Fox News story on R/C used by terrorists

The report also stated "RC airplanes are easy to use." If that true why do I have so many crashes? The report was a collection of partial truths.

My personal opinion: we've just got to get used to this kind of coverage. I remember a "Man from Uncle" episode from the late 1960s in which an RC plane was used by someone to blow up something. I misremember whether it was the good guys or the bad guys with the plane, but the image has stuck with me for nearly 40 years.

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! If that's all I had to confront a hungry grizzly, I think I'd just play dead for a while. (I'm from Buffalo, so I don't plan on testing this opinion in the Real World.)

Technicially, of course, you are correct and I agree with you.

But human beans do an amazing number of idiotic things. Our skulls aren't as thick as grizzlies. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn that people who hate our country would be experimenting with UAV's or RPV's or the like to find out what damage they could do. Remember the balloon bombs that Japan sent over the Pacific in WWII? That seems equally idiotic, but they killed a few people that way.

If I'm not mistaken, our troops found a big (24' wingspan) model in Iraq.

I don't watch enough other channels to evaluate Fox's coverage. It's my favorite news channel. I kind of doubt they'd run a retraction saying that small planes are too small to cause much harm. It's not a "newsworthy" story.

We got caught napping on 9/11 because we weren't as imaginative in defending the country as our enemies were in attacking it. Nobody wants to see a repeat of that story, so folks are brainstorming every possible means of attack in order to see what kinds of defensive measures are possible, if any. As long as this hobby exists, I imagine that we're going to get caught up in the web of suspicion and fear. That's life in the New World Order. :o(

I understand that these are things about which reasonable people of good will can disagree.

Marty

Here is a few links to Fox News so you can tell em what you think...

snipped-for-privacy@foxnews.com snipped-for-privacy@foxnews.com snipped-for-privacy@foxnews.com snipped-for-privacy@foxnews.com snipped-for-privacy@foxnews.com I've already sent them my comments

Doug

Does Fox News have an achieve of the story on their web page?

Mike

Thanks for checking Doug. I looked and didn't find anything on the FoxNews site either.

Negative stories about R/C airplanes gripe me too, but I'd like to watch or read what Fox had to say before commenting/complaining to them.

Mike

I sent them a copy of my impromptu newsgroup article. I shoulda' edited it!

Ed Cregger

Fox is my favorite too, although I do scan the other networks upon occasion.

Part of what has me irritated is the blurring of the differences between our model aircraft and UAV/RPV military vehicles. While they share a common heritage, their capabilities are vastly different. Unfortunately, the general public does not know the difference, nor would they care.

IIRC, R/C model aircraft were grounded during the Winter Olympics a short while back. It would not take much of an incident for the FAA to ban all model flying until the end of the war/terrorist concerns.

Ed Cregger

I do believe Brit Hume is a modeler. I just rattled his cage.

Bob

I told them they have thousands of FoxNews-loving geezers mad at them.

Bob

Bob...

Yet another shining example of the practical application of Sturegon's Law.

happy trails - Rob G

Like they don't spin half-truths and sensationalize everything else...

That was the first thought that came to mind right after 9/11. I emailed one of the AMA reps and asked if anyone from the government had contacted them to put a halt to or limiting r/c flying. Nothing had been said so far. If this issue gets enough media attention there could be trouble, just like any other hot button idea. ================================================================================ Republican airplanes have two right wings Democratic airplanes have two left wings.

Hey, lay off my buddy. He's a "distinguished gentleman". :-)

Bob

Heh - heh. A good one. 8>)

Ed Cregger

It does seem odd. When you can rent a lightplane for less than it costs to buld a model, and the amount of time needed to learn to fly both is similar, it would seem that, given the kamikaze type of terrorist now in vogue, there is little point in a guidance system oither than the terrorist.

RC systems have been used to *detonate* bombs, but with the advent of the mobile phone, nothing is easier than hooking up to the ringer and just phone the number.

Sensation and spin is everything these days, logic and common sense are just not hip any more.

I finally heard what may yet be most of the real reason for going to war in Iraq: Basically to allow the removal of defensive US troops from Saudi, where they were the real cause of the Al Qaeda attacks.

Of course no administration is going to admit to backing down in the face of a terrorist threat - hence all this balderdash about weapons of mass destriuction, and liberation etc.

So far, immense money spent. Afghanistan in ruin and anarchy, Iraq going the same way, no Bin Laden, No Saddam, and no weapons of mass destruction.

Heck, run some daft article about toy planes before someone starts asking awkward questions about the efficacy if US foreign policy on a cost benefit basis.

Absolutely. That's what their actual purpose is, which is not to be confused with their apparent purpose. Everybody knows that the news media's job is to tell us factually what is happening. But what they actually do is turn molehills into mountains and generate lots of cash from advertisers. Their other, equally important purpose is to mold public opinion to facilitate certain agendas on behalf of their corporate owners and the politicians who are in their pockets. I wonder what their purpose might be in this case. Maybe we will soon be required to cough up a hundred bucks for a license or something. Who knows? All I know is that they are worse than worthless, and they have been for a long time.

I don't know about you, but I'm on the side against all the tyrannical politicians. I like freedom. Too bad nobody seems to know what it means any more.

Mr. Philosopher is right. That's what the news media is for. Every time people start asking too many questions they come up with some goofball story guaranteed to get everybody's attention diverted. Look, it's working.

Don't be fooled by the two party system. Look at history. No matter who's in office, they do exactly what they are not supposed to do. Meanwhile they TELL you a bunch of stuff that you want to hear, but they don't actually do what you want. They blame it on circumstances, but the fact is that they are all in the same club, the get-a-free-ride-on-the-taxpayers'-backs-and-push-everybody-around club. Remember all the ridiculous Clinton judicial appointments that Bush said he would do something about? Guess what, no action. And the Republicans are supposed to be against big government, right? Ha ha, fooled you again.

Back to the point, you can bet that when you see something in the news that outrages the 1% of the population connected with the issue (RC in this case), there is a distraction agenda going on. Just remember that the next time you hear a sensational story about something you're not involved in. We'll probably hear about the terrorist threat posed by mountain climbers, hikers, avid fishermen, model train builders, antique collectors, ham radio operators, etc, etc. In fact, I just remembered that they are already coming down hard on the people who download songs from the internet.

There is always a reason for these things. It's not just some idiot with nothing better to do. Remember that there is a large organization of intelligent people approving stories and deciding what gets out to the public. Now everybody is going to say that I'm paranoid. But think about it. This is what these people do for a living. Do you do your job haphazardly? I hope not. They don't either. They know exactly what they are doing.

| It does seem odd. When you can rent a lightplane for less than it | costs to buld a model, and the amount of time needed to learn to fly | both is similar, it would seem that, given the kamikaze type of | terrorist now in vogue, there is little point in a guidance system | oither than the terrorist.

Well, not all terrorists want to die ... given the choice, they'd usually rather kill a bunch of people and live themselves, so they can kill again later.

Still, don't go thinking that the general aviation community is feeling any less nervous about things like this than we are -- they are not. And they've had more `incidents' too -- the kid who flew into a high-rise building, a guy who crashed his plane into his ex-girlfriend's house, etc.