Drones Vs Eagles
 

Video shows Dutch police training the birds of prey to take down drones in mid-air* | Daily Mail Online

Dutch Police training Eagles to take out Drones !!!

Not really sure what to think about this ... but I like the Falcon drone in the video further down that shoots a NET to take out the DJi Phantom lol.

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

Ah the battle lines are being drawn and allies aligned.
For some reason crows are mortal enemies of eagles (perhaps eagles raid the nests of crows?) Out in front of my place on the Bay I've often seen several crows dive-bombing and for lack of a better understanding of the situation I'd say they were attacking the eagle in flight. which is quite a feat of courage btw because if you have ever seen a full sized eagle closeup, you'd know just how big and fearsome they are.
Anyway back to the plan; We train a murder of crows to escort our drones much like fighter planes escorted bombers in wwii and when the eagle approaches, the crows will peel off and harass it while we carry on with our picture taking / video shooting mission.
Drat ...I've forgotten about seagulls who have already sided with the other side since they seem to have a natural hatred of our drones and also for some reason are respected by the same crows who would go after an eagle
Stealth drones anyone?
- 30

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

Okay, I have been flying RC aircraft for 30 years now. This assault on the hobby is getting ridiculous. The Academy of Model Aeronautics is an organization which self regulates hobbyists and includes insurance for its members in case an accident was to happen. The media is blowing this WAY out of proportion to get ratings. As such people have lost the ability to think for themselves. Are more people flying yes! Are there going to be a few accidents? Yes! Do we need to regulate 320 million people? Absolutely NOT! People aren't using the WIDE angled lenses from a few hundred feet in the air to spy on your kids or anything else. They are using them as a form of enjoyment or to capture video for profit. Personally, I am not registering any of my quadcopters (drones), helicopters or planes. I am a responsible adult. If an accident was to happen that is what my insurance is for. Using a bird of prey or other method to destroy my $2000 toy is destruction of private property plain and simple. I don't care if it is the police doing it. Does that make it right? They can only justify it, IF the drone in question is a direct threat to people such as someone flying it over a populated stadium. In which case the person should be arrested for public endangerment. On the flip side, if I am flying mine in the park minding my own business and someones tries to shoot it down I will respond with equal measure. They have no right, and should expect to be confronted.

I saw this crap coming months ago. Every opportunity I had I posted comments about not creating unnecessary laws that further restrict out freedoms. That is oppression after all. (most of these conversation took place on video and photography sites) Now here I am a year later just trying fly my RC aircraft in peace. A perfectly good clean fun hobby that keeps people out of trouble. We can't do anything anymore without someone trying to regulate it because of the what if factor.

Rant over...

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

Looking at the caption of the second picture in the link: This is hilarious!

“This behavior has been seen unprompted in the wild, with eagles bringing down a quadcopter in Austria last year, and the team has found the birds instinctively look for somewhere to land away from humans.*In the tests, the birds are rewarded with a tasty treat for bringing down a drone, reinforcing their desire to do so again”

(Well, funny, I guess, assuming it not my drone.)

Out west on the coast here the ravens and seagulls are often enemies of eagles. While the eagles are bigger it’s more like comparing a fighter plane to a bomber where the fighter planes are more maneuverable. It’s actually not that uncommon to see ravens or seagulls attacking an eagle, especially if the eagle captured a salmon.

Greg - I gave up making model planes in the fifth grade. Had just finished a stick portion of a stick-model B-24 and the glue was drying while it sat on the sofa. Next step was to do the skin, however, my sister came along and sat on it. That took a lot out of me.

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

Yeah its such a fun hobby. When I was a kid I used to spend hours after school until wee hours of the morning building planes. That is where I get most of my enjoyment, the building process. These days you have to look hard to find a kit. Most of what's available is RTF ready-to-fly...

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

It is not just accidents and the potentential for them that is generating bad press for drones.

The second part of this clip (from about 01:38) shows a situation that is becoming increasingly common in the UK and which causes a great deal of resentment among the majority of enthusiasts who are considerate to other photographers/film makers.

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

That guy probably got a great moving shot of the train. Not seeing a problem.

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

Seriously?

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Sorry, I'm with Greg.

Unintentionally bagging someone else's shot happens all the time. Intentionally bagging someone's shot happens from time-to-time, but I don't see how it has anything to do with the drone. If it was unintentional, it was unintentional whether it was a drone, a professional, or a passerby with a point-and-shoot. If it was intentional, you're a jerk whether you were flying a drone or had the camera on a tripod.

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Hey Colin, they're obviously not steam enthusiasts.

Mike, Greg, the noise of that drone completely destroyed the sound of that wonderful old steam locomotive. That's one problem and also by being in shot, it has ruined the nostalgia trip in two ways, whether intentionally or not!

Dave

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

it happens

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

Colin, is that your footage? I've been futzing around with the audio in Izotope RX5 and it's possible to attenuate away the flying whipper-snipper noise.

You'd still have to clone it out in the vision part of your video.

Andrew

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

Thank you. :-)

Andrew, it's not mine but if you have a cleaned up version of the audio of that section, I could contact the person who did film it. I think removing the audio intrusion would be a significant improvement. Unfortunately I don't have Izotope RX5 available to try it myself.

Not sure what format the original was filmed in and how well it would stand up to any cloning.

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Without the visual fix I think there is no point doing the buzz removal.

Andrew

Re: Drones Vs Eagles
 

I can't believe that drone users can't see what is coming. A ban on the sale or importation of drones, perhaps in all the developed countries. It's going to happen, and probably needs to happen. Too many crazy and thoughtless people compared to the dedicated enthusiasts, and many of these have no idea of the legal implications. The radio control aircraft people have followed and even formed many of the rules and with these, the costs have precluded people doing really stupid things, but now anyone can buy a drone that flys and doesn't crash on its first outing. You cannot stop the idiots, and most aren't interested in training or licensing or safety.

It won't be long before they get banned legally, probably when one gets sucked into a landing aircraft's intake and it crashes. The backlash will see the use of them severely restricted. At any big gathering they are going to have to go. Reading the Dutch info, people are taking their drones to sporting events, I can imagine something like the Olympics where there's a swarm of drones over the crowd and competitors. This can't be allowed to happen. The ban is coming folks. Voluntary codes of practice just don't work, because only responsible owners follow them, the damage coming from idiots with deep pockets.