Gatwick Drone ‘Attack’

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

They won't get shot down until they have located the perps.

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

The RSPCA have vetoed any attempts to shoot it down due to the risk of injuring the reindeer.

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

It would make finding the operator easier to spot because he would be red and white.

[Chris TriceParticipant @christrice43267]

Posted by Cornish Jack on 20/12/2018 18:31:00:

On another forum they have reached 56 pages!!!! on this item, so far Very few of the posters offer anything other than banning manufacture, buying , selling, flying etc. as possible remedies. One or two saner souls understand the utter futility of any such efforts, in the same way that the answer to 5000 DEATHS on British roads EACH YEAR would logically be to BAN the motor car. These things exist. Bad guys and standard human idiots exist! Banning the latter would be MUCH more effective.

My viewpoint may seem uncaring of what is thought to be the 'problem' – Kites have been in existence for hundreds of years; I was brought to earth by one such, wrapping its string around the main and tail rotor hubs of our helicopter such that the pitchchange rods were bent like bananas … quite lucky to walk away from it. These things happen. I would not suggest that kites should be banned and I would suggest that a little less 'hysterical' commentary and a more pragmatic assessment by the aviation world would avoid the nonsensical scenes being enacted at Gatwick at the moment.

rgds

Bill

Except at very close range, a kite is not effectively steered to a precise position to cause damage. In theory, all commercial drones sold are required by law to include no fly zones programmed into their GPS systems by the manufacturer which includes airport exclusion zones along with military bases and government buildings dictated by the home countries security services.

[Chris TriceParticipant @christrice43267]

On a lighter note, drones are great ways to deal with wasp and hornet nests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIcDsRSilnQ

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Edited By V8Eng on 20/12/2018 20:38:13

Edited By V8Eng on 20/12/2018 20:38:51

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Posted by Chris Trice on 20/12/2018 19:14:22:

On a lighter note, drones are great ways to deal with wasp and hornet nests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIcDsRSilnQ

You mean the nest gets closed till the drone pilot gets caught !!!!!!

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

Posted by Ady1 on 20/12/2018 18:07:29:

It'll be the government and the CIA trying to get drones banned in Britain

 

They won't ban them – that would be unreasonable. They'll just limit the maximum altitude to 150mm and the range to 1500mm, with those figures halved if within 100km of a government establishment.

 

 

Martin.

Edited By blowlamp on 20/12/2018 20:56:43

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

Straight after watching that story on the morning news they had another story of how drones can be used in a positive way – they were using them to fly in medicine to remote areas in Vanuatu. I can see things being strictly controlled and you will have to have a licence to buy one . The problem is once programmed top end units fly themselves so easy for a neanderthal to operate not like an rc plane or chopper that takes skill and concentration to fly and you are limited with radio power .

Edited By XD 351 on 20/12/2018 21:18:59

[vintage engineerParticipant @vintageengineer]

I reckon it's the Russians testing the effects of economic warfare.

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Mr Grayling said the government was now looking to "go further" with drone-control, including considering age-limits for users.

I don’t somehow think that will really worry somebody who is already prepared to ignore laws, probably will just inconvenience legit users even more.

[D.A.GodleyParticipant @d-a-godley]

Didn’t I hear that Amazon were going to use drones to deliver goods , perhaps they got the wrong postcode , and it can’t decide whether to dump it over the fence , or return it to the depot ? .

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

Posted by D.A.G. on 20/12/2018 22:18:38:

Didn’t I hear that Amazon were going to use drones to deliver goods , perhaps they got the wrong postcode , and it can’t decide whether to dump it over the fence , or return it to the depot ? .

Perhaps it's an engine part for a 747 but no one will sign for it.

[Adam StevensonParticipant @adamstevenson91624]

They navy didn't bother about this drone, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-40910087

Edited By Adam Stevenson on 21/12/2018 00:52:00

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by blowlamp on 20/12/2018 20:54:00:

Posted by Ady1 on 20/12/2018 18:07:29:

It'll be the government and the CIA trying to get drones banned in Britain

They won't ban them – that would be unreasonable. They'll just limit the maximum altitude to 150mm and the range to 1500mm, with those figures halved if within 100km of a government establishment.

Martin.

Edited By blowlamp on 20/12/2018 20:56:43

As well as compulsory licensing for all users and a tripling of the current cost (£1079) – annually.

It's not as if such an astronomical increase in yet another avenue of taxation would be regarded by most people as anything other than business as usual for whichever side happens to govern us these days.

[Barnaby WildeParticipant @barnabywilde70941]

I'm putting my money on it being a protest by environMENTALists.

There's more than 1 drone & the take off/landing & control positions are mobile.

If they haven't gone to ground then there's a good chance they'll relocate to another airfield.

They want to cause disruption, if it were terrorists then I don't feel they could resist causing a bang.

This is the time of year when this disruption will have the most effect & the peak of this time comes at the weekend.

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Economic warefare is the future.. whether it's hacking sensitive information and using that to DDOS attacks or the sort of simple drone approach.. or even simpler still if you have a bunch of guys dropping bricks off motorway bridges or shining lasers at drivers. Drone use at prisons is one thing .. but a few dropping into crowds at football matches or concerts even without a malicious payload would cause a nice panic. or even as simple as needles in strawberries. Constantly switching tactics leaves gov playing catch-up which they are generally hopeless at. It doesn't have to be an expensive quadcopter drone.. a simpler fixed wing remote jobbie flown into a crowd will do.

[Barnaby WildeParticipant @barnabywilde70941]

Posted by pgk pgk on 21/12/2018 07:45:35:

Economic warefare is the future..

I've always thought that quite a lot of our alleged terrorist incidents are false flag events & those that are genuine have totally the wrong approach.

Westminster, inside its ring of steel, doesn't much care if the population feels terrorised as much as it doesn't care that old folk don't feel safe going out at night.

Why walk into a crowded area with a backpack full of homebrewed explosives when you can bring the transport network to a standstill with very little effort & very little risk.

The future is going to be full of these incidents & it will be protestors & not terrorists as the main culprits.

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember32069]

[This posting has been removed]

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Barrie Lever 1 on 21/12/2018 08:39:53:

I have often wondered why terrorists etc do not use more of these tactics.

Probably because they don't instill terror in the population.

Being miffed at the inconvenience of disrupted Christmas plans is not the same thing as fearing for your life. I guess that makes the drone pilots mifferists. No 72 virgins awaiting them in heaven.

 

Edited By Hopper on 21/12/2018 09:18:15

Edited By Hopper on 21/12/2018 09:21:47

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Working in education I reckon it is a disgruntled teacher – If they can't go away until Friday night why should their pupils skive off on Wednesday and fly away to somewhere warm!

Not that I am bitter – and I don't live near Gatwick either!

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

As I understand it the problem could have been dealt with earlier.. as soon as the relevant H&S assessment forms had been filled in but then there was the issue of environmental impact studies and speculationas to the exact nature and make up of the vehicle. That was when someone suggested the pilot was a direct descendant of one of the orignal tribes of Gatwick whereupon a whole new study regarding cultural insensitivity had to be convened. This was abandoned for a major investigation after it was alleged that someone had mouthed that the pilot was stupid and they felt it necessary to determine the actual and identified gender of said pilot. All waiting passengers are being interrogated in case any of them have used harsh words during this 'time of crisis' 'new class of threat' 'unpredictable incident' .
The truth is out there… the increase in traffic via Le Shuttle as a result of Gatwick stalling points directly to M Macron trying to recover costs towards Yellow Vest damage in Paris.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Mick Charity on 21/12/2018 05:31:54:

I'm putting my money on it being a protest by environMENTALists.

A possibility that some fruit loops have done it, but wouldn't they be more likely to be targeting Heathrow and its third runway?

Neil (Chartered Environmentalist – Chartered Engineers moan about all the other folk claiming to be 'engineers' so I am going to moan about being lumped with eco-morons!)

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

Wait until you get hit with a drone control levy ! Do you honestly think the government is going to pay for it !

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

How many weeks before kneejerk legislation is passed and drones are banned from sale and all owners have to hand them in for destruction? As usual the innocent will suffer and the criminals will carry on. Hurry up and get your winter scene drone photos and get the last drone race event in before it’s too late. Drones have a multitude of valuable uses and it would be a shame to stifle innovative opportunities because of a few malicious idiots.

Mike

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