A detector for aerial ticket assaults

[Hunter]

ner been radared by a copter...but find this interesting!!

[djrams80]

If this "radar from a helicopter" theory holds water, my 9500ci would pick up this signal for at least 10 miles, especially in Utah.

[statusquo]

You can't beat a cosine error ticket since it works in your favor by his gun showing a lower speed than what you are doing. If he shows 70 mph with a large cosine error, you are doing far more than that. All he needs to do is set it for that highway's speed limit (not counting any fudge factor he applies) and if he gets something more than that, your're busted - cosine or not.

WikiAnswers - How do you use cosine error to beat a radar or laser speeding ticket

The error doesn't get bad until about 30 degrees, and then it's only about a 15% error in your favor. A chopper a 1/2 mile behind you and 200 feet AGL has a very small Alpha angle, probably no worse than if he stood by the edge of the road.

Here's a chart:




A cop airplane may be restricted by minimum altitude, but all's fair for a chopper - even if he wants to land on a roadway as do the medi-vac copters around here. Some chopper pilots are ex-Nam pilots and they seem to like srafing the deck.

Keep your eyes peeled for what's the sky on long desolate roads.



sq

[TSi+WRX]

[quote=statusquo;438307]You can't beat a cosine error ticket since it works in your favor[quote]

Exactly.

A ticket, with cosine error in your favor, means that you really deserved it.

A chopper a 1/2 mile behind you and 200 feet AGL has a very small Alpha angle, probably no worse than if he stood by the edge of the road.

Good point.

That's it, I need missiles.......

In all seriousness, this is something that we've all been rather afraid of seeing - certainly, this could very well be the first recorded (by the enthusiast community) visual sighting of such a device and such enforcement protocol.

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by TSi+WRX

[
Exactly.



That's it, I need missiles.......

.

^^ We could do away with all of these countermeasures in that case.....
See a LEO on the side of the road shooting lidar..... fox2!! missles away

[Red Turbo Tegg]

Using helicopters and airplanes to clock people doesn't really seem cost effective to me. I'm no expert, but I'm assuming the fuel it uses and such wouldn't outwiegh the benifit of clocking a few additional speeders. I don't understand why the need for all this? They catch so many people all the time anyway, it doesn't seem rational to use this method to catch a few people that may have radar detectors/laser jammers and the like. I've never seen any enforcement like this personally, or if I have, I never got pulled over, but it seems like overkill. It just seems like it would be a major waste of money and resources to do this.

[TSi+WRX]

^ Depends on the specific aims.

Here in NE-Ohio, rotary and fixed-wing aircraft are used during "enforcement campaigns," which target high-mortality and/or high accident areas, during those times, as well as highly-trafficked routes during holidays.

Enforcement typically focuses on those who are obviously driving-impaired, or, alternatively are simply overly aggressive.

The recent Car & Driver article detailed, I feel, really fairly and accurately, the practices of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, in relation to aerial enforcement.

[Whistler1]

I know that Washington State will periodically aircraft for speed enforcement, but I sure that they are using some form of Vascar with striping along the side of the road.

Whistler1

[djrams80]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

fox2!! missles away

[zr1]

Originally Posted by Red Turbo Tegg

Using helicopters and airplanes to clock people doesn't really seem cost effective to me. I'm no expert, but I'm assuming the fuel it uses and such wouldn't outwiegh the benifit of clocking a few additional speeders. I don't understand why the need for all this? They catch so many people all the time anyway, it doesn't seem rational to use this method to catch a few people that may have radar detectors/laser jammers and the like. I've never seen any enforcement like this personally, or if I have, I never got pulled over, but it seems like overkill. It just seems like it would be a major waste of money and resources to do this.

It can be cost effective using a small plane and several cruisers on the ground when flooding an area for a day. A turbine-powered helicopter though would be much more expensive to operate and financially I can't see them getting even close to breaking even.

Seeing that it's a government entity though, that doesn't always weigh in. Perhaps they just got paid out of the assets of a big drug bust and had to burn up money for pilot hours.