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Flight pattern for helicopters when doing thermal imaging?

K

krustytheclown

Member
If a helicopter is doing a thermal scan of a property (or properties), how exactly would it fly relative to the target?

Does it need to hover over the target?
Can it circle directly overhead?
Can it run its detection several hundred yards away while circling/hovering?
how long does it need to target a property to get a clear reading for hot spots?
Does it need to be at a low altitude, or can it be high up?

I ask because last night a helicopter circled right over my house a couple of times at a VERY low altitude (150 feet, tops) without its spotlight on, then fly straight away.
 
C

cork144

krustytheclown said:
If a helicopter is doing a thermal scan of a property (or properties), how exactly would it fly relative to the target?

Does it need to hover over the target?
Can it circle directly overhead?
Can it run its detection several hundred yards away while circling/hovering?
how long does it need to target a property to get a clear reading for hot spots?
Does it need to be at a low altitude, or can it be high up?

I ask because last night a helicopter circled right over my house a couple of times at a VERY low altitude (150 feet, tops) without its spotlight on, then fly straight away.
Click to expand...

they can be very far away, and do a very detailed zoom.

i think if they were going to check your property they would first be afar, if somthing flags their attention, they might come closer for a better look.
 
C

cellardweller

if it was at night I doubt they were running defense on you..more than likely chasing some crackass cracka..
 
S

SmokyMtnToker

Member
It is NOT legal for copters to fly around seeking heat signatures from private homes. Why would a cop activate the FLIR camera unless they were either seeking a fleeing subject, or looking for a lost person? If they are using it just to look for suspicious heat sigs, then that is called an investigation, and an investigation can only be triggered by some conduct that would convince a reasonable person that a crime was being committed.

In other words, if a cop is looking for a fleeing felon, and he notices a heat sig from your home... in that case he could relay the info to detectives who would then conduct a real investigation ( hopefully) to see if there are other signs of a grow. In many areas, of course, the cops cheat and say that they left the FLIR on ' accidentaLLY' AND JUST HAPPENED TO SEE THE HEAT SIG FROM YOUR HOUSE...ALL COPS LIE A LOT. BUT THE LAW SAYS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT USE FLIR WITHOUT A WARRANT.

Don't worry a lot about FLIR....if you have no other tell tale signs of growing, it is highly unlikley you would ever have a problem from wither copters or FLIR. The Supreme court had to limit the FLIR because cops were wanting to place it in vehicles and drive around looking for sig's in the neighborhoods!! Bastards. If they had their way they could enter and search any home or business at any time and for no reasopn...nazi scum one and all.

Buit the legal reality is that cops are not supposed to fly around looking for heat sigs, and they can be fought in court effectively. interestingly, private entities CAN fly around and do anything they want to, and report it to police!! They are not limited like cops are....the odds are no private copters will find your heat sig, but in a famous case a guy was convicted and affirmed because a private copter saw his plants near an outdwelling shack and called it in; it stood up in court.

Not to worry....the odds are with you. but of course do all you can to run a tight ship.
 
MMAJAY

MMAJAY

Member
If all you got is 400 watt i seriously doubt it has anything to do with you. I second the opinion they were looking for somebody creepin the night if it was the law. I get choppers overhead many times a year and 9 out of 10 times its not the law but a private chopper. I know what my local law enforcement uses and its very easy to tell if its them just by sight of that huge ass black chopper with a big gold sheriffs star on the side.
 
G

GreenGeek

Member
When they get this close to you, then it's time to panic. LOL
 

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the_man

the_man

Member
that sounds like a scan to me. I'm going to guess your house was shaking and it was really loud and they flew straight off from the front of the house. while you watched. chopper was blacked out except for taillight

several hundred yards away is not very far away

they can circle or fly by and come back to check both sides this done by better pilots so it doesn't look suspicious

a vent that has been on a few hours shows right up.

they don't need to hang around just long enough for a video with some special commentary.

What time did this chopper come by ?

I'm also going to guess you were not venting out any ware ?
 
M

Muddy Paws

New member
Yup....I've heard they pick up the pace around this time of the year on private grows. Definitely something to be concerned about!:Bolt:
 
the_man

the_man

Member
Muddy Paws said:
Yup....I've heard they pick up the pace around this time of the year on private grows. Definitely something to be concerned about!:Bolt:
Click to expand...

they pick up the pace on large outdoor grows this time of year

but if your under suspicion they will send one for you no matter what it is a part of the playbook
 
K

krustytheclown

Member
the_man said:
that sounds like a scan to me. I'm going to guess your house was shaking and it was really loud and they flew straight off from the front of the house. while you watched. chopper was blacked out except for taillight. Happened around 9 PM local time, like last time.

several hundred yards away is not very far away

they can circle or fly by and come back to check both sides this done by better pilots so it doesn't look suspicious

a vent that has been on a few hours shows right up.

they don't need to hang around just long enough for a video with some special commentary.

What time did this chopper come by ?

I'm also going to guess you were not venting out any ware ?
Click to expand...

Uhhh...

It happened again tonight almost exactly like before:
helicopter circled very low and close to the house for a good 2-3 minutes. When I made up a reason to step outside, the chopper flew off away from the rear of my house.

Just a tailight was on, no spotlight.

Horizontally, it was within a 200 meter radius around my house.
Its altitude was probably 150-200 feet.

It happened around the same time tonight as last time.

I grow in a cabinet with a 400 W hps on the top floor of the house. There is venting out of the cabinet, but none out of the room. The room is 5-10 degrees F warmer than the rest of the house.

How real is the concern?
 
yortbogey

yortbogey

To Have More ... Desire Less
Veteran
clean house.....be~safe....and smart......dont take chances for sucha small thang......clear out and stay safe.............
 
Tripsick

Tripsick

Experienced?
Veteran
You walking outside would not make them fly away.

I wouldn't worry about it. When i ever deal with a chopper and they are looking at you they will light you up... it will turn daylight all of the sudden.. if you are in a area where they are searching for someone... I was waiting for a friend in my car in front of his house and my car was off... Then it became daylight they must of seen my heat signature in the car... and then a few seconds later they moved on.

They were in that area for a week or so and then it just calmed down.
 
I

inthelight

get a hunting spot light or something and beam it right at them next time they fly over just for shits and giggles.
 
K

krustytheclown

Member
inthelight said:
get a hunting spot light or something and beam it right at them next time they fly over just for shits and giggles.
Click to expand...

I'll file that under the category, "Bad ideas", right next to shining a laser pointer at them.

I tend to be paranoid anyway. I'm just trying to not go off the deep end here.

Any other thoughts?
 
Lazyman

Lazyman

Overkill is under-rated.
Veteran
I've heard of them flying low enough to sit overhead and count plants, if more than allowed by the county, they land or a couple guys jump out on lines. If you have a 400w indoor grow, its very unlikely they're after you, but if they've been there twice they're looking at SOMETHING they like, break it down now.
 
Lazyman

Lazyman

Overkill is under-rated.
Veteran
BTW, only relevant to Humboldt residents, but my brother lives next to a county Sheriff, and she tells him they don't even lift a finger now unless it's 3000 plants or above, just too mant 5,10 and 40K plant grows to worry about.
 
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