|
Julian
|
 |
« on: January 16, 2011, 06:24:39 pm » |
|
A proposed unmanned floating airship surveillance system is being hailed by city officials in Ogden, Utah as one way to fight crime in its neighborhoods. One person will be able to operate the system but Godfrey says it will also function on its own with programing directives. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70F1DJ20110116?pageNumber=1 |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Raggmopp
|
|
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2011, 09:45:37 pm » |
|
about time. helecopters are so noisy...
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
-My spelling might be off, due to dyslexia. Please don't make comments in treads about it. It sidetracks the tread and can be annoying to other dyslexias. PM me and ill fix the issue. Thank you.-
"Stranger than you dreamt it, can you even bear to look, or dare to think of me?..." -Opera Phantom
|
|
|
|
Mr. Boltneck
|
|
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2011, 11:08:16 pm » |
|
Somehow, I am having some trouble picturing Ogden, UT as a seething cauldron of crime, to the extent that they need this kind of technology. Also, and I admit I haven't been out that way for a while, isn't that area just a trifle gusty for a non-rigid-hulled dirigible?
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Steamswitch
|
|
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2011, 04:41:54 am » |
|
Well, at last I have somewhere to dump off that scoffy bit of helium!  My cousin lives there. Should be fun seeing pictures! |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Julian
|
|
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2011, 04:57:55 am » |
|
I am not an expert on how gusty winds can be for airships. However, most of the population of Utah lives in a valley between two mountain ranges. Unless there is a storm, the air gets stagnant and is generally calm. This leads to what is called inversion where cold air is trapped by hot air. It makes the valleys in Utah metro areas have the worse air in the US. Given that, I don't think the air is too gusty. Now, on in the plain states where the wind either comes straight from Canada or up from the Gulf, then I think there might be an issue.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Mr. Boltneck
|
|
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2011, 05:13:59 am » |
|
I guess I lucked out, and only went through on breezy days. The Central Valley here can develop the same inversion problem, exacerbated by agricultural chemicals and dust—so much for the rural idyll, really.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Augustus Longeye
Daedric Lord of Biscuits
Board Moderator
Rogue Ætherlord
 United Kingdom
|
|
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2011, 02:21:51 pm » |
|
You know, this level of inventiveness almost makes me wish I lived in America...
Almost though I'm afraid...
~Longeye~
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
I say you, chaps down there! Piss off, see? Haa ha! Love, Space Longeye <3 |
|
|
|
Just call me Rob
|
|
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2011, 03:37:04 pm » |
|
Utah… isn't that a place famous for having lots of drunk people with high powered sniper rifles?
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting aiw kwacken.
|
|
|
Capt. Dirigible
Rogue Ætherlord
United Kingdom
Shirts?.....I got plenty at 'ome.
|
|
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2011, 05:14:36 pm » |
|
Utah… isn't that a place famous for having lots of drunk people with high powered sniper rifles?
That's what I was thinking. Given the popularity of (and ease of access to) firearms in the US wouldn't it just be a simple task for a ne'er-do-well to puncture it with a well aim slug? |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
I say, Joe it's jolly frightening out here.
Nonsense dear boy, you should be more like me.
But look at you! You're shaking all over!
Shaking? You silly goose! I'm just doing the Watusi
|
|
|
|
Captain Quinlin Hopkins
|
|
« Reply #9 on: January 18, 2011, 09:58:25 pm » |
|
we use these around here:  Passed one just a few weeks back actually, should have some photos to post. In fact I wonder why they have not yet been posted. I must send my secretary a note. Probably the highlight of the 1500 mile trip actually. Unfortunately there was an ominous sign forbidding entrance, that and quite a few boarder patrol about. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Sincerely, Captain Quinlin Hopkins (Hoppy) Do not ignore the freedoms of someone else, for eventually you will be someone else! DFW Steampunk Illumination Society |
|
|
|
Julian
|
|
« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2011, 05:59:58 am » |
|
Utah… isn't that a place famous for having lots of drunk people with high powered sniper rifles?
Utah has the most restrictive drinking laws in the US. It is famous for Mormons and multiple wives. The survivalists with weapon caches tend to live in Montana or Wyoming which are north of Utah. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
von Corax
Immortal
 Canada
Leverkusen Institute of Paleocybernetics
|
|
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2011, 08:29:36 am » |
|
we use these around here: Passed one just a few weeks back actually, should have some photos to post. In fact I wonder why they have not yet been posted. I must send my secretary a note. Probably the highlight of the 1500 mile trip actually. Unfortunately there was an ominous sign forbidding entrance, that and quite a few boarder patrol about. It looks... pregnant. Wait, is that where those damn car-dealership blimps come from? |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
By the power of caffeine do I set my mind in motion
By the Beans of Life do my thoughts acquire speed
My hands acquire a shaking
The shaking becomes a warning
By the power of caffeine do I set my mind in motion
The Leverkusen Institute of Paleocybernetics is 5838 km from Reading
|
|
|
akumabito
Immortal
 Netherlands
Mundus Patria Nostra!
|
|
« Reply #12 on: January 20, 2011, 08:41:29 am » |
|
we use these around here: Passed one just a few weeks back actually, should have some photos to post. In fact I wonder why they have not yet been posted. I must send my secretary a note. Probably the highlight of the 1500 mile trip actually. Unfortunately there was an ominous sign forbidding entrance, that and quite a few boarder patrol about. It looks... pregnant. Wait, is that where those damn car-dealership blimps come from? It's a marsupial balloon, it gives birth to car-dealership blimps, I am sure.. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
bicyclebuilder
|
|
« Reply #13 on: January 20, 2011, 09:10:35 am » |
|
For survailance, a one person airship is more effective. Pedal powered ofcourse to reduce weight.  Imagine these flown by aircops, just like the bikecops we have in "real life". With a more elegant uniform, like the RCMP's. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
The best way to learn is by personal experience.
|
|
|
InTheDark
Officer
 United States
Celeritas
|
|
« Reply #14 on: February 25, 2011, 10:24:35 am » |
|
I live in Ogden Utah, and Our crime is really, really off the charts.
my street has a break in about once a week, if not more.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
The more bleak the day. The less I behave as if Everything black can wash away.
|
|
|
|
Lucius Voltaic
|
|
« Reply #15 on: March 03, 2011, 07:08:34 am » |
|
For survailance, a one person airship is more effective. Pedal powered ofcourse to reduce weight. Imagine these flown by aircops, just like the bikecops we have in "real life". With a more elegant uniform, like the RCMP's. Where, oh, where is that picture from?  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"The man who is clever and lazy however is for the very highest command; he has the temperament and nerves to deal with all situations."
--General Baron Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord, clearly talking about me.
|
|
|
SteamNeophyte
Gunner
 Singapore
Borderline Insane.
|
|
« Reply #16 on: March 03, 2011, 08:19:10 am » |
|
That's what I was thinking. Given the popularity of (and ease of access to) firearms in the US wouldn't it just be a simple task for a ne'er-do-well to puncture it with a well aim slug?
Did anyone answer this, because I'm curious as to how these things would survive if punctured, or if they can be in the first place. And - For survailance, a one person airship is more effective. Pedal powered ofcourse to reduce weight. Imagine these flown by aircops, just like the bikecops we have in "real life". With a more elegant uniform, like the RCMP's. PhWOAR, hello, my 17th birthday present. (I wish.) |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
bicyclebuilder
|
|
« Reply #17 on: March 03, 2011, 09:14:22 am » |
|
I can't remember where I've found the picture. I just googled it, propably with the words: pedal powered airship?
about punctured dirigibles. You could patch it up quickly with a gum gun. A gun that shoots bubblegum like bullets that stick to the punctured part of the dirigible. This can be done by the driver of the aircraft.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
SteamNeophyte
Gunner
Singapore
Borderline Insane.
|
|
« Reply #18 on: March 03, 2011, 09:40:15 am » |
|
I can't remember where I've found the picture. I just googled it, propably with the words: pedal powered airship?
about punctured dirigibles. You could patch it up quickly with a gum gun. A gun that shoots bubblegum like bullets that stick to the punctured part of the dirigible. This can be done by the driver of the aircraft.
Ah-hah. I thought that would be a solution. But will the bubblegum bullet hold the puncture strongly enough though? Till the patchwork needed is completed. Even though airships tend to travel at a lower speed than most airborne vehicles... |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
akumabito
Immortal
Netherlands
Mundus Patria Nostra!
|
|
« Reply #19 on: March 03, 2011, 11:16:17 am » |
|
That's what I was thinking. Given the popularity of (and ease of access to) firearms in the US wouldn't it just be a simple task for a ne'er-do-well to puncture it with a well aim slug?
Did anyone answer this, because I'm curious as to how these things would survive if punctured, or if they can be in the first place. They can be punctured by gunfire, but the gas release is rather slow. Unless you fire an RPG at it, it's not going to crash in a hurry. In the worst case, it'll slowly descend.. Well, in the worst case the pilot gets killed by the gunfire, but that's a different scenario altogether.. Either way, in a running from the cops scenario, shooting the blimp is about as effective as shooting a chasing policecar: you MIGHT disable it with a well-placed shot, but chances are far greater the vehicle can continue the chase until you're caught. Aside from that: these blimps fly pretty high.. hitting them would be pretty hard to begin with. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
SteamNeophyte
Gunner
Singapore
Borderline Insane.
|
|
« Reply #20 on: March 03, 2011, 11:19:54 am » |
|
That's what I was thinking. Given the popularity of (and ease of access to) firearms in the US wouldn't it just be a simple task for a ne'er-do-well to puncture it with a well aim slug?
Did anyone answer this, because I'm curious as to how these things would survive if punctured, or if they can be in the first place. They can be punctured by gunfire, but the gas release is rather slow. Unless you fire an RPG at it, it's not going to crash in a hurry. In the worst case, it'll slowly descend.. Well, in the worst case the pilot gets killed by the gunfire, but that's a different scenario altogether.. Either way, in a running from the cops scenario, shooting the blimp is about as effective as shooting a chasing policecar: you MIGHT disable it with a well-placed shot, but chances are far greater the vehicle can continue the chase until you're caught. Aside from that: these blimps fly pretty high.. hitting them would be pretty hard to begin with. Thank you for the reply - This has answered all my queries. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
GarethB
Gunner
|
|
« Reply #21 on: March 04, 2011, 08:29:37 am » |
|
we use these around here: It looks... pregnant. Wait, is that where those damn car-dealership blimps come from? I believe that the bulge in the bottom is for capturing young air-kraken. It quietly creeps up behind an unsuspecting juvenile air-kraken, the bottom section opens and then closes again to trap the air-kraken inside. Then it brings the air-kraken back to be unloaded. Or maybe it has a radar system inside the bulge. One of the other. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
