Jump to content

Drone damage


yvesg

Recommended Posts

I find the video credible and incredibly scary.  In couple of decades ago the pilot of a Vari-eze was on a cross-country with his wife.  During a fuel stop he incorrectly installed the gas cap.  Just after takeoff it came off and struck the wooden propeller, causing the propeller to shatter.  This caused severe vibration and control issues.  They didn't survive.

I think if a gas cap can do it, so could a drone.  There is lots to fear from drones.  With their MEMS based programmable flight directors and large power/weight ratio- some of them could fly up through the rotor downwash of a helicopter.  I've boarded hovering helicopters before, the downwash in a hover is not that great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Similar...?

0) dual engine outs... highly unlikely...

1) Millions of geese...

2) A single PIC...

3) Movie worthy... ‘Sully’

4) Based on real life...

5) Everybody lives...

 

equally scary and real life...

1) somebody loosened control hardware on a NJ pilot’s plane while it was stored outdoors... (a decade back?)

2) resulted in a fatal crash.

3) no movie ever generated... but, made the news papers...

 

I prefer the positive story over the negative one.... :)

 

Best regards,

-a-

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went through the video one frame at a time. In one frame you can kind of see the smoke gernade taped to rage tail.

I haven’t worked on any helicopters, but I’ve studied a few. As fragile as the tail rotors look I think they would make mince meat out of that drone with minor damage. The Agusta 109 looks like a pretty tough bird. 

Edited by N201MKTurbo
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I went through the video one frame at a time. In one frame you can kind of see the smoke gernade taped to rage tail.

I haven’t worked on any helicopters, but I’ve studied a few. As fragile as the tail rotors look I think they would make mince meat out of that drone with minor damage. The Agusta 109 looks like a pretty tough bird. 

I dunno, most of the drone is plastic and relatively inconsequential stuff, but the motor casings are pretty hefty chunk's of metal.  It'd be like chucking a few 3/8" bolts into the tail rotor...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, jaylw314 said:

I dunno, most of the drone is plastic and relatively inconsequential stuff, but the motor casings are pretty hefty chunk's of metal.  It'd be like chucking a few 3/8" bolts into the tail rotor...

We will just have to wait for the You Tube video to come out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the fatality risk of drones is fairly low, but I am virtually certain that damage to aircraft is going to happen, and the risk is likely growing with (my assumption of) increased drone activity.

With the power of the FAA of all things air related, it would seem to me there would regulations in effect to require (1) traceable serial numbers on all drones sold and required registration. and (2) requiring manufacturers of drones to provide instrumentation to prevent flight above specified altitudes.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, DonMuncy said:

I think the fatality risk of drones is fairly low, but I am virtually certain that damage to aircraft is going to happen, and the risk is likely growing with (my assumption of) increased drone activity.

It's believed to have already happened.   At one point Aeromexico confirmed that it was a drone collision, but I haven't heard anything since.  In the pics you can see there's no eviscera like would be present from a bird strike.

https://www.diyphotography.net/mexican-authorities-are-investigating-an-alleged-drone-collision-with-boeing-737-passenger-plane/

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, gsxrpilot said:

Wake me up when there's actually a fatality here in the US from a drone hitting an aircraft. Until then there are plenty of things that actually kill pilots on a regular basis. 

But most of those things are inside the cockpit . . . . .  :(  Some things outside the cockpit also need to be prevented, especially those that can't be planned around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Best I could tell, the video was actually an advertisement for a casualty insurance company.  They spent a lot of money for that!  But hey, the adolescent drone operator did look duly perturbed by the chaos that he caused.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

Hi, Don.  The registration requirement already exists, although I suspect there is widespread non compliance.

Jim

https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/register_drone/

My post was not well worded. I am aware that registration is required, but it would seem to be a lot better enforced, if the sellers of the drones were required to report the identification of persons buying them. The FAA does not seem to have any trouble making requirements of aircraft owners. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DonMuncy said:

My post was not well worded. I am aware that registration is required, but it would seem to be a lot better enforced, if the sellers of the drones were required to report the identification of persons buying them. The FAA does not seem to have any trouble making requirements of aircraft owners. 

Registration is only practically required for commercial operators.  Individuals are required to register, but it is not feasible to enforce.  Even if you could legally force drone sellers to report each individual sale, there is no system to track transfer of ownership, nor does this deal with the practical reality of someone manufacturing a drone themselves with off-the-shelf parts.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

Far more people are killed each year by firearms, (registered and not) than by drones.  Let’s start with the most serious thread first.

Clarence

Great idea!

According to the big sign on the highway, more people were killed on motorcycles in the state of Georgia last year than died in all aircraft accidents in the country. Of course, more died in Georgia in car accidents in December than on motorcycles for the year.

So let's start with cars and the people who operate them . . . .  FAA & NTSB will enjoy leaving aircraft accidents alone for a while!

(Please leave your Canadian politics at home. The U.S. Constitution fortunately prohibits what you are advocating. But your airplane maintenance insights are incredibly valuable here.)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Canadian Have Guns too...I visited a shop in Whitehorse and saw the same assault and handguns on display as a shop in Montana.I asked  a couple of shop regulars..”I thought handguns were illegal in Canada””Well we are supposed to lock up and only allowed to shoot them under supervised gun range,but we don’t bother with that arround here”!Maybe He was kidding me

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Hank said:

(Please leave your Canadian politics at home. The U.S. Constitution fortunately prohibits what you are advocating. But your airplane maintenance insights are incredibly valuable here.)

A gentle reminder, while I agree with the concept of minimizing the intrusion of politics into our forum, MS is NOT specifically a US community, so please reconsider your tone. 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, jaylw314 said:

A gentle reminder, while I agree with the concept of minimizing the intrusion of politics into our forum, MS is NOT specifically a US community, so please reconsider your tone. 

When someone drags unrelated politics into an Aviation discussion here, I will call them on it. Unless there's a relationship between midair drone-aircraft collisions and gun control of which I am unaware?

I'm not apologizing for keeping politics out. Search for "Little Timmy" to see what that leads to, if the multi-thousand post thread full of insults and name calling hasn't been removed. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Hank said:

When someone drags unrelated politics into an Aviation discussion here, I will call them on it. Unless there's a relationship between midair drone-aircraft collisions and gun control of which I am unaware?

I'm not apologizing for keeping politics out. Search for "Little Timmy" to see what that leads to, if the multi-thousand post thread full of insults and name calling hasn't been removed. 

As I said previously, I agree with the premise, but I think there is a big difference between saying "please keep politics out of this discussion," and "please keep YOUR politics out of the discussion."

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, jaylw314 said:

As I said previously, I agree with the premise, but I think there is a big difference between saying "please keep politics out of this discussion," and "please keep YOUR politics out of the discussion."

Agreed! Sorry @M20Doc. No offense intended, just wanted to de-politicize the thread. 

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Hank said:

Agreed! Sorry @M20Doc. No offense intended, just wanted to de-politicize the thread. 

Hank,

No offence taken.  As you point out there are even greater threat to lives than guns or drones.  Point taken.

Clarence

Edited by M20Doc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.