Spy Balloon!

[DoubleAtotheRON]

I'm licensed, but sub 250 is popular because of regulations, the DJI mini is sub 250.

I have a heavily modified video drone, but have it rigged for FPV, flys like a pig! Regulations have taken much of the fun out of it for the things I wanted to do and videos kinda bound the online community together, but the fines are eyewatering and you are always breaking some rule or another with FPV. With the war in Ukraine, we can see why, these things can be easily turned into weapons of war.

True!... I had one of my Inspires rigged with a grapple claw that would release a payload when you raised the landing gears. Ideally..... you could fly to 14,000ish ft and release it (the air is too thin to fly above that), But I tested the payload of it, and I could pull up a 1 gallon jug of water (a little over 8 lbs.) no problem. Didn't fly great with the payload, and the battery was draining like crazy, but I can see that current tech could pull this off in the 2 kilometer range. It was swinging 4, 14 inch props, 9 pitch. But if you're gonna pull this off, it's not gonna make it back due to the battery drainage.... which is cheap in the expendability of war.

 

[DoubleAtotheRON]

I've delivered weed to my neighbors a mile down the road at night via drone LOL!.. this one has a LED light on the under body so I could see the delivery/pickup.... that was fun.

 

[schuylaar]

View attachment 5260250

I'm going back to Obama when asked, his honesty got the better of him with an 'I can't tell you'.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

https://www.reuters.com/business/china-firmly-opposed-us-blacklist-chinese-entities-will-take-countermeasures-2023-02-15/

This is starting to look more and more like the mountain wasn't even a molehill, more like an ant hill...
China claims that multiple American balloons have flown over Chinese territory, and that the balloon that we shot down was an off course research balloon.
I think they may be telling the truth, on both counts. And i think we just shot down some student's or private meteorologist's balloons, after assuming they were more Chinese spy balloons...
And that the "American" balloons that have been passing over China may be the same thing, research balloons of some kind that are either off course, or no plan was ever registered.
I can see the FFA and it's foreign counterparts requiring some kind of id transponders on balloons over a certain size from now on...

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/senator-says-us-should-consider-mandating-transponders-high-altitude-balloons-2023-02-16/

It makes me sad that i think of this shit, before the people we chose to lead us did...that doesn't speak well for their decision making skills, or their priorities.

 

[cannabineer]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/senator-says-us-should-consider-mandating-transponders-high-altitude-balloons-2023-02-16/

It makes me sad that i think of this shit, before the people we chose to lead us did...that doesn't speak well for their decision making skills, or their priorities.

It’s not a new idea. It is a bad idea from a technical perspective.

So long as the balloon stays above the 60000-foot plane (the ceiling of civilian airspace) I don’t see the need.

 

[DoubleAtotheRON]

It’s not a new idea. It is a bad idea from a technical perspective.

So long as the balloon stays above the 60000-foot plane (the ceiling of civilian airspace) I don’t see the need.

Im not quite sure of the time duration for a balloon to reach 60K ft, or come back to Earth, but it does have to transition through those airspaces.. so.. maybe not a bad idea? Also, there are Military aircraft that do fly at the 60K ft range. Not just the US, but other Countries.

 

[cannabineer]

Im not quite sure of the time duration for a balloon to reach 60K ft, or come back to Earth, but it does have to transition through those airspaces.. so.. maybe not a bad idea? Also, there are Military aircraft that do fly at the 60K ft range. Not just the US, but other Countries.

View attachment 5260622View attachment 5260623

I believe that 60+ is “positive control airspace”-
no incursion without official permission.

Locally we have Proteus, a one-off carrier that can cross the line. Northrop bought it from Scaled Composites, and I bet they have no difficulties filing the flight plan. I lucked onto it at full altitude some days ago while tracking someone else in the 15x glass.

Scaled Composites Proteus - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

As for balloon ascent to the boundary, I think it is on the order of an hour. Launch sites tend to be far from the jetliner routes.

 

[cannabineer]

On the claimed service ceiling of the MiGs, I think that those official numbers are a bit blow-dried. I don’t think those are numbers for sustained level flight. This site quotes a more believable 20600-meter ceiling, and comments on the extreme altitudes achieved using a zoom maneuver.

Mikoyan MiG-31

The Mikoyan MiG-31 (Russian: Микоян МиГ-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed to replace the MiG-25 "Foxbat". The MiG-31 was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau based on the MiG-25.[2] The MiG-25, despite Western panic about its tremendous...

military-history.fandom.com

A cleaned-up F-15 delivered comparable performance despite having lower thrust/weight.

World Record for Time to Climb to a Height of 30000 Meters | This Day in Aviation

 

[DoubleAtotheRON]

On the claimed service ceiling of the MiGs, I think that those official numbers are a bit blow-dried. I don’t think those are numbers for sustained level flight. This site quotes a more believable 20600-meter ceiling, and comments on the extreme altitudes achieved using a zoom maneuver.

Mikoyan MiG-31

The Mikoyan MiG-31 (Russian: Микоян МиГ-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed to replace the MiG-25 "Foxbat". The MiG-31 was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau based on the MiG-25.[2] The MiG-25, despite Western panic about its tremendous...

military-history.fandom.com

A cleaned-up F-15 delivered comparable performance despite having lower thrust/weight.

World Record for Time to Climb to a Height of 30000 Meters | This Day in Aviation

All impressive machines. I'd love the opportunity to take a ride in F22. My old ass would prob pass out tho in a high G maneuver, and I'd miss it. LOL!

 

[cannabineer]

All impressive machines. I'd love the opportunity to take a ride in F22. My old ass would prob pass out tho in a high G maneuver, and I'd miss it. LOL!

as an old glider pilot, I’d give my middle nut to fly the U-2.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

It’s not a new idea. It is a bad idea from a technical perspective.

So long as the balloon stays above the 60000-foot plane (the ceiling of civilian airspace) I don’t see the need.

the last two weeks of over reaction and lunatic ufo morons hasn't illustrated the need? The chinese getting all pissy pantsed about the US invading their airspace doesn't illustrate the need? Civilian balloons (probably) getting shot down?....

 

[cannabineer]

the last two weeks of over reaction and lunatic ufo morons hasn't illustrated the need? The chinese getting all pissy pantsed about the US invading their airspace doesn't illustrate the need? Civilian balloons (probably) getting shot down?....

It’s still a bad idea from a technical perspective.

 

[doublejj]

Hobby Club’s Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF

Hobby Club’s Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF | Aviation Week Network

Although the club is not pointing fingers, there are suspicions among other prominent members of the small, pico-ballooning enthusiasts community.

aviationweek.com

 

[DoubleAtotheRON]

Hobby Club’s Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF

Hobby Club’s Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF | Aviation Week Network

Although the club is not pointing fingers, there are suspicions among other prominent members of the small, pico-ballooning enthusiasts community.

aviationweek.com

Whoops!.

 

[DoubleAtotheRON]

 

[DoubleAtotheRON]

Meanwhile in China......

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fiery-ufo-streaks-across-sky-in-china/vi-AA17z6pe?cvid=8ea98beeb890477db3e9624528572387

 

[schuylaar]

View attachment 5260730

All funny, but there are rules to sending things up. Depending on how high you want to send it determines who you have to notify.
People just make and launch shit out of their garages..you all know this right?

I definitely would like to know what the AF or Navy have seen 'tic tax like object' diving into the ocean. That's pretty interesting.?

 

[HGCC]

That's why I am fully team "shoot the balloons." It's like the fire department, your backyard balloon party gets out of control and they come in and bring them down.

Doesn't need to be this big international incident.

 

[Brettman]

Meanwhile in China......

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fiery-ufo-streaks-across-sky-in-china/vi-AA17z6pe?cvid=8ea98beeb890477db3e9624528572387

What is that ?

 

[DoubleAtotheRON]

What is that ?

No idea.... kinda freaky tho.