Colorado Drone Mystery
- Thread starter Duke
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OP
OP
"Investigation" can mean anything from boots-on-the-ground technicians using sophisticated gear to locate/jam controllers to a bureaucratic paper work exercise.
One thing that disturbs me on drones and the lack of anyone much caring about them flying around like this. The tech is there for a drone attack by terrorists. Why does no one look at this as a possible problem? They could release a biological agent, etc. etc. If Amazon can use them to deliver packages....well, you get my drift here.
Ultima Thule
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I'm guessing that there is no apparent urgency because the overall terrorist threat level is currently low.
Ultima Thule
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Just yesterday I was out walking on what was otherwise a beautiful day. I heard a whirring sound somewhere above my head. It couldn't have been anything other than a drone. I tried to ignore it and kept walking. Later I heard the same sound again. This time I managed to spot it. It appeared to be at an altitude of at least 200 feet or so moving rather fast and in the opposite direction. Though it is difficult to be certain of the altitude without a clear reference point. I imagine it was somebody's Christmas drone. But regardless, in these circumstances there is both an unpleasant sense of being spied on (all these drones have cameras) plus a sense of danger that the drone might just fall out of the sky. In short, there doesn't seem to be anything it in for anyone other than those getting the pleasure out of operating them. There definitely needs to be some system of accountability in place. It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or even killed.
OP
OP
Most interesting thing in that article was the statement by the sheriff that at least one of the drones was "way bigger than 6 [feet]; it sounds like a small jet engine when it’s flying." I'd be curious to know more about that. Is he implying it was jet powered? That's a big step up from even the very large, professional quality quad (rotor) drones.
The smallest of small jet engines, like what are used on RC aircraft, are very loud. (See video below.) If the drone he's describing is capable of hovering (as cited in earlier articles), that probably means four jets. That would be incredibly loud, and have a very high fuel consumption rate. That would mean a relatively short flight endurance, significantly less than the 3-4 hours quoted in previous reports.
There are probably non-military jet powered drones commercially available, but they would have to be very expensive. I doubt any are involved in this story.
Ultima Thule
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"Not every drone owner can fly after dark. Drones can fly at night, however, with the proper waiver -- waiver 107.29 -- from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA has given out a few thousand nighttime operation waivers. They're available to law enforcement and various businesses."
So either these drone operators have a waiver and the FAA isn't being forthright about it. Or no waiver has been issued and the operators are flying without FAA sanction. In any case, I think the FAA knows more than they are letting on. I'm also sticking with my original theory that this is some sort of training exercise. But who?