- 25,122
- 261
???? I’m walking out the door to fly now. These things are made to fly in high winds and steady downpours.
Thermal Drones
- Thread starter brock ratcliff
- Start date
I would worry about the ice building on the unit. Lots to go wrong from an aircraft standpoint and ice. @"J"
After some internet reading and talking to Brock, maybe these units are build to better handle the conditions. At the time of my post it was raining and 32* with ice forming on the grass and tree branches. It seems decreased battery life because of the temperature is more of a concern. I still can't wrap my head around the thought
- 25,122
- 261
Wiley E Coyote
Active Member
That is a really cool picture!! That's some neat insight into the life of a whitetail!
Our experience says it’d be a problem in icing conditions.
But we dealt with something a little different. Bigger, heavier and more prone to icing.
The brain washing is working because I can't wrap my head around how this is alright
The drone we use are fine in the rain and snow. I've flown it in torrential downpours, and 53 mph winds. Scared me a bit but it didnt fail. Also had it in the air in Temps much cooler then today. A little snow or rain is nothing for an all weather drone, but that's what lots of $ will buy you. The cheaper models would fail. Also has self heating batteries.
Oh I'm not flying. I think I may go fishing. But a cloudy day like today is very tempting.
I've got a kid dying to burn a tag. I will be hunting here very shortly. Just gotta figure out what spot he wants to hunt.
- 25,122
- 261
Shot in the butt apparently. Found in less than ten minutes. The man has been trying to kill this deer for three years. He’s a very happy man.
Lundy
Member
- 1,307
- 127
I have watched a bunch on videos on line, amazing technology. With as many bad hunters and shots taken each year I wish this technology would have been available much sooner and even a bigger wish that more would utilize it to help recover dead deer that would otherwise not be found.
- 25,122
- 261
I agree. There is no reason to go chasing a poorly hit deer if you know someone with a drone. In the near future I think it will be standard procedure if you don’t see them tip over.
- 39,063
- 274
Different technology. An aircraft requires forward movement to create lift. The icing on the leading edge of an aircraft wing increases drag, adds weight, decreases thrust, and as a result lift decreases. Air moving over the top of a wing moves faster than under it creating low pressure above and high pressure below which generates lift. If the wing shape changes due to ice and the air over the top and bottom move by the wing at the same speed then it falls out of the sky, regardless of the aircraft's speed. There is also the 350-450mph wind causing windchill at altitude that contributes to icing. Rotary aircraft like helicopters are far less susceptible to icing on their lift generation surfaces, which for them are blades not wings.
Last edited:
- 39,063
- 274
@giles I should add that the above explanation of flight is a theory, believe it or not, nobody can explain with scientific certainty how an aircraft's wings work to create lift, we just know the shape works, and if you deviate from it too much, it doesn't work anymore. The other common theory is the wing pushes air down. Kind of like when you hold your hand out a car window and tilt it up and down while going down the road. That theory too is not concise and has its own set of unanswered questions. For example when a tail dragger is going down the runway on its tail wheel, the wings are tilted at an upward angle, if the push air down theory was correct, it should take off like that pretty early and easily. Yet they have to raise the tail, level the wings, and continue to gain speed before the aircraft will take off.
It's crazy to think when you see a plane flying in the air that nobody really understands the physics of how it does that. The Airforce theory is anything can fly if you give it big enough wings and enough thrust. Enter the C-5 super galaxy.
Iowa_Buckeye
Smartest person here
A plane’s wings and a helicopter’s rotors are shaped such that the distance across the top of them is longer than the distance across the bottom of (front to back). The top is curved. This longer distance causes the air passing across the top of the wing/rotor to move faster than the air passing across the bottom as the wing/rotor gains speed. Faster moving air causes lower pressure, which in turn creates the ‘lift’ on the top of the wing/rotor. Same reason you hear a house could explode during a tornado due to the fast winds on the exterior, which create a much lower pressure than the air in the house. Therefore the old wise tale to open the windows so pressure can normalize. Or why you ears pop on a plane, etc. I’m not sure how icing impacts a wing versus a rotor. But considering drones are not flying at 30+ thousand feet where it is -40, probably not a problem for them. Doubt snow will impact them, and am not sure how rain could freeze on them at that level of the atmosphere if it isn’t already frozen (snow/freezing rain).
Iowa_Buckeye
Smartest person here
Looks like I should have read Joes post before typing my dissertation….
triple_duece
Ragin Cajun.
- 9,477
- 159
Drones are gonna be a no go here in Louisiana. I’m ok with that. Our canopy doesn’t open as much as the Midwest and I will put my last dollar on it, people will be using them wrong. As in not for “recovery”. I’m sure that happens everywhere.