Making Mavic as big as a car

[RaWine]

From childhood working with balsa made planes, I'm pretty sure I could make a Mavic appear as big as a car at night. Add a balsa crossbar to the bottom with leds at the tips. At a couple hundred feet you would appear to see a flashing middle (the drone) and a couple feet outward the leds would make someone imagine it was bigger.

The news reports are driving me nuts. I don't think it's that hard of an illusion. You might have to fly it on a mostly windless night, but really, it shouldn't blow around much if a mild wind.

People see what they want to see, and mind fills in the details sometimes.

Of course, all this crap going on is probably going to end up in more drone laws. : (

 

[Cafguy]

Yep another good reliable way is get some old fishing poles They already have a built in place to anchor your light strings! duct tape them to the drone,velcro a battery on top to power them and bobs your uncle LOL. Makes a nice x-mas light show [Maybe not this year tho LOL).
Late Edit: Don't strap lights on your Drone to create UFO reports from the populous and use the fact that you are Not flying illegally as an excuse They can still give you lots of grief for creating a public nuisance and tying up the 911 system with everybody calling in The "mysterious" lights in the sky lol. the authorities wont be happy when they find you thats for sure!
Hence I will not be participating in any Drone mob here.

 

[Bad Santa]

Yep another good reliable way is get some old fishing poles They already have a built in place to anchor your light strings! duct tape them to the drone,velcro a battery on top to power them and bobs your uncle LOL. Makes a nice x-mas light show [Maybe not this year tho LOL).

Use 1mm carbon fiber rods for a frame. It's amazing how light they are.
Then you can use lacquered paper like they did on balsa planes in the 70's
Could even use a thin ripstop nylon and attach it with super glue.

 

[KB9Radio]

Over the last year or so I have realized that folks can convince themselves or be convinced of anything, even things without any shred of truth. In some cases, be convinced that things they saw with their own eyes, never happened.

 

[JoelP]

From childhood working with balsa made planes, I'm pretty sure I could make a Mavic appear as big as a car at night. Add a balsa crossbar to the bottom with leds at the tips. At a couple hundred feet you would appear to see a flashing middle (the drone) and a couple feet outward the leds would make someone imagine it was bigger.

The news reports are driving me nuts. I don't think it's that hard of an illusion. You might have to fly it on a mostly windless night, but really, it shouldn't blow around much if a mild wind.

People see what they want to see, and mind fills in the details sometimes.

Of course, all this crap going on is probably going to end up in more drone laws. : (

So, you think lots of people are doing this? Or, some other entity is doing this with lots of drones? It seems more reasonable to me that people cannot judge size when viewing a drone at night.

 

[eEridani]

So, you think lots of people are doing this? Or, some other entity is doing this with lots of drones? It seems more reasonable to me that people cannot judge size when viewing a drone at night.

I'm convinced no one is doing this. People are seeing aircraft doing things they have always done and convincing themselves they are seeing something that really isn't there. Like the videos of helicopters and 737's (complete with chopper sounds and jet engines overhead) where people claim they are videos of drones. It's just like back when people were taking photos of "orbs" and claiming they had proof ghosts exist. And yes, some of the recent NJ reports of flocks of drones are nothing more than lens flare and others taken through windows reflections of bright objects inside the house.

 

[KB9Radio]

I'm convinced no one is doing this. People are seeing aircraft doing things they have always done and convincing themselves they are seeing something that really isn't there. Like the videos of helicopters and 737's (complete with chopper sounds and jet engines overhead) where people claim they are videos of drones. It's just like back when people were taking photos of "orbs" and claiming they had proof ghosts exist. And yes, some of the recent NJ reports of flocks of drones are nothing more than lens flare and others taken through windows reflections of bright objects inside the house.

Some of the ones I saw on news programs were obviously airplanes. You could clearly see the outline of the plane and they were trying to pass it off as a drone.

 

[Cafguy]

I saw one on the internet that was clearly a Robinson R22 helicopter, You could see the skids and the bubble canopy easily!

 

[KB9Radio]

I saw one on the internet that was clearly a Robinson R22 helicopter, You could see the skids and the bubble canopy easily!

Anything flashing in the night sky now is a drone. No doubt, up to no good. It's been an amazing evolution.

 

[EricJT]

Anything flashing in the night sky now is a drone. No doubt, up to no good. It's been an amazing evolution.

Good thing the moon doesn't flash!

 

[eEridani]

Good thing the moon doesn't flash!

I've seen the moon flash. On and off as if magic. But when I went outside the dang passing clouds blocked the view so often I couldn't take a good video of it.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Good thing the moon doesn't flash!

It could still be a drone...

 

[AZDave]

People are HORRIBLE judges of what they think they see.

 

[Paul Stocum]

Why make one when you can buy one and fly it!?

 

[MA2 317]

Anything flashing in the night sky now is a drone. No doubt, up to no good. It's been an amazing evolution.

Just wait till the lighting bugs / fireflies are around during the summer nights.

.

 

[Bad Santa]

Just wait till the lighting bugs / fireflies are around during the summer nights.

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China will be launching miniaturized drones from the motherships that are flying over. You can tell by the red/white/green lights on the mothership flying towards or away from an airport.
The miniaturized Chinese drones only have a single, yellowish white, slow blink. It's more like a slow strobe effect.