Re:Chilean officials can’t identify a strange IR signal seen...
by bastawhiz on Saturday January 07, 2017 @06:19PM
(#13347263)
I would argue that just because nobody answered doesn't mean it wasn't an airplane. Maybe the guy was just eating a sandwich and didn't feel like picking up his radio. I'd also have a hard time believing Chile keeps perfect flight records. Occam's razor and all that.
Re:Chilean officials can’t identify a strange IR signal seen...
by icanhackit on Sunday January 08, 2017 @03:41AM
(#13348932)
Fine, what about the lack of radar signature - unable to be detected either from nearby ground-based installations, the helicopter's dedicated radar or the additional radar on the IR sensor cluster? I think that was the more interesting point. Also remember the helicopter was travelling at reasonably low speeds of 132 knots, or 152 mph yet if we're looking at the turbofan exhausts/afterburner we should expect object to reduce in size accordingly.
Re:Chilean officials can’t identify a strange IR signal seen...
by imglorp on Saturday January 07, 2017 @07:23PM
(#13347492)
It's not at all inconceivable someone is operating stealth aircraft in that region. Reagan was willing to share[1] with Britain stealth in '86, so perhaps 30 years later, it's easier to obtain and someone sold some to Chile or its neighbors. The US, Russia, and China all have it.
1. https://theaviationist.com/2017/01/02/in-1986-u-s-president-...
Re:Chilean officials can’t identify a strange IR signal seen...
by voidz on Sunday January 08, 2017 @09:43AM
(#13349842)
Hope that your downvoters can argue why they downvoted your comment.
Re:Chilean officials can’t identify a strange IR signal seen...
by Waterluvian on Saturday January 07, 2017 @07:05PM
(#13347437)
When you fly a plane, are you tuned into a whole bunch of different radio channels at all times?
Re:Chilean officials can’t identify a strange IR signal seen...
by qume on Saturday January 07, 2017 @08:06PM
(#13347621)
yes
Re:Chilean officials can’t identify a strange IR signal seen...
by jschwartzi on Saturday January 07, 2017 @08:17PM
(#13347656)
All the civilian aircraft I've seen have at most two channels. There's a primary frequency which you listen on while you're flying, and you can also keep a second frequency on standby in case you need to communicate with different authorities simultaneously as you follow your route.
You have to switch between frequencies in order to listen and communicate, and there's a toggle that allows you to do this. If you're not tuned to the correct frequency for the airspace you're in, then you're not going to hear any commands from the controllers for your airspace.
It's entirely possible that it was an international flight with a radio not tuned for the correct frequency for the airspace.
What kind of airplanes have you seen with radios that can listen on several frequencies at the same time? Are they large commercial craft?
Then they'd have to be stealth airplanes and unwilling to communicate with the patrol. From the source [1] article:
Shortly thereafter, the pilot contacted two radar stations - one close by on the coast, and the other the main DGAC Control system (Ground Primary Radar) in Santiago - to report the unknown traffic. Neither station could detect it on radar, although both easily picked up the helicopter. (The object was well within the range of radar detection.) Air traffic controllers confirmed that no traffic, either civilian or military, had been reported in the area, and that no aircraft had been authorized to fly in the controlled air space where the object was located. The on-board radar was also unable to detect the object and the camera’s radar could not lock onto it.
The pilot tried several times to communicate with the UAP, using the multi-national, civilian bandwidth designed for this purpose. He received no reply.
[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/groundbreaking-ufo-video...