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Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: never_retreat on October 28, 2015, 05:28:37 PM

Title: Who lost the blimp
Post by: never_retreat on October 28, 2015, 05:28:37 PM
Apparently a blimp broke loose from Aberdeen MD. It was floating along at about 10k feet minding its own business.
I started an ungraceful decent near Bloomsburg PA. Also it was dragging about 6000' of chain. Needless to say about 30k people have no power and the 180 million dollar blimp is all banged up, broken into at least 3 pieces and scattered all over the county.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: bedlamite on October 28, 2015, 05:32:07 PM
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aberdeen-havre-de-grace/bs-md-jlens-blimp-loose-20151028-story.html (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aberdeen-havre-de-grace/bs-md-jlens-blimp-loose-20151028-story.html)

Quote
Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from an Air National Guard base in Atlantic City, N.J., to monitor the unmanned aircraft,

 :facepalm:

Wouldn't a Cessna have been a better choice?
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Ben on October 28, 2015, 05:39:58 PM
Aerostat. [/airship word police]

(Though I guess it was technically a blimp after it broke free)  :laugh:
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Blakenzy on October 28, 2015, 05:58:59 PM
Probably a manatee.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Ben on October 28, 2015, 06:08:53 PM
Probably a manatee.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CSbZB_jWEAEMbj8.jpg)
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: brimic on October 28, 2015, 06:39:54 PM
Well, at least we know who has all the helium during the shortage ;/
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Jamisjockey on October 28, 2015, 07:37:52 PM
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aberdeen-havre-de-grace/bs-md-jlens-blimp-loose-20151028-story.html (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aberdeen-havre-de-grace/bs-md-jlens-blimp-loose-20151028-story.html)

 :facepalm:

Wouldn't a Cessna have been a better choice?

Cessna can't shoot it down if it's headed somewhere it doesn't need to be.
Title: Re: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: makattak on October 28, 2015, 08:46:08 PM
Probably a manatee.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BiF8OgrCAAA1lUS.jpg)

I cannot believe this was not the first reply to your post.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: KD5NRH on October 28, 2015, 09:22:56 PM
Cessna can't shoot it down if it's headed somewhere it doesn't need to be.

What's a missile going to target well enough to blow up on or near it?  Bullet holes would take forever to deflate it effectively, and those bullets end up somewhere.

Seems to me a pyro disconnect device on the blimp end of the tether/umbilical with radio detonation and/or automatic separation on loss of signal through the cable would have at least left the cable in a relatively safe area instead of dragging more than a mile of it across the countryside.

So yes, the solution is detcord.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: vaskidmark on October 29, 2015, 09:44:03 AM
Sure it disintegrated on impact.  NSA wouldn't want anybody getting their hands on one of those spy balloons, would they?

stay safe.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Scout26 on October 29, 2015, 10:28:15 AM
What's a missile going to target well enough to blow up on or near it?  Bullet holes would take forever to deflate it effectively, and those bullets end up somewhere.

Seems to me a pyro disconnect device on the blimp end of the tether/umbilical with radio detonation and/or automatic separation on loss of signal through the cable would have at least left the cable in a relatively safe area instead of dragging more than a mile of it across the countryside.

So yes, the solution is detcord.

Jesus the Helium !!! [/Archer voice]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K_WmV50e7c
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: roo_ster on October 29, 2015, 10:58:31 AM
http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/217564/

(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.pjmedia.com%2Finstapundit%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F10%2Funtethered_blimp_pennsylvania_10-28-15-1.jpg&hash=7b5a2eec5c8ac7e307b6a3333b9057a2cbc93ccf)

Quote
That long-awaited Hollywood mashup of Black Sunday and Witness has finally begun its location shoots.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Angel Eyes on October 29, 2015, 11:42:18 AM
Fled Zeppelin?
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Fly320s on October 29, 2015, 12:42:19 PM
Fled Zeppelin?


No, Blimp Bizkit.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: never_retreat on October 29, 2015, 02:44:56 PM
When reports of the blimp was approaching New Jersey airspace we dispatched our counter blimp blimp.

(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.embed.ly%2F1%2Fdisplay%2Fresize%3Fkey%3D1e6a1a1efdb011df84894040444cdc60%26amp%3Burl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fpbs.twimg.com%252Fmedia%252FCSbNsi6WsAAjfKZ.jpg&hash=43408f2148c9910c1db2f6e90ed1b7961caaa831)
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: TommyGunn on October 29, 2015, 05:37:47 PM
That was cruel.





Funny.......but  cruel. :angel:
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: griz on October 29, 2015, 10:25:47 PM
Reports now say the police used shotguns on it.  I sure hope one of them had the sense to say "pull" before he fired.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Scout26 on October 29, 2015, 11:03:06 PM
If it's that close (within shotgun range) and dragging a 6000' long chain, how's about a grabbing some of the chain and hooking it to a winch to get it under control.


Oh, but then officer Friendly won't get to use some of the cool toys in the trunk of the cruiser....

 :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Phyphor on October 30, 2015, 02:32:56 AM
Dammit, Fistful!
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: wmenorr67 on October 30, 2015, 08:03:36 AM
Reports now say the police used shotguns on it.  I sure hope one of them had the sense to say "pull" before he fired.

If it's that close (within shotgun range) and dragging a 6000' long chain, how's about a grabbing some of the chain and hooking it to a winch to get it under control.


Oh, but then officer Friendly won't get to use some of the cool toys in the trunk of the cruiser....

 :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

Me thinks the blimp came down on its own accord and the shotguns used once on the ground to deflate.  Not sure why they had to do that though.  Think if one could get close enough they could have deflated somehow.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: KD5NRH on October 30, 2015, 09:34:05 AM
Me thinks the blimp came down on its own accord and the shotguns used once on the ground to deflate.  Not sure why they had to do that though.  Think if one could get close enough they could have deflated somehow.

6,700 feet of conductive tether tangled up in power lines.  You want to be the first to go poke it and see if it's all zappy?
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: MechAg94 on October 30, 2015, 10:11:09 AM
Me thinks the blimp came down on its own accord and the shotguns used once on the ground to deflate.  Not sure why they had to do that though.  Think if one could get close enough they could have deflated somehow.
I thought helium was mildly flammable, but I don't know.  A quick search reveals a bunch of ignorance on the internet (surprise!). 
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: RocketMan on October 30, 2015, 11:49:08 AM
Helium is a noble or inert gas.  Not flammable.  But its most important property is that it can make you talk like Donald Duck when inhaled in small amounts.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: vaskidmark on October 30, 2015, 01:23:37 PM
....  But its most important property is that it can make you talk like Donald Duck when inhaled in small amounts.

What about if a whole lot of cops stand around letting it out of the bag?

A recording of the calls to dispatch would be priceless.

stay safe.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: KD5NRH on November 05, 2015, 11:33:31 AM
But its most important property is that it can make you talk like Donald Duck when inhaled in small amounts.

Too bad sulfur hexafluoride is pretty much useless for filling blimps.  (Unless you need an inflatable anchor, I guess.)  Having a giant supply of it land in my backyard would be really fun.  I could finally nail the bass part to Elvira.
Title: Re: Who lost the blimp
Post by: Marnoot on November 05, 2015, 11:49:38 AM
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aberdeen-havre-de-grace/bs-md-jlens-blimp-loose-20151028-story.html (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aberdeen-havre-de-grace/bs-md-jlens-blimp-loose-20151028-story.html)

 :facepalm:

Wouldn't a Cessna have been a better choice?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY-pdk_FWh0&t=16s