Drones over gatwick..

[TheMightyTen]

Nice to meet a thinker rather than the majority here who just repeat what the BBC and their "experts" tell them. There is something highly peculiar with this story and I am NOT the only one to say this, Drones CAN NOT stay in the air for THAT amount of time even the expensive ones like the DJI Mavic Pro can only stay in the air for 27 mins and that’s with perfect weather conditions when in fact it was anything but , it was cold, damp and light mist in the air with "Some" rain.

Does being a "thinker" preclude you from reading comprehension then? or is because you prefer to live in a sad made up world you choose to ignore the fact that at no point has it been stated that the drone presence has been continuous

 

[Ocean Breeze]

It’s not drones it’s aliens..

 

[wolfie138]

all of which just says nothing about how it builds up on the blades.

 

[Testiculous]

Aliens with drones?

 

[Nexus]

Are there any pictures of the drone? I don't understand how this is still going on, unless it's some sort of long range custom beast.

Nope, the only footage at all is from a guy sat in a plane on the runway last night, which all the news agencies asked him for the footage for on Twitter which a lot of them then ran with.

However, it’s way too big and bright and quite clearly the Police helicopter, which was also confirmed by tracking the fact it was over the runway at the time.

 

[Werewolf]

Are there any pictures of the drone? I don't understand how this is still going on, unless it's some sort of long range custom beast.

Or whoever is doing it is using the same tactic RC modellers have used for decades to spend more than a few minutes at a time on their hobby.

Spare batteries/multiple complete units, and fast chargers.
Even back in the days of NiCad batteries and Tamiya RC cars it was normal to have more than one battery pack, and if you were planning on going anywhere for the day to use your kit you'd pack a fast charger.

 

[chillidog]

simple police sniper they would sort it

 

[wolfie138]

Nope, the only footage at all is from a guy sat in a plane on the runway last night, which all the news agencies asked him for the footage for on Twitter which a lot of them then ran with.

However, it’s way too big and bright and quite clearly the Police helicopter, which was also confirmed by tracking the fact it was over the runway at the time.

it's Rendlesham Forest all over again :-O

 

[Maccapacca]

simple police sniper they would sort it

It's awfully difficult to shoot a moving target with a single projectile freehand without a rest.

 

[slick rick]

I saw on the BBC that the police called it an 'industrial grade drone' or words to effect. Does that mean like a professional photography rig or something, a hex rotor with a DSLR gimbal for example?

 

[vanpeebles]

It's awfully difficult to shoot a moving target with a single projectile freehand without a rest.

What if they had just had a good sleep and lightly breakfasted?

 

[Tone1979]

It's really not as simple as you think. They move fast are hard to track visually, responding to them quickly enough in a helicopter is not always easy.
They can be transported by normal car, van or perhaps even motorbike and launched and charged on the go.
Good luck finding it with conventional means.

I have flown drones for 4 years.

It is.

 

[dpbadger]

https://defense-update.com/20180820_dronedome.html

Anti drone system ordered by UK military, meant to be here this year. I think it needs deploying.

 

[Kenai]

I saw on the BBC that the police called it an 'industrial grade drone' or words to effect. Does that mean like a professional photography rig or something, a hex rotor with a DSLR gimbal for example?

It just means the BBC are using meaningless buzzwords to make it more exciting.

Much like 'weapons grade novichok', in case people got confused with the novichok they could buy in Tesco.

 

[dowie]

Given the amount of disruption this is causing you'd think they'd invest in some countermeasures.

Also, re: battery life - they're probably not just toy drone/quad copter things from Argos! Could well be something knocked up in a shed by some hippie type who also flies RC planes as a hobby - if you were going to do something like this then you'd probably want something more like a powered glider that can stay in the air for a long period of time.

If it was just some small group in a van right by the airfield needing to replace batteries etc.. with some drone with a limited range then they'd probably have caught them already.

 

[Randomface74]

I think they're not shooting it on purpose coz they need to find the people doing it.
Otherwise what's stopping them getting some more drones and doing it again..

 

[Yadda]

It's awfully difficult to shoot a moving target with a single projectile freehand without a rest.

Damn right. It would have to be from a position above the drone too, so they don't accidentally shoot Mrs Smith's cat, 2 miles away. So, a sniper rifle with a powerful scope hitting a fast moving target smaller than a dinner plate from a helicopter.

Good luck with that!

 

[Minusorange]

This is all just so odd, surely the police helicopter should be able to track the drone and find the perps relatively easily ?

 

[Delvis]

God knows why the general public need these things.

Should only be available with an appropriate licence.

I fly my racer on the weekends, or at lunchtime.

No different than an RC car, or doing some other outside hobby.

 

[TheVoice]

This is all just so odd, surely the police helicopter should be able to track the drone and find the perps relatively easily ?

From what I've read so far it seems the drone(s) keep making intermittent appearances, by the time NPAS is up in the air it'll be gone again. They can't keep a police helicopter hovering overhead indefinitely.