8 ms·

You can't gauge the airspeed of an airplane from the ground. What you are observing is the ground speed, which is affected by winds. So a small Cessna flying in

You can't gauge the airspeed of an airplane from the ground. What you are observing is the ground speed, which is affected by winds. So a small Cessna flying into a heavy headwind can appear to move very, very slowly relative to the ground.

willy_k 2y ago
I’m aware of that, and I tried to think that was what was happening. But the motion apart from speed was nothing like a typical plane, and the other factors led me to conclude it was a drone. When I say the FAA light patterns were off, what I mean is that it had two red lights on the outside, and two green lights on the inside. AFAIK, the only type of aircraft that might have that configuration is a trans-wing drone.
- echoangle 2y ago
  > When I say the FAA light patterns were off, what I mean is that it had two red lights on the outside, and two green lights on the inside. AFAIK, the only type of aircraft that might have that configuration is a trans-wing drone. What? How do you get from a specific kind of lighting to „trans-wing drone“? What prevents me from lighting a regular-wing RC plane with the same lighting configuration?
  - willy_k 2y ago
    > What prevents me from lighting a regular-wing RC plane with the same lighting configuration? If I’m not mistaken, the FAA does (unless RC planes aren’t covered?). Are you really positing that I saw an intentionally misconfigured RC plane flying in the middle of nowhere at 2 AM? You’re right that I’m making a leap with the trans-wing part. I said that because it’s my understanding that some of the sightings have included airfoil and transforming drones, that a trans-wing drone would exhibit the light pattern I saw, and that the military (Navy I believe) does own trans-wing drones that match other the descriptions of other sightings. So to me the lights were the final nail that this wasn’t a plane, but I held on to it being a plane for a while.
    - echoangle 2y ago
      > If I’m not mistaken, the FAA does (unless RC planes aren’t covered?). Are you really positing that I saw an intentionally misconfigured RC plane flying in the middle of nowhere at 2 AM? So the FAA prevents me from using the scheme you described, but the drones you think you observed are exempt? I still don’t see how you can draw any conclusion from the lighting, unless the lighting you saw is only permitted for a specific class of object.
      - willy_k 2y ago
        Well turns out I was wrong about the pattern I saw being distinctive of trans-wing drones, it’s the pattern used by all drones. The conclusion I draw from that is it’s not a plane. And I didn’t hear a helicopter, so only a few possibilities remain.

willy_k 2y ago

I’m aware of that, and I tried to think that was what was happening. But the motion apart from speed was nothing like a typical plane, and the other factors led me to conclude it was a drone. When I say the FAA light patterns were off, what I mean is that it had two red lights on the outside, and two green lights on the inside. AFAIK, the only type of aircraft that might have that configuration is a trans-wing drone.

echoangle 2y ago
> When I say the FAA light patterns were off, what I mean is that it had two red lights on the outside, and two green lights on the inside. AFAIK, the only type of aircraft that might have that configuration is a trans-wing drone. What? How do you get from a specific kind of lighting to „trans-wing drone“? What prevents me from lighting a regular-wing RC plane with the same lighting configuration?
- willy_k 2y ago
  > What prevents me from lighting a regular-wing RC plane with the same lighting configuration? If I’m not mistaken, the FAA does (unless RC planes aren’t covered?). Are you really positing that I saw an intentionally misconfigured RC plane flying in the middle of nowhere at 2 AM? You’re right that I’m making a leap with the trans-wing part. I said that because it’s my understanding that some of the sightings have included airfoil and transforming drones, that a trans-wing drone would exhibit the light pattern I saw, and that the military (Navy I believe) does own trans-wing drones that match other the descriptions of other sightings. So to me the lights were the final nail that this wasn’t a plane, but I held on to it being a plane for a while.
  - echoangle 2y ago
    > If I’m not mistaken, the FAA does (unless RC planes aren’t covered?). Are you really positing that I saw an intentionally misconfigured RC plane flying in the middle of nowhere at 2 AM? So the FAA prevents me from using the scheme you described, but the drones you think you observed are exempt? I still don’t see how you can draw any conclusion from the lighting, unless the lighting you saw is only permitted for a specific class of object.
    - willy_k 2y ago
      Well turns out I was wrong about the pattern I saw being distinctive of trans-wing drones, it’s the pattern used by all drones. The conclusion I draw from that is it’s not a plane. And I didn’t hear a helicopter, so only a few possibilities remain.