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2023-02-14 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Pilots Who Shot Down Object Over Alaska Say It ‘Interfered with Sensors' – Saw No Identifiable Propulsion
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Posted by Woodrow 2023-02-14 00:00|| || Front Page|| [13 views ]  Top

#1 So when I first read this I chuckled. But lets back up. The balloons did not flow with the jet stream or prevailing winds. So how did it move or navigate the winds were not?
Posted by 49 Pan 2023-02-14 01:40||   2023-02-14 01:40|| Front Page Top

#2 My thoughts they are using R/C plane tech most likely ducted fans. I have seen model e jets break 200mph. Most of these motors are made in China, in fact one dealer ran an ad stated that his Lipo batteries were made by the same manufacturer that built batteries for torpedos used by the People's Liberation Army"s Navy.
Batteries and big enough solar array could power a balloons thrusters for a long time. Also by going slow you mihjt trick radar into thinking it's not an aircraft or missile so it must not be important so don't track it.
Posted by Vinegar Spolusing6485 2023-02-14 05:43||   2023-02-14 05:43|| Front Page Top

#3 
Posted by Besoeker 2023-02-14 08:31||   2023-02-14 08:31|| Front Page Top

#4 Reports indicate the first Sidewinder fired at the Lake Huron object missed. That’s curious. Was that pilot aiming error, missile technical failure, countermeasures or?
Posted by Slenter Panda4300 2023-02-14 08:37||   2023-02-14 08:37|| Front Page Top

#5 Saw a meme floating around of an F-35 specially modified with 2 large thumbs, 1 mounted under each wing.

Couldn't help but wonder what the DOD would be charged for the thumb tacks.


Posted by NN2N1 2023-02-14 08:47||   2023-02-14 08:47|| Front Page Top

#6 Seems like they need to harpoon them with a locator beacon attached for easier retrieval.
Posted by M. Murcek 2023-02-14 08:59||   2023-02-14 08:59|| Front Page Top

#7 how did it move or navigate the winds

Ion wind

What causes ionic wind?
Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-14 09:42||   2023-02-14 09:42|| Front Page Top

#8 MIT engineers fly first-ever plane with no moving parts

Flight of an aeroplane with solid-state propulsion
Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-14 09:45||   2023-02-14 09:45|| Front Page Top

#9 So the photos of it are out. This looks more like a dirigible than balloon. Explains the propulsion question.
Posted by 49 Pan 2023-02-14 15:19||   2023-02-14 15:19|| Front Page Top

#10 So can Ion wind power a blimp or dirigible?
Posted by 49 Pan 2023-02-14 15:21||   2023-02-14 15:21|| Front Page Top

#11 A balloon, blimp or dirigible is absurdly at the mercy of wind. We are not talking about the Goodyear Blimp at a football game. At high altitude, the large gas bag is a sail. The air that rudders and fans of any type would interact with is thin.

It's worth a try if your satellites aren't gettin' it. We don't use them because we don't have to.
Posted by M. Murcek 2023-02-14 15:28||   2023-02-14 15:28|| Front Page Top

#12 Wouldn't it be about right if this was a dotgov MIT style observation platform, and they just gave it away?
Posted by swksvolFF 2023-02-14 17:32||   2023-02-14 17:32|| Front Page Top

#13 A balloon, blimp or dirigible is absurdly at the mercy of wind.

I imagine intermittent winds at different elevations. With greater or lessor floatation a balloon can maintain regional stability.
Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-14 19:59||   2023-02-14 19:59|| Front Page Top

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