MartinW

That wasn't my quote by the way Tony. You've ballsed up your quotes a bit.

While you're at it ban heat. 32 degrees here yesterday. No aircon. I thought aviation glass was supposed to be able to handle bird strike at that speed?

Except that if it did hit the lens... then the lens would be covered in paint, and the kinky owner of the drone would fail to record your naked holiday guests bottom [Mutley] during his naked sun bathing sessions.

Not sure we can blame the owner of the pigeons. They do travel many miles I believe. They race them over 100 to 1000 km. The birds once released make their way home. If they were all from one owner, in a flock, then they could be all heading for the same home from the starting point. The owner may not have been close to the airport though. I'm just speculating from minimal knowledge, so I could be talking cobblers.

Not forgetting incendiary devices of course. A few drones equipped with such devices and remotely guided could be devastating in terms of property damage. Equipped with IR, flown under the cover of darkness and guided toward any location where flammable materials are likely to be accessible, could be very destructive.

In the news today... Prof David Dunn of the University of Birmingham, the incident illustrated a growing problem. He told the BBC that drones posed a danger because their popularity had outstripped both the regulation and education on how to use them safely. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33345417

I know we joke, but something occurs to me. A drone was confiscated the other day at Wimbledon. So what if some nefarious individual attached a small explosive device to a drone? Might not be lethal but injury is bad enough, especially if there were multiple drones. Something the size of the Amazon drone can carry 5lbs. 5lbs of high explosive detonated remotely would be pretty nasty. Seems to me we do indeed require the means to down drones.

I reckon John would be a pretty good shot. Even with a paintball gun. He and Mutley are always at the gun range when Mutley nips over. I'm not too bad myself. Just wait till the offending drone is hovering low, parallel to your bathroom window and it should be an easy shot. Especially if you have a single story dwelling. You could use one of these...

On the subject of our anti-drone defences. The simplest solutions are the best. A single paintball shot at the lens should do it. With no means to spy on your naked wife through the bathroom window, the drones very purpose is negated.

Who? I've seen plenty of yielding. Me for example when I stupidly didn't engage my brain re terminal velocity. After years of physics posts on everything from M-Theory to the Alcubierre drive... it happens. I blame the heat, 32 degrees here yesterday.

Oh absolutely. MythBusters is purely entertainment. As I said "not that they always get it right". The "frozen chickens penetrating glass easier than thawed" episode was a prime example. The first time they visited it they labelled it busted. Those of us in the UK however, are well aware that frozen chickens do indeed penetrate glass better than thawed chickens. British Rail famously messed up by firing frozen chickens at their advanced passenger train windshields. They were attempting to copy the aviation industry. Unfortunately they were unaware that the frozen chickens should have been th

Two words. "Ouch that hurt" was tongue in cheek. MythBusters tested this. Not that they always get it right. http://mythbustersresults.com/episode50

Oh yes. I posted it out of interest, and to provide an inkling into how the Falklands air combat proceeded. This is an interesting article, well worth reading the entire 8 page article.... http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/air-war-in-the-falklands-32214512/?cmd=ChdjYS1wdWItMjY0NDQyNTI0NTE5MDk0Nw&page=8

Puerto Rico is pretty bad apparently. About two people die and about 25 more are injured each year from celebratory gunfire on New Year's Eve. California too. Between the years 1985 and 1992, doctors at the King/Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, treated some 118 people for random falling-bullet injuries. Thirty-eight of them died. I would agree with shotguns being less of an issue in this respect. The only incident I can find was in Ireland. A celebratory shot at a wedding killing a women. Didn't say what sort of trajectory though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebratory_

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with John on this as I don't have the facts at my disposal. However, I thought you might be interested in this account... http://theaviationist.com/2012/05/22/sea-harrier-the-forgotten-hero-that-won-the-war-in-the-falklands-to-be-replaced-by-the-f-35b/ I recall the US Marine Corp Harriers engaged in dogfighting against Mirage 2000's, think it was last years. Cant find any info on how it went though.

The link underneath the video provides a very good analysis of Spey's, crap! Harrier did indeed perform well in the Falklands, thanks to VIFFing etc. I think the Argentinean aircraft were at a disadvantage though, in terms of being at the edge of their range. Having said that, they were up against new and capable Mirages, and kicked their arses.

Personally, with all respect to Pierre Sprey, I think he's talking bollocks. don't care if he's a co designer of the F16. http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/pierre-spreys-anti-f-35-diatribe-is-half-brilliant-and-1592445665

Probably worth adding that the F35 isn't primarily a dogfighter anyway. It's a multi-role fighter. Would it beat something like a Typhoon in a dogfight, an aircraft designed to be a supremely effective dogfighter? No, but once the flight control laws are fully tweaked, I can see it being as maneuverable or better than the F16. If you happen to be an F35 pilot and you find yourself in a dogfight, then basically you've cocked up. Much of what the F35 does is outside of dogfighting range.

I'm dubious about this article to be honest. "Unnamed pilot" my arse. I doubt the smart people who designed the aircraft, plus the test pilots that fly it, are idiots. This is early days. There are still tweaks that can be applied to the control laws. The article below is positive. They remark that pilots were pleased with the performance, and that they believe they can now give the go ahead to the engineers to fine tune the control laws for greater manoeuvrability. http://aviationweek.com/defense/f-35-flies-against-f-16-basic-fighter-maneuvers

I know you're referring to shotguns, but there's always one nutter who prefers higher calibres. You fail to realize that a projectile fired at a drone, isn't necessarily in free fall! If the shot is fired above 45 degrees, then it reaches it's maximum altitude and falls at 32 feet per second per second, terminal velocity. If the projectile lands on you head, it's like, ouch, that hurt. However... if the projectile is fired at less than 45 degrees it still retains considerable energy. People have died and been injured as a result of celebratory shots fired into the air. Which is wh

We shouldn't get too carried away chaps and lasses. All new technologies have teething problems, not just in terms of technical issues, but frequently in terms of society having to adapt to the technology. May be a few issues at first, until society adapts. One things for sure, you can't disinvent a technology. Drones are hear to stay.

Nope, this is the last one, and it's last season. http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/topic/16696-vulcan-bomber-last-chance-to-see-her-fly/

That is bad news. Apart from the on-going soft landing tests, Falcon 9 has been very reliable. According to Elon Musk on Twitter... "There was an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank. Data suggests counterintuitive cause.

There are a few species I don't care for, but life is life, and life is precious. Therefore be kind to our furry friends. Unlikely, but the universe may be devoid of anything other than plants for all we know, so treat em well chaps.

Cats are like human beings. Some are totally thick some are super smart. Relative to what's within the normal range for the species. You should have met Scratchy. My god what a smart cat.