Unidentified Craft - Your Help To Identify?

Hey Guys,

Well, I was away with my other son in another state when my husband sent me this video. His story: He heard the next door neighbor freaking out and yelling a bit, so he went outside to the back porch and saw this craft that the neighbor was freaking out about. There is a video of it below. It is poorly recorded but I've included my husband's video anyway.

1. It was approximately the size of a helicopter
2. It was silent
3. It has white lights and strobes

Another neighbor joined in and said he had a small recreational drone and that it was very loud, and not as large, so that if it were a drone, they should be able to hear it.

PLEASE NOTE: the CAMERA is moving, but the object is actually FLYING IN A STRAIGHT LINE, basically South to North, and not in a common flight path (we are not too far from an airport and a hospital - we know what a helicopter sounds like going overhead because we are on the hospital flight path - they are very loud. I also know that they usually have colored lights on, but????) I'm no expert on all the variations of lighting for aircraft.

Anyway, he only filmed it because I was away, and he knew I was "into" this stuff. What an awesome guy Mr. AboveBoard is!!

I'm looking for explanations as my gut feeling when I saw it was that it was a helicopter or some kind of drone. The fact that it was silent and only had white lights are the two weird things about it. I don't know how high up it is, but the video makes it look a lot farther away than it was (darn phone video!!).

I am not aware of every option here, so I'd like your input. Can we solve the mystery??

Thank you!

- AB

a reply to: AboveBoard

Could possibly be a small ultra light, the kind folks build and maintain themselves.

From that altitude you won't always hear them....folks don't normally fly them around here at night though,Pretty hard to land in a field at night without lights.

Just one guess,lights look terrestrial etc.

a reply to: Treespeaker

Thanks Treespeaker. That may be a possibility, but the lights are wrong for that, I think.

I just looked this up on an FAA site... There are no red and green lights. ???

Here are some types of lights:

A beacon is a light that flashes slowly.
Strobes are the bright white lights that flash about once per second.
Navigation lights are the red, green, and white lights that are on continuously, like on a boat.
Logo lights are lights used to light up something on the side of the plane, and their use is optional.
Strobes and beacons are considered anti-collision lights.

Anti-collision lights, if the plane has them, should be used whenever the engine is running except when they interfere with ground operations. Strobes do not have to be used all the time if a beacon is on.

Navigation lights should be used during night operations.

Regulations for Ultralights... (from Wikipedia, so?)

Ultralight vehicle cannot be flown except between the hours of sunrise and sunset.[1]
Ultralight vehicles may be operated during the twilight periods 30 minutes before official sunrise and 30 minutes after official sunset or, in Alaska, during the period of civil twilight as defined in the Air Almanac, if:
The vehicle has an operating anti-collision light visible for at least 3 statute miles[1]
The flight is only in uncontrolled airspace[1]
Ultralight vehicles cannot be flown over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons.[1]

Weight allowances can be made for amphibious landing gear, and ballistic parachute systems.[1]

In the United States, while no license or training is required by law for ultralights, training is highly advisable.[2]

LINK


They cannot legally be flown at night...

a reply to: AboveBoard

Drug runners don't necessarily follow FAA regulations.

Just a thought ...

a reply to: Timely

A lot of people don't necessarily follow FAA regulations. I've seen ultralight pilots that didn't even know there WERE regulations for them.

a reply to: Zaphod58
Timely


I hear you - there is certainly that possibility!!

Do ultralights make noise? I have no idea. I am certainly not thinking of this as "alien" but only "unidentified."

Around here, some yahoo could easily think it would be awesome to go for an ultralight ride at night.

Input is appreciated!!

- AB

Nobody else hears the small engine noise in the background?

Go ahead turn it up and listen…

a reply to: intrptr

That is the nearby highway... It is a constant here.

ETA: If it had been either a drone or helicopter, the witnesses were confident they would have heard an engine noise directly from the vehicle, but there is only the sound of the cars on the Highway in the video - I'm very familiar with it...

Thanks!!!

a reply to: AboveBoard

They're quiet. Most of them use a lawnmower engine or something similar.

As for the sound, they'd be in for a surprise. An F-1y at idle on the taxiway can be heard at near a half mile under the right conditions and a quarter mile normally. I've had them fly over me and not heard them until they were past me.

a reply to: AboveBoard

I see, then how could they determine it was totally silent, with the sound of traffic nearby? Trying to eliminate the possibilities so expect me to nitpick.

I've seen these beacons on small craft at night before. I always thought they were photo strobes. Surprised Zaphod didn't address the strobes.

Yet…

a reply to: intrptr

Strobes are normal to help pilots see them at a safe distance. Just about everything has them anymore. I'm not sure about the current regulations but at one point they were from ground to 10,000 then optional above 10,000.

a reply to: intrptr



No worries! I'm not out to defend or prove anything with this posting!! I'm honestly and truly looking for the mundane possibilities this presents first and foremost.

I just had a helicopter from the hospital fly over my house - good God its loud and very distinct from the background noise of the traffic. The traffic is easily sorted in our ears here because it is CONSTANT. We hear it at the same level all the time. Anything going directly overhead, would have its own sound signature and it would be easy to sort it from the highway background - it would stand out.

Now - I'm not saying the aircraft was definitely 100% silent either - this is from the witness POV only. I have no idea what it was so I don't know!

I would guess a Cessna 172 rigged for slow flight, slow controled speed, very quiet. Below 1500 AGL the VFR pilot can be very close to a controlled airport and not be talking to the tower. Not recommended but legal. Think up side down wedding cake.
If the field is not controlled all bets are off and anything is possible. He may have been trying to use his radio to turn on the field lights. I myself once stalled a Warrior over Jim Lovell Field trying to turn the lights on. Slow flight is a common practice to loiter over an area.

Where did you see that, I saw the same thing heading for Love Field on Friday night....lights were not right, no outboard lights no wingtip lights so I figured it was a silent helicopter


it was inbound at 4000 feet AGL....not a sound....not even after passing

a reply to: GBP/JPY

This was filmed at the end of January. Not anywhere near Love field...
I'm in the general area of the Blue Ridge Mountains...

Thanks for posting - glad others have seen something like it too!

- AB

originally posted by: Nickn3
I would guess a Cessna 172 rigged for slow flight, slow controled speed, very quiet. Below 1500 AGL the VFR pilot can be very close to a controlled airport and not be talking to the tower. Not recommended but legal. Think up side down wedding cake.
If the field is not controlled all bets are off and anything is possible. He may have been trying to use his radio to turn on the field lights. I myself once stalled a Warrior over Jim Lovell Field trying to turn the lights on. Slow flight is a common practice to loiter over an area.

That would be cool to see.

Wouldn't it still need the red/green lights for flying at night? I thought that was the rule. I am absolutely no expert though!!

Thanks!
- AB

Yep, but these cruisers visit all over the place....on a whim....must be u s gov, project...that's cool....cool job to have....and that was a seasoned pilot observer....Yep, I'm old, I'm old ////[[/ reply to: AboveBoardt. project....

a reply to: AboveBoard
The red and green nav lights aren't as visible from below and from abeam, and the anti collision strobes are so bright they probably wash out the nav lights.

reply to: AboveBoard

There is no reason an electric motor could not be fitted to an ultralight.

The only sound you would hear is the prop. and you would need to be right behind it to hear anything but wind.

Again, thinking of stealthy law breakers ...

originally posted by: Timely

reply to: AboveBoard

There is no reason an electric motor could not be fitted to an ultralight.

The only sound you would hear is the prop. and you would need to be right behind it to hear anything but wind.

Again, thinking of stealthy law breakers ...

Ed: Step down gears from a torquey washing machine motor with the correct inverter tech '
Utilizing a high amp truck battery with an alernator to suit ...

Criminal stealth.