4 ms·
ATC primary radar can’t resolve objects that small, and the jetpack-person was unlikely to have the requisite transponder to make it visible to secondary.
by anderiv 6y ago
ATC primary radar can’t resolve objects that small, and the jetpack-person was unlikely to have the requisite transponder to make it visible to secondary.
- throwanem 6y agoAnd you'd need a very long lens to get a worthwhile shot of a human-sized object a fifth of a mile (~300 yards, so ~900 feet, ~0.3km) away. No phone camera can come anywhere close. I do actually own a lens that could do it. Extended to full 500mm focal length and mounted on a camera body, the whole package is about three feet (0.9m) long. That's a lot to wrestle in economy class, especially if you're not in the window seat! Given advance knowledge of the opportunity, with time enough to prepare, it wouldn't be too hard a shot to get, I think. But taken totally by surprise? Even if you spot me the camera being out and ready to shoot - which is no triviality given that this happened on final - and the jetpack guy being perfectly visible out the passenger windows, I'd still need a very large helping of good fortune, not to mention a good deal of tolerance on the part of whoever is in the window seat.
- sudosysgen 6y agoIn theory, a sharp enough crop body and a 300mm lens could do it. But yes, you really do need a good lens.
- mdorazio 6y agoThat's interesting. Do you have any reading material on the relative resolutions of primary vs. secondary airport radars? Given the shape and profile of a human with a jetpack (basically zero angles), I just assumed that such a person would be easily radar visible.