Spotted a drone tonight.

[ajwakeboarder]

My girlfriend and I decided to see the fireworks show at southlake town center. We parked on the roof of the east parking garage. They were shooting the fireworks off the other one. We had a great view of the show. About 10 minutes after it started I noticed a aircraft flying around with 2 green lights and 2 red lights. An aircraft uses red and green lights as position indicators. Green is always on the right side from the pilots perspective. This craft had green on the left and red on the right. Additionally, the green light was blinking. I think it was a quadcraft type based on the fact that it could hover and change direction rapidly. I know that the town center is in the inner ring of DFWs bravo airspace and I don't believe it's safe (or completely legal) to be flying any kind of aircraft there without permission from ATC. I went ahead and called southlakes non emergency police number and informed them that a drone was flying around and that I observed it landing at the gateway church across the highway. The dispatcher kinda blew me off saying that all the police working the event probably noticed it but that she would let them know. I'm not sure, but I estimated that the drone was flying at 2000-2500 feet. I know jets usually fly steeper approaches and are usually higher that far out, but it still concerned me that it was flying that high that close to a major airport. Thoughts? Should I have not alerted the police? I'm interested in your opinions. I'll post a picture of it in this thread sometime this weekend.

[Dave2]

I'm not sure, but I estimated that the drone was flying at 2000-2500 feet. I know jets usually fly steeper approaches and are usually higher that far out, but it still concerned me that it was flying that high that close to a major airport. Thoughts?

Yeah... I used to work under a frequently used departure "lane", I think further away from the northern end DFW's runways than Southlake's town center. Maybe I'm just a bad judge of altitude, but 2500ft is about what I'd guess a lot of them were at when they flew overhead, sometimes lower. So I'd think a drone flying that high that close to the airport would absolutely be a threat to air traffic, assuming that ATC didn't already know about it.

[TomsTXCHL]

...I'm not sure, but I estimated that the drone was flying at 2000-2500 feet.

I have a quadcopter and must say I am skeptical of your alt estimate. It's really hard to judge altitude for a small 'copter especially at night.

Then again mine's a toy not capable of those alts given it's controllved via WiFi.

[The Annoyed Man]

...I'm not sure, but I estimated that the drone was flying at 2000-2500 feet.

I have a quadcopter and must say I am skeptical of your alt estimate. It's really hard to judge altitude for a small 'copter especially at night.

Then again mine's a toy not capable of those alts given it's controllved via WiFi.

Does yours have the red/green navigation lights, like the one ajwakeboarder saw?

[Texsquatch]

Help me understand. When did a remote control helicopter or quad-whatever become a drone? I know some agencies have them but don't a lot of people own then too? I've seen some cool footage by private owners filming local areas. I know the word "drone" spikes concerns of government and law enforcement spying, but couldn't the OP's posting simply be some amateur a remote control hobby?

I live close to a small airport and on 2 occasions I saw one of those homemade jobs (used to call them experimental craft) where the wings are "backwards" - small wing in front, larger in back. My neighbor got some footage with his IPad and showed me later. He was all worked up about a drone flying over our neighborhood. I saw the exact same thing on the exact same day and even saw the little bubble cockpit, but his mind was made up that it was a drone.

[92f-fan]

Drone is what the FAA is calling them and the media
http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=76240" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Do not fly model aircraft higher than 400 feet above the surface.
When flying aircraft within 3 miles of an airport, notify the airport operator,
or when an air traffic facility is located at the airport, notify the control
tower, or flight service station.

I saw one at Kaboom town last night in Addison
ON the Airport property with low flying Acrobatic aircraft over head
This one also had the red and green lights
But was never more than about 400 feet up
IM almost certain he had no clearance

They are also called quad copters
this is one of the most popular types
http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It has the red green lights

BTW I would have one of these toys if the legality wasnt so much in question
I don't want to end up like this guy
http://q13fox.com/2014/06/12/video-woma ... z36W24Bbe2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
She accuses him of being a creeper when a GoPro is SO wide angle you cant even see whether the few people on the beach are male or female.

[TomsTXCHL]

Drone is what the FAA is calling them...

Yeah I'd say any unmanned aircraft can be called a drone and I'd not argue

...They are also called quad copters
this is one of the most popular types
http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It has the red green lights

Mine's a Parrot 2.0 and it too has the running lights. But the Phantom is the one I'd really like.

BTW I would have one of these toys if the legality wasnt so much in question
I don't want to end up like this guy
http://q13fox.com/2014/06/12/video-woma ... z36W24Bbe2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
She accuses him of being a creeper when a GoPro is SO wide angle you cant even see whether the few people on the beach are male or female.

Geez dude don't let that stop you--get one now before they become "illegal" to own!

They are great fun & almost too easy to fly!

[ajwakeboarder]

Again, I'm not exactly sure of the altitude, I'm estimating 2000-2500 based in the height of the craft in relation to the height of the fireworks. It circled the entire show and when it was on the opposite side from me, it was still quite a bit higher than the highest fireworks.

I used to fly rc airplanes. I differentiate a RC aircraft from a drone based on how it's flown. IE in the RC environment, I had to maintain a constant line of sight with my aircraft and I flew it based on this. I'm almost certain that whoever was piloting this was doing so using a camera built into the craft. I consider that a drone.

I went to a CTI school to learn to be an air traffic controller and I'm also a private pilot. I know RC/drones aren't widely considered aircraft by federal standards, but I believe that hobbyist should not be allowed to operate in the inner ring of class Bravo or Charlie airspace. I've seen firsthand what a bird can do to an airplane. I really don't want to see what a "drone" would do.

[cb1000rider]

IF it's really that inner ring, it's likely zero to pretty high altitude.
The FAA hasn't kept up with technology on many fronts.. That's part of why general aviation for the most part doesn't have modern motors that can run on pump gas or diesel.

If it's a helicopter looking thing - 4 to 6 blades.. At 2500 feet, it'd be very hard to see.

There are a bunch of them now that carry cameras and don't need line of sight. They're programmed via gps coordinates and will return to home.

I wouldn't want one inside a bravo either... I wasn't there, but 2500 is pretty high... Too high to take aerial photos without a good zoom lens if you're after something in particular.

[ajwakeboarder]

I think it was just videoing the fireworks show from the air. The only reason I saw it was the lights. It had 4 lights. 2 green and 2 red. I thought it might have been a helicopter at first, but I couldn't hear it and it would go from hover to moving vet fast. Faster than any manned helicopter I've ever seen. And I checked the charts. It appears that we were just inside the inner ring of bravo.

[DocV]

I think it was just videoing the fireworks show from the air. The only reason I saw it was the lights. It had 4 lights. 2 green and 2 red. I thought it might have been a helicopter at first, but I couldn't hear it and it would go from hover to moving vet fast. Faster than any manned helicopter I've ever seen. And I checked the charts. It appears that we were just inside the inner ring of bravo.

I also checked the charts. If I managed to match up the landmarks properly, the Class B inner ring western boundary terminates on a line starting (approximately) at the intersection of Southlake Blvd and Carroll Avenue to a point somewhere near the DFW Marriott Solena. That is, the Southlake town center and the Gateway church is solidly inside the ring. You make the correct call in contacting the police. They should be able to get in touch with ATC quickly and would need to be the immediate responders to such an incident.

A casual call to the FAA DFW ATCT at 972-615-2500 might render more insight.

[WildBill]

Here is a very good video of fireworks taken yesterday from a drone at a West Palm Beach, Florida show.

[youtube][/youtube]

[Maxwell]

Help me understand. When did a remote control helicopter or quad-whatever become a drone? I know some agencies have them but don't a lot of people own then too? I've seen some cool footage by private owners filming local areas. I know the word "drone" spikes concerns of government and law enforcement spying, but couldn't the OP's posting simply be some amateur a remote control hobby?

I live close to a small airport and on 2 occasions I saw one of those homemade jobs (used to call them experimental craft) where the wings are "backwards" - small wing in front, larger in back. My neighbor got some footage with his IPad and showed me later. He was all worked up about a drone flying over our neighborhood. I saw the exact same thing on the exact same day and even saw the little bubble cockpit, but his mind was made up that it was a drone.

THANK YOU! I recently saw an article about a "drone" nearly hitting and aircraft. In the article the pilot (ex military) actually stated it was a fully painted model of an F4 Phantom! Key word here is "MODEL" and yet the media jumped on the "it flies and it's remote controlled so it must be a drone" bandwagon.

Gimme a break!

FYI, for those of you too young to remember the F4 look it up. As fighter jets go It does have a pretty distinctive appearance.

[ELB]

Help me understand. When did a remote control helicopter or quad-whatever become a drone? I know some agencies have them but don't a lot of people own then too? I've seen some cool footage by private owners filming local areas. I know the word "drone" spikes concerns of government and law enforcement spying, but couldn't the OP's posting simply be some amateur a remote control hobby?

I live close to a small airport and on 2 occasions I saw one of those homemade jobs (used to call them experimental craft) where the wings are "backwards" - small wing in front, larger in back. My neighbor got some footage with his IPad and showed me later. He was all worked up about a drone flying over our neighborhood. I saw the exact same thing on the exact same day and even saw the little bubble cockpit, but his mind was made up that it was a drone.

THANK YOU! I recently saw an article about a "drone" nearly hitting and aircraft. In the article the pilot (ex military) actually stated it was a fully painted model of an F4 Phantom! Key word here is "MODEL" and yet the media jumped on the "it flies and it's remote controlled so it must be a drone" bandwagon.

Gimme a break!

FYI, for those of you too young to remember the F4 look it up. As fighter jets go It does have a pretty distinctive appearance.

So why is an RC hobbyist's widget NOT a drone? What IS a "drone?" Usage seems to be "it flies, it doesn't have a pilot on board, and seems somehow 'more' than an "RC" model."

I suspect coming up with a name that has a definition that really captures what the widget is is part of the reason the Air Force officially calls them "unmanned air vehicles". This modern generation of "drones" - including the quadcopters as well as the globalhawk-types -- are so much more advanced in capability over the old "drones" that to me "drone" doesn't seem the right word for them. A lot of old F-4s (and Century series fighter jets) became aerial unmanned targets - called "drones," at least colloquially -- with the addition of some radio and steering gears, but they were much more akin to a hobbyists' RC than to something like the Predator. The QF-4 and its cousins had just enough remote control to take off, fly to a target area, and get shot down. Quadcopters like this one seem much more capable than that, making them more than a "drone."