Seeing a Drone from an aircraft in a real world application

BigAl07

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I just saw this video and think it sheds a very good light on what really happens when flying low in the air in an aircraft:

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Also it puts a rather large BS stamp on the massive # of Drone sightings around the nation as of recent. I'm not saying they are all bogus but I am saying I think many of them are either totally "convenient" or completely in error.

Thoughts?
 
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Well I agree but the argument is going to be that these are special cases where the drone is above and on a fast closing vector rather than below.
 
Well I agree but the argument is going to be that these are special cases where the drone is above and on a fast closing vector rather than below.
No the drone "appears" to be above the aircraft only because it's closer to the camera than the aircraft. In each instance the manned aircraft is at 250' and the drone was at 100'.

If I misunderstood your statement I apologize in advance :)
 
I just saw this video and think it sheds a very good light on what really happens when flying low in the air in an aircraft:

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Also it puts a rather large BS stamp on the massive # of Drone sightings around the nation as of recent. I'm not saying they are all bogus but I am saying I think many of them are either totally "convenient" or completely in error.

Thoughts?

Well the AMA already put kind of a big BS stamp on the findings of the FAA report on "close calls" - In any case - the point of the video is well taken that if you are in an area of low flying aircraft that isn't a NFS, you have to be extra careful. It doesn't surprise me, in the least, that these things are hard to spot by an airplane or helicopter. Heck in some conditions it's hard for me to spot my drone if I take my eye off of it and I know basically were it is!!

Anyway - interesting video
 
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No problem. Maybe I was confused. The on screen writing said the Drone was below, at 100 ft, and a the Aircraft above at 250'. Later, the on screen said crop dusters and heli pilots are looking down at the ground. Not up. That, and the visual clues, made me think that maybe the first comment was wrong. Kind of confusing
 
Planes are tested to be able to hit a large bird like geese, ducks etc... hell even the seagulls in my area are like 3+ kg! I swear some of them even have tattoos....

There is far more chance of a plane being hit by a dumb bird than a dumb drone operator.... fact...
 
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Planes are tested to be able to hit a large bird like geese, ducks etc... hell even the seagulls in my area are like 3+ kg! I swear some of them even have tattoos....

There is far more chance of a plane being hit by a dumb bird than a dumb drone operator.... fact...

I can assure you that a seagull will not create anything near similar damage that a bulky Lipo battery would up against a wind screen. I'm not saying the damage would be catastrophic but I'm not saying it wouldn't. I am saying I wouldn't be willing to take the chance with my own life or someone else's. Would you?

Also, are any of those pictures of plane / aircraft damage from the result of hitting a drone?

:rolleyes:
To my knowledge none. So far I don't know of any "real" documented damage from a legit drone strike upon a manned aircraft.
 
Kind of ironic that the test was to show that drone fliers need to stay away from planes because pilots can't see them but it also calls BS on pilots reporting seeing drones.
 
Good food for thought on both ends.
 
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I have a friend who was flying in their normal rural area and a crop duster came up on him seemingly from nowhere. At this time of year there is usually no crop dusters in the area so it really surprised him. He later talked to the pilot who said they never saw the drone at all. Be careful out there.

As far as the video here the text said the UAV would be lower than the full scale but the video showed the full scale under the UAV's... it doesn't seem to be perspective as they said the pilots neglected to look up to see the UAV's.

Here is a video from a few years back of full scale a biplane hitting an RC plane. The full-scale keep right on going. There was apparently a miscommunication at the field and the full scale was not expecting the RC on the runway.

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Kind of ironic that the test was to show that drone fliers need to stay away from planes because pilots can't see them but it also calls BS on pilots reporting seeing drones.
IMHO it gives those people more credibility as they are not biased (at least not extremely) to one side or the other.

Yes that RC plane impacted the manned airplane but if you'll notice it was minimal and none of the majorly heavy/dense components of the RC plane came into play. It was just "wood & covering" which is a blessing. Heavy airplane to balsa and light ply RC plane = equals nice show but same airplane ramming into the gas motor of the RC plane might have dire effects.

Odds are that an impact with an airplane and say a "Phantom" would end up similar in the same situation but there are many scenarios where it might not play out so well for everyone involved.
 
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Planes are tested to be able to hit a large bird like geese, ducks etc... hell even the seagulls in my area are like 3+ kg! I swear some of them even have tattoos....

There is far more chance of a plane being hit by a dumb bird than a dumb drone operator.... fact...

I am not sure what you are talking about. There has been tests of companies shooting frozen birds to certain airplane's windscreen to see what happens, but there is no required test that all aircrafts must pass such test. Specially not the case with general aviation aircrafts which are the kind that you are most likely to find flying at low altitudes.
 
Also, are any of those pictures of plane / aircraft damage from the result of hitting a drone?

:rolleyes:

I can pretty much guarantee that the first confirmed drone strike on an aircraft will be on that evening's national news on all the major networks. Then there will be two impacts. The first being the drone/plane, the second when the chit hits the fan.
 
Picture this. Plane hits drone. LiPo punctures, explodes into flame. Damage or not the drama will be amplified a million fold.
 
The odds of an airplane hitting a drone are so minute, you'll most likely only see some stupid movie reenactment of it.
I have been saying all along that I have my doubts about how many "drone reports" are real. Especially in commercial jets where the viewing angle is very limited.
Its like driving a car and noticing a bumble bee on the road.
 
Picture this. Plane hits drone. LiPo punctures, explodes into flame. Damage or not the drama will be amplified a million fold.
Typically LiPo's do not explode. The off-gas.That gas can sometimes erupt into flames, but not always.
 
Never good thing to fly in vicinity of manned aircraft without their knowledge and consent. Trouble is, low flying AC can be on you before you know it, crops, vegetation, etc., tend to muffle things.

I’m confused by the video altitudes too? They said Quad@100ft and AC@250ft but then the remarks about not scanning above them? Doesn’t really matter, main thing is to use good judgement and be prepared to maneuver out of harms way at moments notice.

It’s a good awareness thing and believe it or not many manned AC pilots love flying RC too so I don’t think they’re out for lobbying more restrictions, as a whole.

Meanwhile, thank god for green lasers in the news churn…
 
Typically LiPo's do not explode. The off-gas.That gas can sometimes erupt into flames, but not always.
I was being Ironic!!!! But thanks for clearing that up for others. I guess I need to use more smilies or something [emoji1][emoji631][emoji41][emoji13][emoji79][emoji61][emoji85][emoji86][emoji87][emoji212][emoji191][emoji275][emoji274][emoji576][emoji576][emoji576][emoji576][emoji573]
 
.........I’m confused by the video altitudes too? They said Quad@100ft and AC@250ft but then the remarks about not scanning above them? ...................…


Do you not understand the concept of perspective? Or do you think simply because one part of the image is higher up in the frame than the rest, it must have a greater altitude?

2004-03-27+12-55-44+Parigi.JPG
 
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