5 ms·

Maybe I'm ignorant here, but I picture a hobby drone hitting a DC-10 would be like a bug hitting a car's windshield.

pmorici 11y ago
That was my first thought too but the article says the drone in question had a 4 foot wing span which is pretty large. So it wasn't just some time quad copter in this case.
- dzhiurgis 11y ago
  If it's not a quad copter (drone), then it's model airplane/glider. These are usually are made from balsa and can be broken with a finger.
  - nether 11y ago
    "Drones" can be fixed-wing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_D-21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_D-21
    - dzhiurgis 11y ago
      Enough with stupid naming. Drone is autonomous, typically military assault aircraft. Calling quad copters & model airplanes drones is silly. Wiki redirects drone to UAV. We do not call toy cars vehicles, so why do we call toy planes vehicles?
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
      - gscott 11y ago
        I agree "drone" has a scary ring to it because we use drones to bomb people.
DrStalker 11y ago
It's easy to image that a bird wouldn't do anything to a plane, but that doesn't mean that birdstrike can't bring down airliners. You might only suffer minor damage but you could also lose an engine or a control surface.
artmageddon 11y ago
They're more dangerous than you think. When doing my private pilot training, I had to be very aware of birds striking the windshield as they do have enough energy in them to cause serious damage. Even passenger jets have issues with them[0], and have been taken down as a result[1] [0]: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Plane-Damage-0New-York-City-John-F-Kennedy-Bird-Strike-296556631.html http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Plane-Damage-0New-York-... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549
- dzhiurgis 11y ago
  The point is you don't have a flock of drones. There is usually one drone. I don't see how one drone can shut down two engines.
  - falcolas 11y ago
    Only need to shut down (or just damage) one to be a problem. 2.5 lbs of carbon fiber, wires and motors at 100+ MPH would likely be more than enough to destroy a turbofan.
    - dzhiurgis 11y ago
      You do not shut down airport if there is bird in the sky.
      - falcolas 11y ago
        Well, airports sometimes hire out hawks to keep birds out of the sky, and they intentionally limit the speed of aircraft at altitudes where birds fly. If a multirotor can fly higher than birds (they do), they could pose a significantly greater threat than a flock of birds.
      - azernik 11y ago
        Yes. Yes you do. http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/2015/01/07/plane-strikes-birds-14-flights-delayed-at-dfw-airport/21425145/ http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/2015/01/07/plane-strike...
jotux 11y ago
Not if it sucks the drone into the engine.
falcolas 11y ago
Your average FPV multirotor is 2.5 lbs of carbon fiber, electronics and motors, and a DC-10's "typical cruise speed" is over 500 mph. The laws of physics aren't on the side of the DC-10 in this case. There are civil war cannons which fired projectiles with less kenetic energy than that.
Sanddancer 11y ago
A bird, which is nice and squishy and falls apart easily, can do serious damage to a plane. Just search on youtube for bird strike, and you'll see lots of smashed windshields, jets losing engines, damaged elevators, etc. Now, add more weight, more density, and more speed, and you can see how this can get to be a real problem.

That was my first thought too but the article says the drone in question had a 4 foot wing span which is pretty large. So it wasn't just some time quad copter in this case.

dzhiurgis 11y ago
If it's not a quad copter (drone), then it's model airplane/glider. These are usually are made from balsa and can be broken with a finger.
- nether 11y ago
  "Drones" can be fixed-wing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_D-21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_D-21
  - dzhiurgis 11y ago
    Enough with stupid naming. Drone is autonomous, typically military assault aircraft. Calling quad copters & model airplanes drones is silly. Wiki redirects drone to UAV. We do not call toy cars vehicles, so why do we call toy planes vehicles?
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
    - gscott 11y ago
      I agree "drone" has a scary ring to it because we use drones to bomb people.

DrStalker 11y ago

It's easy to image that a bird wouldn't do anything to a plane, but that doesn't mean that birdstrike can't bring down airliners. You might only suffer minor damage but you could also lose an engine or a control surface.

artmageddon 11y ago

They're more dangerous than you think. When doing my private pilot training, I had to be very aware of birds striking the windshield as they do have enough energy in them to cause serious damage. Even passenger jets have issues with them[0], and have been taken down as a result[1] [0]: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Plane-Damage-0New-York-City-John-F-Kennedy-Bird-Strike-296556631.html http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Plane-Damage-0New-York-... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549

dzhiurgis 11y ago
The point is you don't have a flock of drones. There is usually one drone. I don't see how one drone can shut down two engines.
- falcolas 11y ago
  Only need to shut down (or just damage) one to be a problem. 2.5 lbs of carbon fiber, wires and motors at 100+ MPH would likely be more than enough to destroy a turbofan.
  - dzhiurgis 11y ago
    You do not shut down airport if there is bird in the sky.
    - falcolas 11y ago
      Well, airports sometimes hire out hawks to keep birds out of the sky, and they intentionally limit the speed of aircraft at altitudes where birds fly. If a multirotor can fly higher than birds (they do), they could pose a significantly greater threat than a flock of birds.
    - azernik 11y ago
      Yes. Yes you do. http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/2015/01/07/plane-strikes-birds-14-flights-delayed-at-dfw-airport/21425145/ http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/2015/01/07/plane-strike...

jotux 11y ago

Not if it sucks the drone into the engine.

falcolas 11y ago

Your average FPV multirotor is 2.5 lbs of carbon fiber, electronics and motors, and a DC-10's "typical cruise speed" is over 500 mph. The laws of physics aren't on the side of the DC-10 in this case. There are civil war cannons which fired projectiles with less kenetic energy than that.

Sanddancer 11y ago

A bird, which is nice and squishy and falls apart easily, can do serious damage to a plane. Just search on youtube for bird strike, and you'll see lots of smashed windshields, jets losing engines, damaged elevators, etc. Now, add more weight, more density, and more speed, and you can see how this can get to be a real problem.