that 4 miles in optimal conditions like the 50 miles in optimal conditions range of my GMRS radios? I'm assuming optimal conditions mean clear line of sight and if these drone operators are not standing in a wide open field that the range would be severely limited.

....

Check online for videos doing a search like 'mavic pro distance test.' Here is a test of two different models going out 2 and almost 3 miles respectively. If you don't care about loosing the drone, you can go longer distances.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M73mup1EeAY

The two people arrested are reportedly 'eco warriors' in their late 40's/early 50's.

Well, 'eco' can stand for ecology, or economy, and the approximately $150M it has cost to shut down the second busiest airfport in the UK for almost 50 hours, is certainly a hit to the economy. Of course, the cost is far more than that - yet again the UK management have been shown to be complete dwongs in the face of what could have been a national emergency. Imagine if that had happened at an RAF base with interceptors? Or Heathrow, with over a thousand flights a day to EVERYWHERE?

Hundreds of kids have had their Santa Claus trips to Lapland f*****d up, too, all so that these two smug middle-aged hippies can exercise their opinion on the rest of the population.

Imagine it happening at Elmendorf AK......?

How would the USA have dealt with this?

quote:

How would the USA have dealt with this?

Probably poorly.

RMD

I hope the perps spend a long, long time in prison.

In spite of all the publicity, it’s shocking how many thoughtless assholes continue to fly UAVs in the airspace of active wildland fires, grounding all aviation operations. My last couple of years in the Forest Service I was part of a cadre working with the FAA on policy with respect to fire ops.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/...est-cyclist-spotted/

Sussex Police said today: "A 47-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman, both from Crawley, were arrested in the town on suspicion of disrupting services of civil aviation aerodrome to endanger or likely to endanger safety of operations or persons.

"They remained in custody at 11am on Saturday."

The Christmas getaway hell saw 1,000 flights cancelled or diverted - affecting 140,000 passengers - since Wednesday night.

And travellers are now being warned to expect a fourth day of chaos as Britain's second biggest airport re-opens today.

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https://metro.co.uk/2018/12/22...-neighbours-8278086/

Police arrested a couple after swooping on a new build house in Crawley, West Sussex, just three miles away from the airport. Elaine Kirk, 54, and Paul Gait, 47, have been named locally as the middle-aged suspects police arrested, but their neighbours believe they have the wrong couple.

Emulating the Park City couple that was busted in Sept for taking hunting stands and vandalizing hunter's vehicles...?

The two persons arrested have been released without charge. The man is a r/c plane fan, and has a couple of little drones that he flies around in the back yard. The wife is not interested in his 'toys'.

A neighbour probably snitched them, possibly over an overhanging fence hedge that the neighbour won't trim, and they are not 'friends'.

What is NOT in dispute is the the man, who is a double-glazing windows and doors fitter, was working with two associates on a job many miles away when all the shenanigins were 'shenanigins-ing.' It might be asked why this cogent point was not mentioned earlier......

Meanwhile, another person SAW a younger man in his thirties in hi-vis clothing, stuffing one very large and one smaller drone into the back of a panel van of some kind...Hmmmmmmmmmm....

quote:

- affecting 140,000 passengers -

One open-handed slap per inconvenienced passenger seems fair.

So how many drones have they shot down? I must admit, while taking them down with shotguns sounds fun, using one of these would be a hoot, you know...for the higher flying ones!

QF 2-pounder quad mount

I wonder if it was an overreaction to create more drone laws. Not possible I know.

I sometimes wonder how many people offer up opinions and speculation about such incidents without making any real attempt to understand what happened.

As for what the response was, just what should have been different?

Let’s say it happened in the U.S. How many people would be comfortable with the police opening fire at high flying drones with no regard to where the projectiles ended up? What goes up must go down and all that. People have been injured and even killed when some bozo cranks off a few shots into the air on July 4th or New Years Day; would police bullets somehow be different? We regularly see hissy fits here when the police have to defend themselves in a shootout and accidently hit a bystander, and yet it’s okay to launch a bunch of projectiles into the air with no regard for where they’re going to come down—?

And how effective would it be? I am a good rifle shot, but based on the video I saw, it would be as much luck as skill to hit a drone flying erratically. Does anyone criticizing the UK police know if the drones were in shotgun range? As was already mentioned, the vulnerable area was very large; would police vehicles running up and down runways with shooters hanging off the sides replace the old Keystone Cops movies?

If some cooler (smarter) heads decide that shooting isn’t such a good idea, then what? How many U.S. police agencies have devices designed to jam drone control signals? I didn’t even know they existed, but as I understand it, the police there had some sort of device that should have worked against most commercial drones, and it was only after it wasn’t effective that the military had to be called in. Do we have similar equipment stored in the basement of every police station in this country ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice wherever something like this happens?

There is a shortage of people who can resolve novel emergency situations with the snap or two of a finger, and if you’re one of them, I urge you to get out there and start protecting the rest of us who just have to muddle through.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
The two persons arrested have been released without charge. The man is a r/c plane fan, and has a couple of little drones that he flies around in the back yard. The wife is not interested in his 'toys'.

In other words, These aren't the drones they were looking for.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

In other words, These aren't the drones they were looking for.

confusing situation

like Tac wrote, Paul Gait and wife Elaine Kirk have been released after 36 hours.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/...ldier-reveals-agony/

Forensic officers spent yesterday combing through their home and vehicles looking for potential evidence.

Sussex Police Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley said: “Both people have fully co-operated with our enquiries and I am satisfied that they are no longer suspects in the drone incidents at Gatwick.

“Our inquiry continues at a pace to locate those responsible for the drone incursions, and we continue to actively follow lines of investigation.

As the culprit remains at large four days after the attacks, police have been criticised for their "appalling investigation".

Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley said there was "no available footage and they are relying on witness accounts."

Asked about speculation if there was never a drone, he said: "Of course, that's a possibility. We are working with human beings saying they have seen something."

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https://www.afp.com/en/news/15...ne-chaos-doc-1bt1c91

"Both people have fully cooperated with our enquiries and I am satisfied that they are no longer suspects in the drone incidents at Gatwick," said Sussex Police detective chief superintendent Jason Tingley.

"We are not back to square one," he said, adding that officers were looking at "persons of interest".

He said that the detectives were investigating 67 reports of drone sightings from the public, police officers and airport staff.

They were also conducting a forensic examination of the damaged drone found near the airport perimeter, close to the last reported sighting location, Tingley said.

Asked about speculation that there never was a drone over the airport, he said: "Of course, that's a possibility. We are working with human beings saying they have seen something."

He added: "Our inquiry continues at a pace to locate those responsible for the drone incursions."

So now social terrorists can make their anti-capitalism point jut by programming a quadcopter to disrupt flight paths.
I'm willing to wager this was just a test.

Did anyone actually see- Photograph the Drone?

quote:

Police defend Gatwick drone investigation as they refuse to rule out theory that it never existed

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ne...-have-gatwick-drone/

So how can they call it a drone attack if they are not sure that there was even a drone involved. It could have been someone new getting one for Christmas and a neighbor didn't like him hovering it in the neighborhood. Lets take a breathe and see what the results are before exclaiming an attack.

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
Did anyone actually see- Photograph the Drone?

quote:

Police defend Gatwick drone investigation as they refuse to rule out theory that it never existed

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ne...-have-gatwick-drone/

Now THAT would be funny!

With everyone's phones and airport video systems, I find it hard to believe that there is no video IF it did in fact happen.