near miss with military helicopter

AlanTheBeast · May 28, 2017

sar104 said:
<snipped>
But, since the fuselage is positioned such that only around one half the length of a rotor blade extends ahead of it, the time that an incoming Phantom would be exposed to the downforce before striking the aircraft would be roughly one quarter of the estimate above - i.e. 0.05 s. In that time the deflection will be around 7 cm. Barely noticeable - it's still hitting the windshield.

I'll add to that that the rotor cone is tilted forward in forward flight so the drone may very well strike the rotor blades as well. Windshield? You also have engine inlets, the nose, wheels area above the cabin and rotor mast...

AlanTheBeast · May 28, 2017

sar104 said:
The issue, with a military helicopter, is likely not that there is any chance of bringing it down but rather the trouble that you will get into if you collide with one.

I suspect it was a training flight (aka VIP pickup) flight out of JW - "we struck a bird, sir, this is not the investigation you are looking for."

NRJ · May 28, 2017

AlanTheBeast said:
@NRJ I've been considering setting my altitude limit at 100' higher than the legal height for the same reasons. Another axis of freedom if needed. I haven't so far. To be sure, in Sport mode the P4P and MP both haul some pretty impressive vertical *** (nearly 1000' / minute in S mode for the MP or P4P in P mode; 1180'/minute for the P4P in S mode).

If a helo pilot is tooling along and sees a drone he would most likely climb to the right. Less likely dive to the right.

So perhaps the best thing for a drone operator to do (if heading towards the helo) would be to dive to the right since he'd be more likely to climb to your left. In doubt, go down.

You make a good point, but in all reality, it depends on the situation. Best though to be able to climb if that need be the case. I like to keep all options open. Thanks for your input.

sar104 · May 28, 2017

Crack The Sky said:
You're awesome! My 93 year old Italian Mother would say, "you could have been something!"....

Thank you. Nothing particularly clever there, but I tend to get intrigued when I see people write "it's physics, but I'm not going to try to explain it to you", and then go on to make entirely incorrect statements. One of the great things about physics is the way that even the simplest High School physics concepts can shed light on real-world situations. It's remarkable what you can do with Newton's three laws and a little basic calculus.

LeakyBrain · Jun 1, 2017

Crack The Sky said:
1.Corona Del Mar beach is less then (5) miles from Orange County (SNA) airport and you are required to report to the controlling agency prior to conducting your flight. If you had, the chopper would most likely have been notified of your location, and been looking for you.
2. Depending on where you were on Corona Del Mar beach, you may have been in SNA Class C - SURFACE to 4400 MSL Controlled airspace.
3. Relying on a lifeguard, (or police), to tell you "it is perfectly legal" to fly is a mistake.
4. Note to a lot of you on here: Quit using your apps to check airspace and learn to read an FAA Sectional Chart.
Here is where you were flying. I am happy to assist you in determining the airspace requirements.
VFRMAP - Digital Aeronautical Charts

Certainly gotta keep your head on a swivel flying along the coastlines here in OC, but Arch Rock is beyond 5 miles of SNA.

Crack The Sky · Jun 1, 2017

LeakyBrain said:
Certainly gotta keep your head on a swivel flying along the coastlines here in OC, But he was beyond 5 miles of SNA.

According to my calculations, he was less then (5) miles from SNA.

LeakyBrain · Jun 1, 2017

AlanTheBeast said:
I suspect it was a training flight (aka VIP pickup) flight out of JW - "we struck a bird, sir, this is not the investigation you are looking for."

Live and fly here at the OC coast. Military aircraft constantly flying up and down the coast. Along with everything else imaginable.