Drones.

badtoro · 21-12-2018 9:38am

dense wrote: »

whiskeyman wrote: »

Don't think we're hearing the full story here.
Even if it is industrial drones, surely would be easier to track?

And if any groups wished to bring the whole country to a standstill, they just need to get their hands on a few more for Heathrow, Standsted and other major airports.

It shows how simple it could be.
We could just make them illegal. Like guns. And drugs.

The criminals would have to not use them then.....

Guns aren't illegal.

Deebles McBeebles · 21-12-2018 10:01am

I prefer when drones are used for good.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46616004

Wanderer78 · 21-12-2018 10:03am

Deebles McBeebles wrote:

I prefer when drones are used for good.

Tis a lovely spot Vanuatu

Deebles McBeebles · 21-12-2018 10:38am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Tis a lovely spot Vanuatu

Grand spot for a bit of fishing.

ednwireland · 21-12-2018 10:43am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSafRuLB0c0

cursai · 21-12-2018 10:45am

dark crystal wrote: »

My partner and son are supposed to be flying into Gatwick tomorrow to spend Christmas with his family. I hope this d*ckhead is thwarted before then :mad:

Who? Your partner or his son?

alan1963 · 21-12-2018 2:23pm

Ok gonna play devils advocate a bit here,
IF the people flying the drones are apprehended, they will no doubt face substantial jail terms,but IF they turn out to be environmental activists and the reason for this action was to draw attention to the massive amounts of greenhouse gasses created,world wide by aviation. Then maybe,just maybe, in 100 years from now they will be seen as Heroes, and martyrs.
similar to the suffragettes, or even the 1916 rebels. 100 years ago from now.

goat2 · 21-12-2018 2:45pm

Watching a news channel last night,
A person said that that drone could be operated from another country, is this true, I don't know anything about drones, but I have seen them at weddings and events, they are a great idea for that and also for surveillance on law breaking and such,

thomil · 21-12-2018 4:05pm

goat2 wrote: »

Watching a news channel last night,
A person said that that drone could be operated from another country, is this true

Military grade drones can be operated that way alright. That's how the US are doing it, most of their drones are operated from control stations back in the states. However, you'd likely need a drone fitted with a satellite antenna, which is still pretty bulky. The drones suspected in the Gatwick incident require a direct line of sight between the control unit and the actual drone, as do all drones available for private use. I suppose you could remotely connect to a computer or tablet that has a line of sight connection with a drone, but that would probably be a pain to set up.

Plus, speaking as a devil's advocate here, it would actually make the whole thing easier to track down. An "on scene" operator could easily move to another location if the authorities are getting to close for comfort, something that a "fixed" setup would not be able to do.

tuxy · 21-12-2018 4:21pm

thomil wrote: »

The drones suspected in the Gatwick incident require a direct line of sight between the control unit and the actual drone, as do all drones available for private use.

Are you sure about this?
I just did a quick search on DJI drones and people were saying although they know it's illegal to fly out of line of sight in the US law they do it all the time.

Also many of these drones support way path mode where you have pre planned flight paths programmed in.

Deebles McBeebles · 21-12-2018 4:43pm

tuxy wrote: »

Are you sure about this?
I just did a quick search on DJI drones and people were saying although they know it's illegal to fly out of line of sight in the US law they do it all the time.

Also many of these drones support way path mode where you have pre planned flight paths programmed in.

Its fairly common for private use drones to have an FPV screen on the controller, allowing you to see what the drone sees, so allowing you to fly out of sight. I have one myself.

I wasn't around Gatwick, promise.

MrMusician18 · 21-12-2018 4:53pm

alan1963 wrote: »

Ok gonna play devils advocate a bit here,
IF the people flying the drones are apprehended, they will no doubt face substantial jail terms,but IF they turn out to be environmental activists and the reason for this action was to draw attention to the massive amounts of greenhouse gasses created,world wide by aviation. Then maybe,just maybe, in 100 years from now they will be seen as Heroes, and martyrs.
similar to the suffragettes, or even the 1916 rebels. 100 years ago from now.

If it was a group of activists, you'd think they'd take responsibility to ensure that their cause is associated with the coverage of this event.

I think it's more likely to simply be mischief making by sometime disgruntled with Gatwick or an outside state actor.

Zorya · 21-12-2018 6:32pm

The drones are back at Gatwick, I just heard. It's kind of mad.

Atoms for Peace · 21-12-2018 6:39pm

:cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kM7hlPFU4g

kneemos · 21-12-2018 6:41pm

Zorya wrote: »

The drones are back at Gatwick, I just heard. It's kind of mad.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2018/dec/21/gatwick-drone-airport-limited-flights-live

Mars Bar · 21-12-2018 6:43pm

Again? If it's not someone with sinister intentions then it's some selfish prick with too much time on their hands.

I'm flying to Dublin via Turkey tonight so I hope no other nutjobs get ideas in to their thick skulls.

LionelNashe · 21-12-2018 6:45pm

JMNolan wrote: »

There is no ordinary drone that can harm an airplane. Like Met Eireann and their weather warnings, this was a complete overreaction.

A tree (or a branch) fell on a 9-year-old child during the latest weather warning, & there was at least one weather warning that people were complaining about in the last 18 months in which somebody was killed in their car by a falling branch. You can decide yourself what level of risk you want to take, but all Met Eireann are doing is putting the information out there.

CrowdedHouse · 21-12-2018 7:04pm

Would a drone stop them annoying small planes - you know the ones that make noise like an out of tune Honda 50....asking for a friend...

dark crystal · 21-12-2018 7:32pm

Back again: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6519109/Gatwick-runway-reopens-flights-resume-amid-drone-chaos-MoD-deploys-specialist-equipment.html

FFS :mad:

kneemos · 21-12-2018 7:35pm

dark crystal wrote: »

Back again: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6519109/Gatwick-runway-reopens-flights-resume-amid-drone-chaos-MoD-deploys-specialist-equipment.html

FFS :mad:

Nabbed someone I reackon.

dark crystal · 21-12-2018 7:40pm

kneemos wrote: »

Nabbed someone I reackon.

I really hope so Kneemos, little fella is having conniptions here. Supposed to be flying in to see his grandparents for the first Christmas in five years.

Whatever bollix is doing this needs a good hiding.

Discodog · 21-12-2018 8:22pm

dark crystal wrote: »

I really hope so Kneemos, little fella is having conniptions here. Supposed to be flying in to see his grandparents for the first Christmas in five years.

Whatever bollix is doing this needs a good hiding.

Yes but they have highlighted the problem before a terrorist group use it.

Effects · 21-12-2018 9:05pm

thomil wrote: »

The drones suspected in the Gatwick incident require a direct line of sight between the control unit and the actual drone, as do all drones available for private use.

You don't need line of sight. It just gives you a stronger signal.

MonkieSocks · 22-12-2018 7:05pm

goat2 · 23-12-2018 5:15pm

They did interview two, and they are released without charge

Muahahaha · 23-12-2018 7:30pm

goat2 wrote: »

They did interview two, and they are released without charge

Seen that earlier, the couple who were arrested have been ruled out as suspects for flying the drone. I feel pity for the two of them, their details were leaked to the media and all the tabloids had their pictures on their front pages on Thursday pointing the finger at them. Not a nice thing to happen anyone.

Does anyone know what the range for signal is on one of these drones?

igCorcaigh · 23-12-2018 8:11pm

Oh hell's bells.

https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1076917050130554881?s=19

Kirby · 23-12-2018 9:24pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Seen that earlier, the couple who were arrested have been ruled out as suspects for flying the drone. I feel pity for the two of them, their details were leaked to the media and all the tabloids had their pictures on their front pages on Thursday pointing the finger at them. Not a nice thing to happen anyone.

Does anyone know what the range for signal is on one of these drones?

Something you buy pre-built and ready to fly from a shop? About 1km. With some modifcation to the transmitter you can go as far as 4km. But you will lose video signal before you hit that range and unless you are flying by GPS, it'll crash. They have at most 30 minutes of flight time too and often have inbuilt restrictions on where you can fly and how high you can go.

And you will pay a grand for that unless you got for a chinese knockoff. Like with Computers, it's cheaper to built it yourself. If you buy store bought, you pay a premium. And store bought means restrictions.

For example, if you buy a popular quad from DJI like a phantom or Mavic, you wouldn't be able to fly it near an airport. It simply won't start up as it knows its in restricted airspace.

However, it sounds like the type of "drone" used here was custom built which means it can fly where its user wants, as high as they want, and at longer ranges....for longer.

People have built small planes with solar panels on them that recharge the battery in the air....and planes can glide which quadcopters can't which means they can stay in the air much longer. There is a lad on youtube who built one and kept it in the air for 8 hours before he got bored.

My point being, the type of eco terrorist people to do this aren't your typical "drone" enthusiasts. They didn't buy off the shelf. "Drone" laws will have no effect on things like this happening again.

dense · 23-12-2018 9:29pm

2 suspects arrested have been released.

Police saying there may have been no drone.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6524457/Police-continue-quiz-double-glazing-worker-Gatwick-drone.html

Collie D · 23-12-2018 9:34pm

dense wrote: »

2 suspects arrested have been released.

Police saying there may have been no drone.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6524457/Police-continue-quiz-double-glazing-worker-Gatwick-drone.html

The Mail has some neck criticising the police for the arrest after their earlier headlines.

dense · 23-12-2018 9:47pm

Collie D wrote: »

The Mail has some neck criticising the police for the arrest after their earlier headlines.

Nah, the police don't have a clue about this.
How could they? Arrest someone on an alleged tip off after receiving reports alleging a drone was seen near an airport.

Now they're allegedly saying there may have been no drone to begin with?

The police cannot win in these situations.

That doesn't mean they can't be criticised either.

They have now apparently found a drone.....

Just no idea if it is the actual one that might not have existed.

Muahahaha · 23-12-2018 10:59pm

Kirby wrote: »

However, it sounds like the type of "drone" used here was custom built which means it can fly where its user wants, as high as they want, and at longer ranges....for longer.

People have built small planes with solar panels on them that recharge the battery in the air....and planes can glide which quadcopters can't which means they can stay in the air much longer. There is a lad on youtube who built one and kept it in the air for 8 hours before he got bored.

My point being, the type of eco terrorist people to do this aren't your typical "drone" enthusiasts. They didn't buy off the shelf. "Drone" laws will have no effect on things like this happening again.

Thats interesting, thanks for the info.

Would it be possible to build a custom drone and program it to go on a certain flight path using GPS without the need for a pilot at all?

Drones.

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