Posted on 05/10/2009 9:00:23 AM PDT by george76
Criminals may be used to looking over their shoulders for police, but a new crime-fighting tool introduced in Florida means they will now also be looking above their heads.
Officers in the town of Palm Bay are being sent aloft on motorised paragliders to act as spies in the sky, in a first-of-its-kind mission codenamed Operation Soar.
Suspended beneath parachutes wearing lawnmower-style motors on their backs, they will patrol the skies ... equipped with radios, cameras and GPS navigation systems.
The seats of their unconventional aircraft have been specially bulletproofed and the officers have standby parachutes, to protect against criminals who may be tempted to use them for target practice.
The paraglider patrol idea was hatched after hopes of launching unmanned drones to conduct aerial surveillance over Palm Bay were shot down by the Federal Aviation Administration...
The $25,000 (£17,000) petrol-powered machines, purchased using proceeds from the sale of criminal assets, can fly at speeds up to 63mph and at altitudes anywhere between two inches off the ground and 18,000ft.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I am the eye in the sky
Looking at you
I can read your mind
I am the maker of rules
Dealing with fools
I can cheat you blind
And I don’t need to see any more
To know that
I can read your mind, I can read your mind
BS, some cops have figured out a way to have the tax payers pay for their hobby!!!
I Live in Palm Bay. I haven’t personally seen these flying around. But I must say they are cheaper than Helicopters and quieter.
It will be interesting to see how they are utilized. Between the frequent thunderstorms in the summer and the higher winds in the afternoon and evening. It makes me think that this is a publicity gimic and won’t be flown all that often.
Those must be exceptional machines. My ex-stepbrother does that as a hobbie, and there’s no way he could (or would)afford $25,000 for one of these (he has three).
hobby = hobbie (still on first cup of coffee . . . . and Im in Florida!).
I worked for a banner plane company in New Jersey many summers ago. It was not unusual to see sharks close to bathers and surfers along the shore. If people only knew......
Ya beat me to it. This sounds so much like a bunch of these guys do this as recreation, and talked the chief into buying a bunch of them by claiming it would be a great law enforcement tool. Problem is, as noted below, these things only fly well under certain conditions. Further, they aren’t very fast or maneuverable, so they can’t keep up with fleeing vehicles, and maybe not even with suspects fleeing on foot. So what, exactly, do they intend to use them for? Aerial parking enforcement?
Cops or federal agencies can attach GPS units to your car,search it without a warrant ,peer at you from the street and now the sky with zoom lenses,monitor your electric and water usage for "suspicious" patterns,monitor your communications,see your medical records,what library books you read...
Isn't it WONDERFUL to live in a FREE country like the U.S. of A. ?!
Lots of the personality deficient types that gravitate towards law enforcement tend to entertain themselves by watching too much sci-fi.
Notice that mention of using them for any revenue-generating idea was missing from the article, which paints the whole thing as "for better safety".
Well according to the teaser at the top of this thread:
to conduct aerial surveillance over Palm Bay
See post #17. I think these things are largely intended for patrolling the undeveloped areas to the South and West.
I wudda thot that a auto-gyro would be the better choice.
And a lot safer.
What was that old saying...
ah, got it.
“When pigs fly” As in - fly into a high tension power line.
Boy, then you'll hear the bacon fry.
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