Dang, I can't fly from cell block 18 anymore now...

Sagebrush · Jul 7, 2017

Prison officials believe two-time escapee used drone in latest jail break

Wire cutters? Is that all it takes?

SB

WV. Rootman · Jul 7, 2017

So the nfz doesn't work. Go figure?

anotherlab · Jul 7, 2017

I wouldn't count on geofencing around prisons to be a useful deterrent. All you would need is wrap foil around the drone to default the GPS and fly it manually. Or get a custom built drone that doesn't have geofencing at all. They should probably invest in a system that can detect drones by sound, like what DroneShield offers.

Jiggly-Wiggly · Jul 9, 2017

Tamez said that delivering something heavy such as wire or bolt cutters via drone would require a sophisticated plan and a powerful machine. "They have to land for you to get the contraband off of them," he said. "They can't drop it like a bomb."

Uhhh .... is law enforcement that clueless about current consumer drone technology?

anotherlab · Jul 9, 2017

They already fired one corrections officer in relation to this escape. That could explain no one noticed a noisy quad copter dropping off tools inside a prison yard.

Jiggly-Wiggly · Jul 9, 2017

anotherlab said:
They already fired one corrections officer in relation to this escape. That could explain no one noticed a noisy quad copter dropping off tools inside a prison yard.

Sooner or later someone is going to sell a helium-filled ballon with very quiet drive props. This type of RC aircraft is already desperately needed for certain applications like wildlife aerial photography and stealth surveillance where prop noise has to be an absolute minimum. Flying would have to be limited to very calm days with no wind. It would also be really good for dropping contraband items into prison yards in the middle of the night while the guards are asleep

anotherlab · Jul 9, 2017

Jiggly-Wiggly said:
Sooner or later someone is going to sell a helium-filled ballon with very quiet drive props. This type of RC aircraft is already desperately needed for certain applications like wildlife aerial photography and stealth surveillance where prop noise has to be an absolute minimum. Flying would have to be limited to very calm days with no wind. It would also be really good for dropping contraband items into prison yards in the middle of the night while the guards are asleep

You would still have the same issue as with a quad, that you need a corrections officer to look the other way. When the escape involves tools, someone either brings them in or pretends not to see.

Jiggly-Wiggly · Jul 9, 2017

anotherlab said:
You would still have the same issue as with a quad, that you need a corrections officer to look the other way. When the escape involves tools, someone either brings them in or pretends not to see.

I agree with you to a point --- but a helium-filled RC balloon hovering at 500 ft. over a prison yard at 3am --- sure seems like a nice way to drop in a pair of bolt cutters --- or cell phone, cash, gun, bag of dope, etc

anotherlab · Jul 10, 2017

Jiggly-Wiggly said:
I agree with you to a point --- but a helium-filled RC balloon hovering at 500 ft. over a prison yard at 3am --- sure seems like a nice way to drop in a pair of bolt cutters --- or cell phone, cash, gun, bag of dope, etc

How would a helium balloon be any less noticeable than a quad? It's going to be lot larger in order to have enough helium to provide the lift to carry the tools and the motors. You can't take a weather balloon sized object and hang motors underneath it. You are talking about something shaped like a blimp

They are just as noisy as a quad. And a lot harder to control. Any amount of wind is going to push that thing around and make dropping an object to specific point very difficult. And you are navigating it from cameras on board the craft. And slower to manipulate. Dropping something from 500 ft and trying to place it by a fence without ending up on the wrong side is going to be tricky.

If you wanted to go the silent route, you could do it with a fixed wing RC craft. More glider than motorized. Put a slower turning prop to give it enough velocity to make it to the prison and glide it in for a one-way trip. It doesn't need to provide enough lift to take off, you could launch it from a larger drone like an Inspire and let it mostly glide in. If you had enough skill and the right weather, you could probably do it without a motor.

The prisoner would dispose of the craft so that it wouldn't be found immediately. You would still need to have the guards on duty look the other way when it came in. But it would be quiet, just very visible. It's never dark in the prison yard.

If someone used a drone to drop a wire cutter, they paid a CO to look the other way. Which means it was probably all caught on surveillance cameras. When those two prisoners escaped from the Clinton NY prison back in 2015, they had been given tools from prison employees. I think we'll find that will have been a factor in this escape as well.

Jiggly-Wiggly · Jul 10, 2017

anotherlab said:
How would a helium balloon be any less noticeable than a quad? It's going to be lot larger in order to have enough helium to provide the lift to carry the tools and the motors. You can't take a weather balloon sized object and hang motors underneath it. You are talking about something shaped like a blimp

When it's pitch black at 3am and the blimp is hovering over the prison at 1200 ft. altitude --- how is that noticeable unless the prison has powerful spotlights aimed directly up into the sky? And who cares if it's called a "balloon" or "blimp"? It's a helium-filled thingie controlled by RC motors.

They are just as noisy as a quad. And a lot harder to control. Any amount of wind is going to push that thing around and make dropping an object to specific point very difficult. And you are navigating it from cameras on board the craft. And slower to manipulate. Dropping something from 500 ft and trying to place it by a fence without ending up on the wrong side is going to be tricky.

What proof do you have that an RC blimp is just as noisy as a Phantom? I saw one of these RC blimps inside a hockey arena 10 yrs. ago and the prop motors were barely audible from 30 feet away. Dropping things from a blimp is just as easy as dropping them from a Phantom. Yeah, of course you'd have to fly an RC blimp on a windless day --- but dont forget that dudes in prison have a lot of time on their hands --- they have a lot of patience to wait for a windless day.

If you wanted to go the silent route, you could do it with a fixed wing RC craft. More glider than motorized. Put a slower turning prop to give it enough velocity to make it to the prison and glide it in for a one-way trip. It doesn't need to provide enough lift to take off, you could launch it from a larger drone like an Inspire and let it mostly glide in. If you had enough skill and the right weather, you could probably do it without a motor.

I can't follow your logic at all here --- you think a silent blimp hovering at 1200 ft. over a prison is more noticeable than a fixed wing foamie gliding into the yard? I need further explanation of that because it makes no sense! Guards in the watch tower are trained to see anything coming into the yard --- not something floating stealthy 1200 ft. above the yard in the cover of darkness.

If someone used a drone to drop a wire cutter, they paid a CO to look the other way. Which means it was probably all caught on surveillance cameras. When those two prisoners escaped from the Clinton NY prison back in 2015, they had been given tools from prison employees. I think we'll find that will have been a factor in this escape as well.

You're giving way too much credit to the resolution of prison yard surveillance cameras. I would bet most of them are still 80's models with 480 lines of resolution at best. Anything smaller than a bowling ball would go un-noticed on surveillance footage. Dropping a pair of small bolt cutters would be a piece of cake --- as proven by this escapee.

anotherlab · Jul 10, 2017

Jiggly-Wiggly said:
I can't follow your logic at all here --- you think a silent blimp hovering at 1200 ft. over a prison is more noticeable than a fixed wing foamie gliding into the yard? I need further explanation of that because it makes no sense! Guards in the watch tower are trained to see anything coming into the yard --- not something floating stealthy 1200 ft. above the yard in the cover of darkness.
.

I don't think you would be able to control an RC blimp at 1200 feet with enough accuracy to drop an object and get it in the prison yard.

My point was that the guards would the see or hear a drone hovering or see a glider crashing. They would be paid to look the other way. The only way this works is with help on the inside and the outside You are right about the training. This is new for the guards

Jiggly-Wiggly said:
What proof do you have that an RC blimp is just as noisy as a Phantom? I saw one of these RC blimps inside a hockey arena 10 yrs. ago and the prop motors were barely audible from 30 feet away. Dropping things from a blimp is just as easy as dropping them from a Phantom. Yeah, of course you'd have to fly an RC blimp on a windless day --- but dont forget that dudes in prison have a lot of time on their hands --- they have a lot of patience to wait for a windless day.

A hockey arena is not a quiet location. And the RC blimp that you saw had a small motor and was designed for inside use. A RC blimp with a motor strong enough to push it outside is going to be louder.