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Phantom lands on Warship
1285 13 2017-8-13
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Zuldan
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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-40910087

So as you know flying near an airport will get you in trouble. It it appears you won't get in trouble for landing on a warship ;-)
2017-8-13
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dancopter
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His story seems to be a bit off. It landed automatically from a high wind warning?

"He said: "I was getting a high wind signal telling me to land.
"I didn't really want to land it but the wind was so strong, I didn't feel it would make it back so I ignored the warning. I never expected it to land on the deck."
The pilot said his drone is equipped with anti-crash sensors and will automatically land itself if it is in danger."
2017-8-14
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Kmelx
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It's surprising that military bases and construction slips are not NFZ, expect that to come soon.
2017-8-14
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Geebax
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dancopter Posted at 2017-8-14 00:10
His story seems to be a bit off. It landed automatically from a high wind warning?

"He said: "I was getting a high wind signal telling me to land.

Yeah, then they post a picture of a Phantom 2, which has none of that.
2017-8-14
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Nigel_
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Kmelx Posted at 2017-8-14 00:22
It's surprising that military bases and construction slips are not NFZ, expect that to come soon.


I don't think that Invergordon counts as a military base, it is normally a base for the oil industry, and the ship has not yet been commissioned so isn't a warship yet, just a construction site, which is why it is docked there and not at a military facility.  As the ship is not commissioned it has no defences so our enemies would currently have no problem flying a fighter jet over and doing some serious damage.  It would be a pretty stupid thing to do though!

Since he flew across from the other side of the water then he was well out of visual range, but still in line of sight.  He couldn't fly from Invergordon itself because that counts as a congested area so I guess flying over the water was preferable. Maybe he solved the visual range issue by using a boat?
  
Since the ship probably counts as a vehicle, there should be a 50m limit, maybe that is the most serious rule he broke?  Not surprising nobody was interested.

It is very surprising that the drone would auto-land dead centre of the ship and neatly orientated in line with the ship for a perfect photo - this new precision landing system on the P4 is impressive!

The horizon is not perfectly level though...
2017-8-14
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Aardvark
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"He said it normally avoids steel structures but the non-slip coating on the carrier flight deck allowed it to touch down. "

That sounds like it doesn't make much sense at all, but more like a yarn spun out for the press :-)

Almost the opposite of some of our politicians where nothing seems to stick to them (the Teflon club) :-)

All good Craic...


http://cfpa.co.uk/About-Us/History.aspx
2017-8-14
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Nigel_
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Aardvark Posted at 2017-8-14 01:46
"He said it normally avoids steel structures but the non-slip coating on the carrier flight deck allowed it to touch down. "

That sounds like it doesn't make much sense at all, but more like a yarn spun out for the press :-)

Thanks for the link - so it definitely isn't a military area these days and has no reason for significant security.

The deck coatings have been in the press a few times, especially when they had a few problems with the aluminium - titanium mixture, so he probably thought it would make a good press story and maybe increase the value of his pictures, however I think the area he landed on was normal steel deck.  The special heat resistant coatings are only used in the areas used for vertical landing by the new Lightning II jet fighters that would melt a steel deck!
2017-8-14
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Rigger73
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It's a security lapse for sure, and some-one in Whitehall is going to end up with plenty of egg on their face.

As for a foreign fighter jet getting close - good luck.  RAF Lossiemouth - now home to squadrons of Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, is just across the Moray Firth - 30 miles as the crow flies I reckon.  At full reheat - that will only be 5 minutes flying time.

Bear in mind these aircraft are regularly intercepting Russian Tu-95 Bear aircraft over the Norwegian Sea, I doubt they are going to let any hostile aircraft get close.


Still - a heavy lift drone - with some explosive compound and basic timer - doesn't bear thinking about.


Best get some Matloes up there and doing some armed guard duties, until the HMS QEII's CIWS come online.
2017-8-14
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ALABAMA
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He would have never even made it close to an American carrier
2017-8-14
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MJLSTUDIOS
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High winds my butt! Look at the water surface...looks pretty calm to me!
2017-8-14
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Nigel_
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ALABAMA Posted at 2017-8-14 04:55
He would have never even made it close to an American carrier

You mean like the Iranian drones that your aircraft carriers are having trouble with!
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/ ... ulf-close-call.html
2017-8-14
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Nigel_
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A better version of the story from The Register: https://www.theregister.co.uk/20 ... cots_drone_landing/

However it is no longer a DJI Phantom drone but a ****** ******!
2017-8-14
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Hemlock_Cloud
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wow that is awesome!
2017-8-14
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ALABAMA
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Nigel_ Posted at 2017-8-14 05:32
A better version of the story from The Register: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/11/hms_iqueen_lizziei_impugned_by_cheeky_scots_drone_landing/

However it is no longer a DJI Phantom drone but a ****** ******!

Note that jet was in a "holding pattern". Typically 15 to 20 miles from carrier itself.
2017-8-14
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