Drone sightings on east coast

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Richard Wright

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Come on you East Coast bird photogs! Why are all the new drone sightings so fuzzy and ill-exposed? Can't one of you guys with a 600 and auto-focus get out there and get a good shot that will answer all the questions as to who and what? Or get your own drone up there and follow one. Some do seem to be sizable objects. We can capture sharp images of birds in flight but no sharp photos of drones or UFOs? Just teasing really but it is a challenge.
 
Come on you East Coast bird photogs! Why are all the new drone sightings so fuzzy and ill-exposed? Can't one of you guys with a 600 and auto-focus get out there and get a good shot that will answer all the questions as to who and what? Or get your own drone up there and follow one. Some do seem to be sizable objects. We can capture sharp images of birds in flight but no sharp photos of drones or UFOs? Just teasing really but it is a challenge.
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Come on you East Coast bird photogs! Why are all the new drone sightings so fuzzy and ill-exposed? Can't one of you guys with a 600 and auto-focus get out there and get a good shot that will answer all the questions as to who and what? Or get your own drone up there and follow one. Some do seem to be sizable objects. We can capture sharp images of birds in flight but no sharp photos of drones or UFOs? Just teasing really but it is a challenge.
Thankyou for writing this, I got on here to do the same. There are no drones around here (Ohio). What I see on TV from NJ is small and fuzzy in the night. Never in the day, why not? It would seem for sure that a skilled photographer with a long lens might be able to get a shot worth looking at. The world is waiting!
 
Theory that I heard: drones flying at night make no sense because the imagery from a normal camera can't see anything. These drones may be using infrared/thermal, or they're using other instruments to detect something where the light level doesn't matter... something like radiation or gas signature. Seeing that they have FAA mandated lighting, aren't trying to evade detection, and the Gov is being lackadaisically vague in their response, tells me that they're doing some work that they don't necessarily wish to disclose at this time.
 
When the first reports of sightings began a few weeks ago they were right in my neighborhood but I never saw them. They have only been sighted at night so they would be pretty difficult to get a good shot of. Last night was especially bright and clear but they have apparently moved on to other towns in NJ as well as NYC and PA. Once this got picked up as a big national news story the number of reporting exploded but it seems many are erroneous. There were reports last week of one shot down right by my son's apartment causing a large law enforcement response including folks in hazmat gear but evidently nothing turned up. So the mystery continues.
 
kinda funny how all of these people are freaked out over the drones spying on them and their property, but they're not at all freaked out about having their smart phones and other devices around and inside their houses that constantly watch & listen to them. also, none of the drone sightings around my area have been credible sightings.
 
Spy drones with lights?!
Com’on…

I’m a part 107 drone pilot. Flying UAV’s at night is prohibited.
You can fly them at night with anti collision lighting.

I wouldn't be surprised if all this is military exercises to use drone tracking equipment in test events. They could have a COA in place as well for airspace usage and if they're military they'll be under title 10 rules. We have to get COA's well in advance for flying across national airspace when leaving restricted airspace.


There's been a LOT of activity in small uas for the military since the Ukraine/Russia war showed how viable they are as flying bombs. I also work with people who are currently on bases around the world and in areas where they are actively being attacked by different types of small drones that either drop bombs or are the bomb. So this is very much in motion with tests to avoid this stuff.

I had a quick look on skyvector and there are two active TFR's for military UAS use under 1000 AGL active right now in Dover, NJ and near Bedminster, so looks like testing. Picatinny arsenal is one of the sightings locations so that was probably military testing. There's another in the bedminster/oldwick area near the rariton river where other sightings were. Both are military TFR's and it looks like the conditions to enter state there's an event happening. I'd bet they are testing tracking equipment or something to that effect against civilian or military base mock targets.

 
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They need them, so that they can see where they're going!;)(y)
It's a requirement to have anti collision lighting, so these are probably not foreign spy's or teenagers playing around. Probably UAS testing for military. Small UAS is a super hot subject with the US military right now due to the tactics changing in the Ukraine/Russia war and they're adapting as fast as possible, so lots of tests.

The recent attacks on Israel with "swarm" tactics of larger long range and the small uas FPV drone flying bombs are the main concerns and lots of funding is currently directed at countering those threats.

Anyone curious can google Darwins war Ukraine and there's some good documentary's that show the modern tactics by wall street journal. FPV drones are extremely effective.
 
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Spy drones with lights?!
Com’on…

I’m a part 107 drone pilot. Flying UAV’s at night is prohibited.
that used to be the case, but not anymore. to fly at night you need to retake the online part 107 recert exam that covers flying at night. you've probably already taken it with the night flying questions if you're current, it was on my last one. other than that, just make sure you have really good lights on your drone. most lights that claim to be seen for 3 statute miles are crap and can't be seen that far. it also has to have a good strobe rate.
 
that used to be the case, but not anymore. to fly at night you need to retake the online part 107 recert exam that covers flying at night. you've probably already taken it with the night flying questions if you're current, it was on my last one. other than that, just make sure you have really good lights on your drone. most lights that claim to be seen for 3 statute miles are crap and can't be seen that far. it also has to have a good strobe rate.
I recertified 3 years ago. Flying at night was still prohibited because the human eye can not detect the distance when looking at a light.

The special waiver asked to explain how the UAV pilot will address the night issues.

The 3-mile visible lights rule was only for twilight timing.
Has all this changed?
 
Come on you East Coast bird photogs! Why are all the new drone sightings so fuzzy and ill-exposed? Can't one of you guys with a 600 and auto-focus get out there and get a good shot that will answer all the questions as to who and what? Or get your own drone up there and follow one. Some do seem to be sizable objects. We can capture sharp images of birds in flight but no sharp photos of drones or UFOs? Just teasing really but it is a challenge.
Mystery solved: just Springsteen fans hoping to spot The Boss. 🎸

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I recertified 3 years ago. Flying at night was still prohibited because the human eye can not detect the distance when looking at a light.

The special waiver asked to explain how the UAV pilot will address the night issues.

The 3-mile visible lights rule was only for twilight timing.
Has all this changed?
the 3 mile light rule hasn't changed, but the night flying is now allowed. the 107 exam changed over around 2021, so you probably just missed it on the last go round. if you're in the us you need to recert every 24 months now. no big deal if it lapsed, you can still do the online test and carry on from whatever date you took it.
 
the 3 mile light rule hasn't changed, but the night flying is now allowed. the 107 exam changed over around 2021, so you probably just missed it on the last go round. if you're in the us you need to recert every 24 months now. no big deal if it lapsed, you can still do the online test and carry on from whatever date you took it.
If I can take the test online, I will definitely go for it.
Link?
 
Theory that I heard: drones flying at night make no sense because the imagery from a normal camera can't see anything. These drones may be using infrared/thermal, or they're using other instruments to detect something where the light level doesn't matter... something like radiation or gas signature. Seeing that they have FAA mandated lighting, aren't trying to evade detection, and the Gov is being lackadaisically vague in their response, tells me that they're doing some work that they don't necessarily wish to disclose at this time.
My guess exactly…and I worked in the classified government sector a long time. Chinese/Iranian spy drones wouldn’t be lighted…and the large ones require registration and licensing and all that as opposed to s all consumer drones. It’s the government doing something that they don’t want to talk about.
 
My guess exactly…and I worked in the classified government sector a long time. Chinese/Iranian spy drones wouldn’t be lighted…and the large ones require registration and licensing and all that as opposed to s all consumer drones. It’s the government doing something that they don’t want to talk about.
That’s my take and I work currently with large UAS. Theres a lot of small UAS development right now and with the NOTAMs up in the areas that all this hype got started for an event that leads me to believe they’re testing equipment and don’t want to talk about that capability.

It seems like the public has now gotten carried away reporting a lot of false sightings as well.

That said there has never been a better time to launch that foam saucer for the laughs.
 
Come on you East Coast bird photogs! Why are all the new drone sightings so fuzzy and ill-exposed? Can't one of you guys with a 600 and auto-focus get out there and get a good shot that will answer all the questions as to who and what? Or get your own drone up there and follow one. Some do seem to be sizable objects. We can capture sharp images of birds in flight but no sharp photos of drones or UFOs? Just teasing really but it is a challenge.
There are no drones here in Beautiful Downtown Quicksburg, VA. However, we do go to bed with the chickens. . . . Grin
 
My guess exactly…and I worked in the classified government sector a long time. Chinese/Iranian spy drones wouldn’t be lighted…and the large ones require registration and licensing and all that as opposed to s all consumer drones. It’s the government doing something that they don’t want to talk about.
yah, this seems reasonable. it’s some sort of condoned activity. they just don’t want to disclose what. remember how fast we went directly to shooting down that balloon
 
Spy drones with lights?!
Com’on…

I’m a part 107 drone pilot. Flying UAV’s at night is prohibited.
Not prohibited for the military. Years ago many people were seeing bright lights moving at speed that were too fast to be a helicopter and so put down as UFO's. Turned out it was night testing of the Apache attack helicopters and the new night vision for pilots - which resulted in a lot of crashes and pilot deaths.
 
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