Plane (apparently not) hit by drone at Heathrow.

[eflightray]

'Drones', do they make you want to climb a wall ?

Very clever --

**LINK**

Ray.

[Daithi O Buitigh]

Many years ago my youngest daughter had a helium filled Barney which got away from her and was last seen floating slowly upwards in the direction of Belfast City Airport. Now we did joke at the time of how an 'airmiss' report would read "I was passed by a flying purple dinosaur while on finals"

[Geoff S]

Posted by Daithi O Buitigh on 23/04/2016 12:03:35:

Many years ago my youngest daughter had a helium filled Barney which got away from her and was last seen floating slowly upwards in the direction of Belfast City Airport. Now we did joke at the time of how an 'airmiss' report would read "I was passed by a flying purple dinosaur while on finals"

Well I can certainly confirm that Rolls-Royce don't do any testing for purple dinosaur ingestion of their gas turbines

Geoff

[Shaun Clarke 4]

Fixed Wing V Drone,
I fly large scale R/C fixed wing Aircraft,
Where I fly is not very far from two major Airports,
BUT I fly for the buzz not too BUZZ.
The enjoyment I get from seeing my efforts in the environment they were meant to be in and doing so under my control is why I do it,
I LOVE MODEL FLYING !!!
Users of Drones (I am sorry I cannot bring myself to call them pilots) do so for very different reasons not the least appears to be to film and take photographs, not surprisingly the more action packed the better and that has the potential for disaster if only through low flying amongst moving objects to get "THAT" shot or picture.
I find it difficult to justify including these products within the model flying community,
Whilst model Helicopters can do most if not all that a drone can do, THEY require much greater skill from the pilot of a model helicopter and anyway his/her rationale for flying is quite different.
Shaun.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Posted by Shaun Clarke 4 on 23/04/2016 14:15:40:

Fixed Wing V Drone,
I fly large scale R/C fixed wing Aircraft,
Where I fly is not very far from two major Airports,
BUT I fly for the buzz not too BUZZ.
The enjoyment I get from seeing my efforts in the environment they were meant to be in and doing so under my control is why I do it,
I LOVE MODEL FLYING !!!
Users of Drones (I am sorry I cannot bring myself to call them pilots) do so for very different reasons not the least appears to be to film and take photographs, not surprisingly the more action packed the better and that has the potential for disaster if only through low flying amongst moving objects to get "THAT" shot or picture.
I find it difficult to justify including these products within the model flying community,
Whilst model Helicopters can do most if not all that a drone can do, THEY require much greater skill from the pilot of a model helicopter and anyway his/her rationale for flying is quite different.
Shaun.

Sorry - but WRONG, WRONG, WRIONG - just more ill informed comment masquerading as "fact"!

I apologise in advance, sincerely I do, but when are people going to understand that making dogmatic remarks about the skill levels needed or the motivations of what they call "drone" pilots" when in reality they know absolutely NOTHING about it and are talking out of the back of their heads AGAIN is just not acceptable! You can hold the opinion - even through its rubbish - what you can't do is try to pass it off as truth!

Repeat after me,...."prejuduce and ignorance does not qualify me to dogmatically hold forth with ill informed nonsense"!!!

So Helicopters require more skill eh? Well try flying an MR in manual mate - you'll soon run back to your helicopter. But in truth that comment is probably wasted on you as you probably haven't got the faintest idea what I'm talking about do you? "Manual? Manual what?"

I really am sorry for having to be so rude - but frankly my patience is at an end with this sort of partisan, narrow minded, uninformed tosh pretending to be of some validity!

BEB

[ted hughes]

Posted by MattyB on 22/04/2016 12:23:26:

Posted by ted hughes on 19/04/2016 01:02:33:

Drones are not model flying.

They are a nuisance to modellers.

They wont go away because they are a boon to film makers, soldiers,security etc. ,anyone who needs an airborne camera or weapon.

They are not the same as a 60 inch span Be2c trundling to get airborne!

Posted by ted hughes on 22/04/2016 00:44:29:

It really is ridiculous, there is this sudden public backlash against drones.

At the moment I fly fixed wing but I'm going to move into MR this summer.

I do wish the hysteria would die down.

OK... so how do you reconcile these two viewpoints expressed in the very same thread? The first post looks like you are part of the public backlash you are alleging in the second post. I am confused...

Edited By MattyB on 22/04/2016 12:25:28

Gosh, I'm being a bit contradictory, aren't I?

I suppose I make a distinction between someone who can already fly a RC plane, and someone who bought it from Maplins on a whim.

I don't always make my thoughts clear when I write...

Actually, I don't always make my thoughts clear!

[GrahamC]

Posted by Shaun Clarke 4 on 23/04/2016 14:15:40:

Fixed Wing V Drone,
I fly large scale R/C fixed wing Aircraft,
Where I fly is not very far from two major Airports,
BUT I fly for the buzz not too BUZZ.
The enjoyment I get from seeing my efforts in the environment they were meant to be in and doing so under my control is why I do it,
I LOVE MODEL FLYING !!!
Users of Drones (I am sorry I cannot bring myself to call them pilots) do so for very different reasons not the least appears to be to film and take photographs, not surprisingly the more action packed the better and that has the potential for disaster if only through low flying amongst moving objects to get "THAT" shot or picture.
I find it difficult to justify including these products within the model flying community,
Whilst model Helicopters can do most if not all that a drone can do, THEY require much greater skill from the pilot of a model helicopter and anyway his/her rationale for flying is quite different.
Shaun.

Well I fly [and build] fixed wing. I fly [and build in a slightly different way] helicopters and racing quadcopters. I kind of resent being told I'm not a pilot when I fly a racing quad, as it does require a fair bit of skill... rather faster reactions and intuitive flying ability than guiding a glider around the sky - although I enjoy both.

I have to say while I agree with a lot of what BEB says, its my opinion that flying a race quad in manual mode is a lot easier than flying a hell - that is hard for me and I really respect the guys who can do it well!

I have to confess to my hackles rising when I see someone being an idiot with a multi rotor, and so I understand why some established modellers are antagonistic towards them. We fear that the backlash to idiocy is going to cause us great difficulties in the sensible pursuit of our hobby.

Last Sunday walked with the wife down the front a Cleethorpes on Sunday afternoon. The sun was out and the place was packed. And you guessed it... someone was flying a quadcopter in the middle of and over the crowds... not even out over the fairly empty beach.

It really annoys me.... but don't say I'm not a pilot when I'm flying my quads responsibly and in a safe place or I'll challenge you to combat at dawn with a funbat!

[Dave Hopkin]

Posted by ted hughes on 23/04/2016 18:43:22:

Posted by MattyB on 22/04/2016 12:23:26:

Posted by ted hughes on 19/04/2016 01:02:33:

Drones are not model flying.

They are a nuisance to modellers.

They wont go away because they are a boon to film makers, soldiers,security etc. ,anyone who needs an airborne camera or weapon.

They are not the same as a 60 inch span Be2c trundling to get airborne!

Posted by ted hughes on 22/04/2016 00:44:29:

It really is ridiculous, there is this sudden public backlash against drones.

At the moment I fly fixed wing but I'm going to move into MR this summer.

I do wish the hysteria would die down.

OK... so how do you reconcile these two viewpoints expressed in the very same thread? The first post looks like you are part of the public backlash you are alleging in the second post. I am confused...

Edited By MattyB on 22/04/2016 12:25:28

Gosh, I'm being a bit contradictory, aren't I?

I suppose I make a distinction between someone who can already fly a RC plane, and someone who bought it from Maplins on a whim.

I don't always make my thoughts clear when I write...

Actually, I don't always make my thoughts clear!

Everyone has to start somewhere Ted, years ago there were no ARTF's they were all hand built, but no doubt some people started on a plane built by someone else, so wasnt that an RTF?

We should welcome people into the hobby be they interested in FW, Helo or MR - and lete be honest the MR is the way most young people are going to step into the world of RC flying, ok for the vast majority it will go no further but there will be some who see FW flying at clubs (or at lest the clubs that embrace this tech) and want to learn

[Shaun Clarke 4]

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 23/04/2016 18:29:13:

Posted by Shaun Clarke 4 on 23/04/2016 14:15:40:

Fixed Wing V Drone,
I fly large scale R/C fixed wing Aircraft,
Where I fly is not very far from two major Airports,
BUT I fly for the buzz not too BUZZ.
The enjoyment I get from seeing my efforts in the environment they were meant to be in and doing so under my control is why I do it,
I LOVE MODEL FLYING !!!
Users of Drones (I am sorry I cannot bring myself to call them pilots) do so for very different reasons not the least appears to be to film and take photographs, not surprisingly the more action packed the better and that has the potential for disaster if only through low flying amongst moving objects to get "THAT" shot or picture.
I find it difficult to justify including these products within the model flying community,
Whilst model Helicopters can do most if not all that a drone can do, THEY require much greater skill from the pilot of a model helicopter and anyway his/her rationale for flying is quite different.
Shaun.

Sorry - but WRONG, WRONG, WRIONG - just more ill informed comment masquerading as "fact"!

I apologise in advance, sincerely I do, but when are people going to understand that making dogmatic remarks about the skill levels needed or the motivations of what they call "drone" pilots" when in reality they know absolutely NOTHING about it and are talking out of the back of their heads AGAIN is just not acceptable! You can hold the opinion - even through its rubbish - what you can't do is try to pass it off as truth!

Repeat after me,...."prejuduce and ignorance does not qualify me to dogmatically hold forth with ill informed nonsense"!!!

So Helicopters require more skill eh? Well try flying an MR in manual mate - you'll soon run back to your helicopter. But in truth that comment is probably wasted on you as you probably haven't got the faintest idea what I'm talking about do you? "Manual? Manual what?"

I really am sorry for having to be so rude - but frankly my patience is at an end with this sort of partisan, narrow minded, uninformed tosh pretending to be of some validity!

BEB

If I have undervalued the skills needed to manipulate a drone then I unreservedly apologise,
BUT that was not my point nor was it the point of the thread,
Drones are perceived as a threat for a number of reasons by the public at large whether they are informed Views or not, and because of the PERCIEVED threat they do a disservice to model flying in general,
FACT!!!
Shaun.

[Don Fry]

Dave, alleluia. But they are noisy irritating droney things.

[Dave Hopkin]

Posted by Donald Fry on 23/04/2016 19:11:39:

Dave, alleluia. But they are noisy irritating droney things.

As an electric flyer, I think the same about 2s IC..... sound like mosquito's on drugs

[Dave Hopkin]

Posted by Donald Fry on 23/04/2016 19:11:39:

Dave, alleluia. But they are noisy irritating droney things.

As an electric flyer, I think the same about 2s IC..... sound like mosquito's on drugs

[trebor]

You can't beat a peashooter on steroids

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

85 different threads on this topic...War and not a lot of Peace

John

[Don Fry]

Alleluia.

[John F]

Posted by Shaun Clarke 4 on 23/04/2016 19:09:43:

If I have undervalued the skills needed to manipulate a drone then I unreservedly apologise,
BUT that was not my point nor was it the point of the thread,
Drones are perceived as a threat for a number of reasons by the public at large whether they are informed Views or not, and because of the PERCIEVED threat they do a disservice to model flying in general,
FACT!!!
Shaun.

Err . . . every single model aircraft you fly is a "drone" - and if you want to continue to be rude I'll chuck in the word "fact" at the end!

"Users of drones do so for different reasons" - Well, how do you know? I've been to a couple of days at the club whereby the grins of people flying multi rotors are very much wider than those flying fixed wing or rotary! They set us hoops, have a limbo bar to fly under and races around circuits. In fact they fly much more accurately then many of us who just pootle around an unrestricted sky . Another unjustified, knee jerk, comment from you methinks! I think I'll chuck a "fact" at the end of that one too!

There are many examples of people flying rotary or fixed wing against the rules as set in the ANO all nicely recorded on YouTube. Ooh, forget to add "fact" at the end!

It is the manner in which some aircraft are operated that is the threat rather than the fact that is has more than two rotors. Even fixed wing models can be, and have been, flown in a manner in which they pose a threat or are deemed to be a menace. Sorry, I can't get into this rude habit of adding "fact" at the end of my sweeping statements - "fact"!

There was an engineering colleague who went to a UAV Lecture as part of his engineering association. I haven't seen him yet to see if it was any good as he also flies model aircraft. Note it just state "unmanned aircraft" when it refers to drones **LINK**

I'll stop using "fact" at the end, it is most tiresome but your facts and strong theories need a bit of softening.

[Daithi O Buitigh]

According to an article I read on the De Havilland Queen Bee: , "A senior US Navy Admiral witnessed the Queen Bee in operation in 1936 and found the concept very interesting. He set up a US Navy program under Lieutenant Commander Delmar S. Farnhey. By 1937, Farnhey's team had converted a number of light aircraft to radio-controlled targets and used them in exercises. It is said that Farnhey invented the term "drone" for robot aircraft as homage to the Queen Bee and the fixed-pitch drone they made when the RAF’s remote operators made so few throttle demands to produce a predictable gunnery target for training. "

So there you have it - the term 'drone' is Colonial English, invented by the US Navy

[The Wright Stuff]

Well, it's on the BBC news website today, so it must be true!

"Drone unlikely to have hit BA plane near Heathrow, government says"

[The Wright Stuff]

p.s. I'm not sure when the "apparently not" was added to the title of this thread, so apologies if it is old news!!!

[Kevin Wilson]

Posted by The Wright Stuff on 28/04/2016 12:31:04:

Well, it's on the BBC news website today, so it must be true!

"Drone unlikely to have hit BA plane near Heathrow, government says"

And even after this correction the BBC still have misleading information in their boxout 3/4 way down the article.
Headed Drone Incidents it bullets this incident as
17 April 2016 - A British Airways plane approaching Heathrow is believed to have hit a drone while in midair.

Incidentally the list of Incidents is a list of times where a 'drone' didn't hit an aircraft.

It would have been nice to see some balance by way of a list of Incidents over the same period where things DID hit an aircraft.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Balance? Expecting rather a lot of our friends in the media there aren't you Kevin?

BEB

PS The best one is undoubted the Daily Mail who, on line, carried the headline "Drones will be banned from skies over London and Windsor during Obama's visit this week - just days after one smashed into a passenger jet." Only of course,.....it didn't! At least te Beeb said "believed to have hit".

[Jonathan W]

There's a new report in the Daily Wail now saying a near miss at 12,500ft after take off from LHR. How on earth does any readily available "drone" reach 12,500ft???? Supposedly "Seconds from Disaster", if you can suspend your disbelief!

[Daithi O Buitigh]

The accuracy of Daily Mail reporting has been known here since the 1920s - so much so that we even have a song about it .

The legend has it that their 'Irish' reporter wrote up all his stuff while sitting in a bar in Holyhead

[Pete B]

Posted by Jonathan Whitelegg on 28/04/2016 17:48:56:

There's a new report in the Daily Wail now saying a near miss at 12,500ft after take off from LHR. How on earth does any readily available "drone" reach 12,500ft???? Supposedly "Seconds from Disaster", if you can suspend your disbelief!

Interesting bit of reporting:

A two-foot wide black drone with a flashing red light passed just 100ft beneath an Airbus jet shortly after take-off from London Heathrow.

The incident, which occurred on February 14, was put in the most serious risk category by the UK Airprox Board.

Officials said separation 'had been reduced to the bare minimum' and 'chance had played a major part' in the objects not colliding.

The pilot had just passed 12,500ft and did not see the drone making any evasive action 'virtually impossible'.

Well, if the pilot didn't see it, just who the heck did??? I'm beginning to think they're making up these stories.....

Pete

[Paul C.]

Must have been a Foo Fighter 😂