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Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:47 pm
by SteveN
Are the French angling to buy them too ;)

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:56 pm
by Straight Level
skydriller wrote:
velostar wrote:Sighted? In the dark? And how many millions were spent on detection kit?


And this is why I am not convinced we know the full story on the Gatwick incident either, that episode started overnight too.


If I was intending to disrupt flights at LHR, I'd fit the drone with lots of "bright blinky I'm right in the middle of the glideslope" led lights :idea: :idea: :idea:
Then switch them off remotely as the drone scarpers back to my secret drone control den, :twisted: whohahahar.

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 7:03 pm
by malcolmfrost
There's a Chinook stooging around as well!

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 7:23 pm
by avtur3
We are supposedly a major player in world politics and we're challenged by a drone ...

This should be a "none issue" there is something very wrong if we can't protect ourselves from this threat.

Either we're unable to assess the level of threat or we're unable to act against it, whichever it is it is wholly unacceptable l that our government can't protect us from it.

What is all this talk about taking back control of our borders .... this is making a complete 'ass' of us.

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 7:32 pm
by avtur3
Look at the poisoning episode in Salisbury, that was deemed a matter of critical importance and we started to get answers pretty damned quick.

We've had no followup at all since Gatwick and now we've got this .... come on ... someone really taking is the p1ss out of us.

Surely technology is much in our favour dealing with this.

We're not at war, so If we can't protect ourselves from drones (whoever is responsible) then we've all got something to worry about,

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 7:52 pm
by chevvron
malcolmfrost wrote:There's a Chinook stooging around as well!

I think he's gone home; just came out of the Co-op at Bagshot about 7.30pm when one went past me westbound.

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 8:01 pm
by oakworth
avtur3 wrote:Look at the poisoning episode in Salisbury, that was deemed a matter of critical importance and we started to get answers pretty damned quick.

We've had no followup at all since Gatwick and now we've got this .... come on ... someone really taking is the p1ss out of us.

Surely technology is much in our favour dealing with this.

We're not at war, so If we can't protect ourselves from drones (whoever is responsible) then we've all got something to worry about,


Why do you think technology is in our favour?

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 8:20 pm
by Gertie
Straight Level wrote:If I was intending to disrupt flights at LHR, I'd fit the drone ...

Drone? What drone?

Lots cheaper to buy a burner phone from a supermarket, phone 999 and report a drone.

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 8:22 pm
by rikur_
Gertie wrote:
Straight Level wrote:If I was intending to disrupt flights at LHR, I'd fit the drone ...

Drone? What drone?

Lots cheaper to buy a burner phone from a supermarket, phone 999 and report a drone.

Just clip some spoke lights on a pigeon

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 9:34 pm
by Paul_Sengupta
rikur_ wrote:Just clip some spoke lights on a pigeon


They're a bit difficult to control accurately though.

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:48 pm
by avtur3
oakworth wrote:
avtur3 wrote:Look at the poisoning episode in Salisbury, that was deemed a matter of critical importance and we started to get answers pretty damned quick.

We've had no followup at all since Gatwick and now we've got this .... come on ... someone really taking is the p1ss out of us.

Surely technology is much in our favour dealing with this.

We're not at war, so If we can't protect ourselves from drones (whoever is responsible) then we've all got something to worry about,


Why do you think technology is in our favour?


I'd like to think that our military had the resource to have the upper hand in a situation like this. If they don't then we might as well have Putin as the default candidate on our next voting slips. I am absolutely appalled that drones are able to make us look so stupid and defenceless.

I'm not bothered about the technology in drones, there's is nothing we can do to prevent that, I am entirely bothered by our government's inability to deal with the problem. Our response has been nothing more than pathetic.

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:51 pm
by riverrock
Reports are that a BBC camera man who uses drones as part of his work (so is probably as much of an expert as there is) watched it for 4 to 5 minutes and some police officers also saw it, so better sightings of this one than the Gatwick mysterious one(s).

Feels like a copy cat.

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:03 am
by riverrock
@avtur3 what would you like the government to do? Magic something up from thin air? This is a hard problem.
Drones have been in hundreds of Airproxes and a few collisions, its just that these are making headlines due to the disruption. They are small, hard to track down and easily hidden. There are also hundreds of potential targets.

Military has the technology to deal with them but bullets and jammers have side effects. Our military also doesn't normally police civil infrastructure, and the technology is expensive.

Jammers have side effects. To stop a drone following a pre-selected pattern requires jamming GPS, GLONASS and Galileo so will stop various types of approaches to airports. as well as jamming the drone. They are also illegal for airport operators to setup.
Bullets (or other projectiles) all have to land somewhere and airports are typically in congested areas. Aircraft don't like bullets, neither do people.
Laws are already in place to stop this.
A drone fighting drone carrying a net would be a hazard in itself and airports are large areas. It would take time to deploy (and this drone may have only been up for 5 minutes).

The answers aren't easy.

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:33 am
by flybymike
chevvron wrote:
malcolmfrost wrote:There's a Chinook stooging around as well!

I think he's gone home; just came out of the Co-op at Bagshot about 7.30pm

Pilot probably popped in for a pint of milk.

Re: Heathrow departures suspended...

PostPosted:Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:00 am
by Dave Phillips
Not wanting to contribute towards avtur3's apoplexy a few musings:

1. I'm sure some very Big Brains are looking at enhanced technological solutions and their bean-counters will be most appreciative of a recent cash injection.

2. The UK military already has the capability to disrupt a lot of UAS technology. There's probably a lot of NATS safety managers pouring over civil/military interoperability risk assessments right now.

3. I would not be surprised if, in the future, ATC tactically withdraw the availability of GNSS approaches and other RNP profiles during periods of 'drone threat'.

4. We will see fewer videos of frozen chickens being fired at aircraft windscreens but more of drones rattling towards an airframe at about 150kts. Out of this work there will be a new set of drone classifications and associated regulation (perhaps the 250g announcement is indicative that this has already happened?)

5. A commercial aircraft and a drone will thump into each other sometime in the relatively near future. The chances are that damage will be superficial but that will not stop the public outcry.

6. avtur3 will continue to be appalled and looking for 'them' to 'do something'. :)