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This thread currently has the lame self rightness on par with reddit. Evil humans are stopping firefighters cause they are evil. Where's the science. Can a dro

This thread currently has the lame self rightness on par with reddit. Evil humans are stopping firefighters cause they are evil. Where's the science. Can a drone actually hurt a helicopter. And did the drone controllers know they were causing an issue, I doubt it.

JshWright 11y ago
So, you're saying that it is so implausible that ingesting a couple pounds of aluminum and copper would be bad for a turbine that 'science' needs to prove it's unsafe before we consider it an issue for aerial firefighting?
jkot 11y ago
I am sure helicopter can not be damaged, since it is much bigger. Blades at almost supersonic speed will slice everything like a butter. I seen it in movie. Firefighters are probably just worried about expensive drones ;-)
nickpinkston 11y ago
Agreed, are they stopping helicopters for large birds too, or is this just an excuse?
- kiallmacinnes 11y ago
  Large birds fear for their safety and avoid the helicopter, I'm guessing at least some drone pilots - especially those willing to fly their drone over something like this - have less fear for their drones "safety". Hell - They may even be trying to get "the action shot" by trailing the helicopter etc etc.
  - GeorgeKap 11y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_strike https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_strike
- JshWright 11y ago
  Bird activity is indeed a cause for concern in aerial firefighting (and aviation in general).
bootload 11y ago
"Can a drone actually hurt a helicopter. And did the drone controllers know they were causing an issue, I doubt it." Drones in a restricted flight zone, in a fire situation will ground fire-fighting helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. That stops essential fire suppression operations which allows fires to get out of control. In turn, this hurts people. Is that clear enough?
- Negitivefrags 11y ago
  So just fly the damn helicopters and forget the drones. The chance of a drone taking out a helicopter almost certainly so low as to be not worth worrying about.
  - jonlucc 11y ago
    I was thinking the rotor wash from the much-larger-than-toy-drone helicopters would handle the drones just fine.
    - JshWright 11y ago
      Assuming the drone is below the helicopter. It's just as likely the drone would be above the helicopter and rotor wash would pull the drone _towards_ the turbine inlets.
  - Coding_Cat 11y ago
    Your[1] argument seems to be "We don't know if they're dangerous, I personally don't think they are so we should just allow them". The first part is okay, the second part I strongly disagree with. We're dealing with an emergency situation here, if drones can damage helicopters/hamper the efforts of the firefighters and they're not banned there is the potential of loss of life. If they don't, and we ban them, there's the loss of cool pictures, and personal freedom in a disaster zone. Something which we have experienced without problems for ages now. Sure, perhaps some research would be in order to determine if/what kind of drones can cause issues, and allow those which are safe (or atleast give licenses to news drones and the like for public interest purposes). But erring on the side of caution before the results are in does not seem to be a bad idea IMHO. [1] as in, the people in this thread arguing for the use of drones, not you as an individual.
berkut 11y ago
Well obviously - depending on the helicopter and where its turboshaft (jet engines, with air inlets, but designed to create rotational energy rather than raw thrust) are mounted, it's quite possible for a drone to get sucked into the inlets, possibly causing FOD (foreign object damage). Likely - maybe not, but definitely possible.
mikeyouse 11y ago
When a small bird can shatter the windscreen of a helicopter temporarily blinding the pilot, I think it's pretty safe to assume a 2kg drone can cause some pretty significant damage; http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/after-bird-blinds-dallas-police-pilot-co-pilot-calmly-takes-control-and-lands-helicopter.html/ http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/after-bird-blinds...

JshWright 11y ago

So, you're saying that it is so implausible that ingesting a couple pounds of aluminum and copper would be bad for a turbine that 'science' needs to prove it's unsafe before we consider it an issue for aerial firefighting?

jkot 11y ago

I am sure helicopter can not be damaged, since it is much bigger. Blades at almost supersonic speed will slice everything like a butter. I seen it in movie. Firefighters are probably just worried about expensive drones ;-)

nickpinkston 11y ago

Agreed, are they stopping helicopters for large birds too, or is this just an excuse?

kiallmacinnes 11y ago
Large birds fear for their safety and avoid the helicopter, I'm guessing at least some drone pilots - especially those willing to fly their drone over something like this - have less fear for their drones "safety". Hell - They may even be trying to get "the action shot" by trailing the helicopter etc etc.
- GeorgeKap 11y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_strike https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_strike
JshWright 11y ago
Bird activity is indeed a cause for concern in aerial firefighting (and aviation in general).

bootload 11y ago

"Can a drone actually hurt a helicopter. And did the drone controllers know they were causing an issue, I doubt it." Drones in a restricted flight zone, in a fire situation will ground fire-fighting helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. That stops essential fire suppression operations which allows fires to get out of control. In turn, this hurts people. Is that clear enough?

Negitivefrags 11y ago
So just fly the damn helicopters and forget the drones. The chance of a drone taking out a helicopter almost certainly so low as to be not worth worrying about.
- jonlucc 11y ago
  I was thinking the rotor wash from the much-larger-than-toy-drone helicopters would handle the drones just fine.
  - JshWright 11y ago
    Assuming the drone is below the helicopter. It's just as likely the drone would be above the helicopter and rotor wash would pull the drone _towards_ the turbine inlets.
- Coding_Cat 11y ago
  Your[1] argument seems to be "We don't know if they're dangerous, I personally don't think they are so we should just allow them". The first part is okay, the second part I strongly disagree with. We're dealing with an emergency situation here, if drones can damage helicopters/hamper the efforts of the firefighters and they're not banned there is the potential of loss of life. If they don't, and we ban them, there's the loss of cool pictures, and personal freedom in a disaster zone. Something which we have experienced without problems for ages now. Sure, perhaps some research would be in order to determine if/what kind of drones can cause issues, and allow those which are safe (or atleast give licenses to news drones and the like for public interest purposes). But erring on the side of caution before the results are in does not seem to be a bad idea IMHO. [1] as in, the people in this thread arguing for the use of drones, not you as an individual.

berkut 11y ago

Well obviously - depending on the helicopter and where its turboshaft (jet engines, with air inlets, but designed to create rotational energy rather than raw thrust) are mounted, it's quite possible for a drone to get sucked into the inlets, possibly causing FOD (foreign object damage). Likely - maybe not, but definitely possible.

mikeyouse 11y ago

When a small bird can shatter the windscreen of a helicopter temporarily blinding the pilot, I think it's pretty safe to assume a 2kg drone can cause some pretty significant damage; http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/after-bird-blinds-dallas-police-pilot-co-pilot-calmly-takes-control-and-lands-helicopter.html/ http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/after-bird-blinds...