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I wish comments like the dead one here weren't killed. Nobody wants to consider alternative viewpoints too often around here. I honestly feel like the official
by jimmaswell 7y ago
I wish comments like the dead one here weren't killed. Nobody wants to consider alternative viewpoints too often around here.
I honestly feel like the officials here are just malingering to try to get drones banned because they don't like them. No way one tiny drone flying somewhere in the forest means no helicopters can do their job in the entire vicinity. It's no different than a large bird being around.
- mattkrause 7y agoI'm not sure I totally agree with it, but I do agree with you that it's a legit POV worth discussing, so [vouched].
- jimmaswell 7y agoThanks, my vouching ability just stopped working one day. Maybe vouched too many comments the mods disagreed with.
- jiofih 7y agoWhat is vouching on HN?
- mattkrause 7y agoIf you have enough karma, you can "rescue" a comment from being dead (i.e., not displayed by default).
- karthikb 7y agoThis particular fire grew to over 4,000 acres in under an hour. "Somewhere in the forest" very quickly becomes "right over the most critical parts of the fire." These fires are dynamic, spotting 1-2 miles ahead of themselves and propelled by winds of 50-80 mph. There is a key difference between birds and drones. Birds tend to fly away from fires. Drone operators are getting close to the action. The forest may be big, but the chances are high that a drone pilot and helicopter pilot are aiming for the same spots. Fire services do operate their own drones. But they do it in coordination and under the guidance with the air traffic controllers so the location is known at all times.
- tzs 7y ago> No way one tiny drone flying somewhere in the forest means no helicopters can do their job in the entire vicinity. It's no different than a large bird being around. Aircraft dropping water on fires are: 1. flying very low, 2. over fires that will be causing a lot of turbulence, 3. in aircraft that are heavy loaded, making them less nimble than normal, and making maneuvering put more stress on the aircraft than normal, 4. in conditions with poor visibility. This makes it a very stressful, dangerous kind of flight, where if anything goes wrong the chances of the pilot recovering in time are greatly reduced. Encountering a drone could easily lead to a crash in these circumstances. And yes, it is very different from a large bird, because large birds will be avoiding the fire.
- rasz 7y ago5. useless in the grand scheme of things "Air tanker drops in wildfires are often just for show" https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-wildfires29-2008jul29-story.html https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-wildfires29-2008jul29-st... "To professional firefighters, though, it was a prime example of a “political air show,” the high-profile use of expensive aircraft to appease elected officials." “CNN drops.”
- souterrain 7y agoI agree. Officials should instead use their limited resources to down such drones forcefully and violently. Bans clearly aren’t doing the job.