[Travel] Drones spotted at LGW.

Herr Tubthumper · Dec 20, 2018

Bold Seagull said:
If they miss, where do you think the bullet goes?

It’s the same principle for armed police in every other scenario though.

As an aside,I’m not aware of any other major airports having such problems. What’s different? This seems such a simple amd easy thing for anyone to do....so why hasn’t it occurred elsewhere? Do other airports/nations do anything differently?

beorhthelm · Dec 20, 2018

Brok said:
Hmmm... I assume, these days, that the technology is there to remotely operate these things from hundreds of miles away. Fly it back to some rented garage, onto a charger, and back out the next night...
Apparently the reason they don't shoot it down is because the bullets could end up anywhere. Really?

i think it may also be fscking difficult to hit one at any sort of range.

Chinman3000 · Dec 20, 2018

Bold Seagull said:
If they miss, where do you think the bullet goes?

If they use a shotgun, many very small very light harmless little steel balls scatter over an area. Not dangerous to anyone.

I suppose it does depend how high its flying as to whether a shotgun could be used as its range is maybe 150 feet max

Nottseagull · Dec 20, 2018

rogersix said:
re-read toots

Now you're just wasting people's time.

Icy Gull · Dec 20, 2018

The logistics of getting everyone where they are going and coming from after so many cancellations and diversions is mind boggling to me. Flights are full this time of year so where are the additional flights to get people where they are scheduled to go coming from?

Algernon · Dec 20, 2018

How can someone still be doing this?
Started at 9 last night (ish) I think and still yanking the Airport/Police's chain 18 hours (ish) later.
The net must be closing in but I think if I was doing this I'd maybe fly it for long enough to get my point across and then bugger off before getting caught.
18hrs is showing either dedication or stupidity.

Napper · Dec 20, 2018

could a drone even bring a plane down ? worst case would be an engine malfunction much like a large bird could do. In those instances the plane just lands with its other engines. Seems a bit over the top

Icy Gull · Dec 20, 2018

Napper said:
could a drone even bring a plane down ? worst case would be an engine malfunction much like a large bird could do. In those instances the plane just lands with its other engines. Seems a bit over the top

Can I not be on one of those flights please

surrey jim · Dec 20, 2018

Napper said:
could a drone even bring a plane down ? worst case would be an engine malfunction much like a large bird could do. In those instances the plane just lands with its other engines. Seems a bit over the top

Id rather not be on the plane while this is tested. Nor would I like to be the person who authorized flights to land/take off if there was a drone/plane collision and major incident.

Napper · Dec 20, 2018

7pm now

Herr Tubthumper · Dec 20, 2018

Algernon said:
How can someone still be doing this?
Started at 9 last night (ish) I think and still yanking the Airport/Police's chain 18 hours (ish) later.
The net must be closing in but I think if I was doing this I'd maybe fly it for long enough to get my point across and then bugger off before getting caught.
18hrs is showing either dedication or stupidity.

It does seem a bit odd that this cat-and-mouse game is still going on. And I find it hard to believe the police can’t shoot the thing down, or jam it somehow. If you can shoot Brazilian electricians on a busy train you can surely fire a bullet at drone? And as I’ve said before this threat has been around for ages and is applicable to all airports...why hasn’t it happened elsewhere? Lots of questions?

Deportivo Seagull · Dec 20, 2018

Napper said:
could a drone even bring a plane down ? worst case would be an engine malfunction much like a large bird could do. In those instances the plane just lands with its other engines. Seems a bit over the top

A bird strike on an engine by a bird the size of a drone will destroy the engine. At best it will flame out, at worse it will explode. Losing an engine on take off or landing is not for the faint hearted. Losing an engine which then explodes and damages the wing is a catastrophic.

If the drone hits the leading edge and damages the various flaps then that will also lead to serious problems during either take off or landing.

amexer · Dec 20, 2018

Surely somebody has spotted drones after they have left the airport

Westdene Seagull · Dec 20, 2018

Tom Hark said:
What's the betting it'll be some manchild who lives with his mum and relies on the tried and trusted 'autistic spectrum' defence in court?

Jamie ?

Deportivo Seagull · Dec 20, 2018

Herr Tubthumper said:
It does seem a bit odd that this cat-and-mouse game is still going on. And I find it hard to believe the police can’t shoot the thing down, or jam it somehow. If you can shoot Brazilian electricians on a busy train you can surely fire a bullet at drone? ?

The concern with shooting the thing down is that if you miss the round has to come down somewhere. If it hits someone that there is a good chance that they (and there families) won’t be celebrating Christmas.

Hampden Park · Dec 20, 2018

Deportivo Seagull said:
A bird strike on an engine by a bird the size of a drone will destroy the engine. At best it will flame out, at worse it will explode. Losing an engine on take off or landing is not for the faint hearted. Losing an engine which then explodes and damages the wing is a catastrophic.

If the drone hits the leading edge and damages the various flaps then that will also lead to serious problems during either take off or landing.

wise words from a real WAFU :salute:

Bold Seagull · Dec 20, 2018

Herr Tubthumper said:
It’s the same principle for armed police in every other scenario though.

As an aside,I’m not aware of any other major airports having such problems. What’s different? This seems such a simple amd easy thing for anyone to do....so why hasn’t it occurred elsewhere? Do other airports/nations do anything differently?

It isn't as it happens. Armed police are generally shooting at a target from above or horizontally, they can make a risk assessment of where any bullets will end up - that is an essential part of their training assessing the background. A bullet travelling horizontally will generally hit something or travel about 2000metres. Shooting upward, you have absolutely no idea where the trajectory will take a bullet, they can reach 10,000ft and wind means they can go anywhere. A falling bullet from height when it reaches its terminal velocity still has the potential to kill.

Bold Seagull · Dec 20, 2018

Chinman3000 said:
If they use a shotgun, many very small very light harmless little steel balls scatter over an area. Not dangerous to anyone.

I suppose it does depend how high its flying as to whether a shotgun could be used as its range is maybe 150 feet max

Yeah agree, but I doubt these are flying low enough for the police to get their pump actions out.

Cowfold Seagull · Dec 20, 2018

Deportivo Seagull said:
The concern with shooting the thing down is that if you miss the round has to come down somewhere. If it hits someone that there is a good chance that they (and there families) won’t be celebrating Christmas.

Obviously.

Nottseagull · Dec 20, 2018

Napper said:
could a drone even bring a plane down ? worst case would be an engine malfunction much like a large bird could do. In those instances the plane just lands with its other engines. Seems a bit over the top

I also think it's a bit OTT. If there's only one drone I'd have thought the chances of it entering an engine are about as low as a goose doing soon.

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