51–60 of 113 posts
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The FAA says 400 ft. for UAV.
Idle curiosity: I wonder how high a hobbyist unit could fly straight up before running out of batteries.
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Regulations require it, also air likes to cling to to the surface, plus you had a chance to acclimate and/or are experienced with such a thing.
The regulations actually don't require it. Under FAA rules for general aviation ("Part 91"), you need oxygen between 12,500 and 14,000 feet if you remain there for more than 30 minutes, and it's only once you climb above 14,000 feet that the pilot unequivocally has to have it. You need to get to 15,000 feet before the passengers have to have oxygen provided. (More: http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochure…
Not only his pictures are visually stunning, but also incredibly difficult to capture.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/63499655@N02/sets/721576298051...
Hm, how high can drone/baloon legally fly?
This [0] is all from 96k ft.
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How difficult is it to get clearance to fly a helicopter or airplane over Manhattan as they did? It seems like an unnecessary risk given the population density. For that matter wouldn't it be possible for a terrorist to get approval by creating a ruse of a legitimate (but non essential) reason?
It isn't particularly difficult for a small aircraft, provided airline traffic isn't too busy. NYC ATC is usually pretty accommodating. There are helicopters constantly buzzing the city. Note that the terror threat is very small since the payload of these light aircraft is significantly less than driving a truck full of explosives at street level. Think typically less than 1,000 lbs vs 20,000 lbs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_CH-47_Chinook
They actually use something like this to hoist HVAC units on roofs (so it's not a total stretch).
I was thinking also more in terms of the "terrorism" value of crashing anything of any size into a building in Manhattan vs. the raw damage. Of course airplanes of all sizes are also possible obviously.
I so want a 2880 image of that for my desktop background.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The FAA says 400 ft. for UAV.
Idle curiosity: I wonder how high a hobbyist unit could fly straight up before running out of batteries.
Not sure if the max speed is up or down... [1]: http://www.dji.com/product/phantom/feature
The images truly are breathtaking. His note about the streets seeming like neurons is interesting, but I hope I'm not the only person who immediately thought the shots resembled an exaggerated extruded version of a chip's layered layout. (Here's sort of a small version: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Cell-Proc... ) It's a bit odd: the scale of the city is not quite large enough to look like a mode…
New York as a Microchip layout was the main theme of the intro of 'Hackers'. Check out around 0:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c4KG_8iTZM
Btw just in case you didn't know, you can link to specific times in youtube videos, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c4KG_8iTZM&t=55s
One of my favorite things to do with new passengers is take them up and down the Hudson River corridor, an airspace that "tunnels through" the more tightly controlled airspaces of Newark and Laguardia. From the Verrazanno Bridge up the Manhattan side of the river at 1000 feet and exiting over the Tappan Zee (or vice versa, southbound on the Jersey side, or a round trip) is unforgettable for passengers. These images a…
How difficult is it to get clearance to fly a helicopter or airplane over Manhattan as they did? It seems like an unnecessary risk given the population density. For that matter wouldn't it be possible for a terrorist to get approval by creating a ruse of a legitimate (but non essential) reason?
Over the Hudson River (East River too) is VFR (uncontrolled) airspace up to 1500 feet [edit: this was changed to 1300 feet in 2009, after the accident referenced below] bank to bank up to the George Washington Bridge. My flight instructor told me that the radar shadow of the buildings makes it difficult to control, but I don't really know if that's the reason. You don't need ATC permission to fly there.
It's a zoo, though, pretty dense helicopter and small plane traffic, and everybody's looking at the big buildings, not the other planes. In 2009 a small plane and helicopter collided, killing 9 people. I've flown up there once, and it was totally worth it, but I probably wouldn't do it again.