Forums Forums National News Gatwick Drones

Gatwick open again.
Thinking out aloud is good, Cools. It means we can be honest, even if we consider our own thoughts to be rubbish, they're better than no thoughts at all !

I do think that the 'drone' driver' had stamina... what was it from 07.30hrs to 22.00 hrs ? Maybe more than one person. I wonder what might happen to the idea of Amazon using them for delivery of parcels to homes ?

Sometimes Granny , well lots of times in my opinion technology is causing so many problems and dangers that I wish we could backtrack and live a much more simple life , it truly baffles me this new age , old - - - - that I am ,ha.

1 Make the manufacturers put some identifying number on them or the parts needed to build one that would make it possible to know who had bought one at point of sale. ID or passport needed to buy one.
2 Station an RAF helicopter or a jet on stand by to then try to capture one or put it down and see if it can show who bought it.
3 Change the law to prosecute anyone doing certain things with drones as potential acts of terrorism and give them very tough sentences.
4 If possible recall those that are capable doing this to install some id on

Been running for nearly two years, they are planning on starting it in London next year.

A bit late now the genie is out of the bottle, this should have been sorted out years ago, the government knew the potential these drones had in the hands of terrorists and criminals yet allowed them to be sold without safeguards, not even a licence which would have at least given a clue or an address to the owners, it shows how unprepared we are to deal with this kind of technology, would be terrorists must feel heartened that they have a method that has the potential to be remotely operated that can cause death and mayhem and is readily available on line or in a shop.

Brother flying to Greece today from Gatwick been told only a 40 minute delay , which doesnt sound bad considering the turmoil there. How does it work if your flight was cancelled. Do they try to put more flights on? Must be a logistical nightmare with people booked on flights everyday.

Gatwick closed again now. Argh!

Its not the impact to the plane, its if the done flies into the engine that could effectively bring the plane down.
As a drone user myself I am sure the person/s responsible are well aware of areas they are not permitted to fly in.
If the drone over Gatwick was DIY made it may not have GPS so not easily traceable, my drone and many others provide data that can be retrieved by software, new DJI drones I believe are having GPS coordinates built in to stop them flying in restricted areas, most drones however mine included have built in restrictions maximum height of 150 metres for example is one.

Most drone users will know NOT to fly over people, public places or even peoples homes so we are already restricted, but if we all follow the rules then there's no problem except the few who always ruin it for the many.

Paintboffin.

Never mind what the manufacturer puts in, its extremely simple to replace the controller and sensors with generic devices such as a raspberry pi.

Any rules or laws put in place such as registering or licensing them or even banning them completely will do nothing but prove an expensive nuisance to most enthusiasts whilst being completely ignored by the odd malicious user. Nevertheless, I suspect such is the intellectual quality of our politicians this is exactly what they will do on the basis that 'Something must be done' even if it is no more effective than painting your buttocks blue.

I think they are a serious threat to conventional military operations in war too. What is not often mentioned is that they are not necessarily radio controlled. They can be entirely autonomous and are capable of proceeding to a preset target, or a heat source such as a human being or a vehicle whilst avoiding obstacles before detonating their payloads. As they can fly at near ground level they are almost undetectable until they are upon you. They can lie in wait like a landmine for days or weeks until triggered by the approach of the enemy and given their low cost, hundreds or thousands could be deployed for the cost of a single cruise missile. You could even air-drop them. I'm not sure if it is even possible to provide protection from a swarm of them attacking from different directions.

They could have a bigger impact on warfare than tanks or even air power.

Well that's made me feel a lot better Ex.

I saw footage on tv of a test where a fairly small drone put a hole in the leading edge of a wing. That could cause some problems...

A couple of people been arrested on suspicion. I reckon they tried out a Christmas present, and lost control .


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46657505

No, I think it must have been malicious. They had two or three flights over the runway, Tha doesn't seem like an accident.

The problem is that the chaos caused will not be lost on terrorists. Express trains are not immune to attack either. I don't think one of these things coming through the windscreen would do anything for the punctuality of the service, let alone the poor driver.

Expect more of the same. I really don't think the claims of countermeasures are very convincing, but we shall see.

They brought in Israeli technology to deal with this case.
Drones are used all the time in warfare in the Middle East. US is particularly good at it as is Israel. Used by the rebels and anti- government supporters..... so where on earth would they be getting them from ? Not too hard to work it out..