Dan,
Its already happened. When you travel along a road and you see a white line painted in the middle for no apparent reason and then another one a bit further on, these are distance markers for aircraft speed spotters. Usually helicopters in this country.
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Is that what they are?
Thanks so much if its true. Ive no idea, neither have any of my friends, family and driving instructor. No mention of them in highway code either.
Cheers *buys virtual beer*
Kev
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I think the white squares (about a foot square) that are dotted around are used for same purpose.
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Although this is probably true, I believe they are also used by trafpol as known measured distances for 1) calibration of equipment and 2) nicking speeding motorists with Vascar or similar.
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Stuart,
Do you mean the 18 inch squares of white paint followed by another some distance ahead? These are measured distances and are used by police using VASCAR equipment a time /distance set up and can be observed from a stationary vehicle or a following car.
BTW, they can use any roadside feature with VASCAR. It does not have to be on the road surface.
In North Wales the helicoper uses a radar gun with due allowance for the angle of the beam.
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Covered before chaps, sorry to be a smart bottom, here is the original,
www.honestjohn.co.uk/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=12745&t...t
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And for measuring speed between them from a helicopter
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Reminds me of the recent episode in Scotland, where a police radar gun reported several hundred mph before blowing up completely - the cause making itself clear a few seconds later when an RAF Tornado did a low pass. Plod rang up the local RAF base and complained bitterly about the damage to their kit, only to be told that the plane's weapons radar had identified theirs as hostile, and had already locked an air-to-air missile onto it!
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JBG
The version of that story in North Wales was that the aircraft had locked on to the radar and then used electronic counter-measures to blitz it.
True? I doubt it.
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North Wales is just as likely. Probably a kernel of truth in there, but I daresay it's been embellished a bit.
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JBJ
That story has been going around for some time.
It reputedly originated in a boys magazine.
Informed opinion is that the radar frequencies do not correspond.
And the RAF apparently do not fly with armed missiles in the UK.
Try a search, it came up about October time on a thread.
Sorry to "shoot you down".
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It may not have been the actual guidance system, but they are also fitted with ECM (electronic counter-measures) systems that have a wide bandwidth and are of sufficient power to wreck any low-power device at short range. The old Russian MIG-25's had radar that could kill a rabbit at one kilometre!
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Ignore the "Bill Doodson" reference on the above post, it is nothing to do with him, I forgot to check that my settings had been returned to default.
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The RAF do fly with armed missiles in the UK; how else could they defend the country and/or go to ranges to fire them?
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I too doubt it Alwyn however it has appeared widely and I am unable to find a good debunking at any urban legen web sites:
And it's quoted here too:
www.newscientist.com/hottopics/bizarre/really.jsp
Appeared in pilot magazine then Bike magazine.
IF ANYONE CAN FIND A GOOD DEBUNKING I'D LIKE TO HEAR IT!
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