What it's like to be lasered at night
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,937
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From: UK/OZ
This one is the size of a compact torch. They aren't getting any less powerful and may be a threat to eye sight in the future.
In the meantime I agree that direct dazzling to the eye and creating distracting reflections is more serious an issue.
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 927
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From: Germany
Hi aa777888,
if you would go deeper into the problem you would recognize, that you miss a couple of facts. Starting from wider eyes, focusing effects of an eye onto the retina, not visual infra red parts of the cheap china lasers and so on....
And as long as you donīt know, which laser is pointed at you.....
I was directly hit, at night looking down to an offenders area and was not only flash blinded I also was disorientated for about 30 sec.
Luckily I was only the Co-Pilot - but if otherwise ....
So go along, look in a laser - if it is safe for you - and get your own experience!
Greetings Flying Bull
if you would go deeper into the problem you would recognize, that you miss a couple of facts. Starting from wider eyes, focusing effects of an eye onto the retina, not visual infra red parts of the cheap china lasers and so on....
And as long as you donīt know, which laser is pointed at you.....
I was directly hit, at night looking down to an offenders area and was not only flash blinded I also was disorientated for about 30 sec.
Luckily I was only the Co-Pilot - but if otherwise ....
So go along, look in a laser - if it is safe for you - and get your own experience!
Greetings Flying Bull
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Joined: Nov 2002
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 4,753
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From: Alles über die platz
aa777888
So you will agree then, that in a police helicopter or indeed any ac operating at 1,056' AGL or below, eye damage is possible with the commonly available & used 500mW+ pen!
Methinks with all your attempts at being clever; Foot, self, shot rings a bell
Running the numbers at 0.1 statute miles (528 ft or 176 yards), this works out to 250mW being the maximum eye safe l@ser power at that range. Conversely it'll be about twice that distance for a 500mW l@ser. Again this assumes a nominal beam divergence of 1.5mrad, quite a typical number for the average, run of the mill, high power l@ser pointer.
Methinks with all your attempts at being clever; Foot, self, shot rings a bell
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 850
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From: USA
So you will agree then, that in a police helicopter or indeed any ac operating at 1,056' AGL or below, eye damage is possible with the commonly available & used 500mW+ pen!
Methinks with all your attempts at being clever; Foot, self, shot rings a bell
I will say that perhaps familiarity breeds contempt. I have spent several years of my career working in laboratory settings with truly high power lasers of various wavelengths. My last yearly retinal photograph (required by the company's insurance reg's) was still clean, which I would like to subscribe to training and skill rather than luck. No burns or clothing damage, either (some of the wavelengths used rapidly destabilize dyes--a lot of the guys who don't set up their stuff right wind up with funny spots on their pants right at the height of optical bench.)
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: ...up there
A report about laser attacks on HEMS in Germany
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1
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From: Jacksonville florida
I can honestly say it sucks. Being a Police pilot in a navy town we've been hit with lasers many times. Usually a young and drunk junior member of the navy using the military grade green targeting laser, or a drunk street thug with a cheaper red laser.
We fly between 1000 AGL down to 200 AGL if working a call aggressively. At that range it's blinding. God forbid if i've got the NVG's down. We've been lucky and avoided a direct hit on the NVG's but I'm told a laser will destroy the NVG tube on a direct hit.
If we can identify where they come from, we get ground units to scoop them up and arrest them.
We fly between 1000 AGL down to 200 AGL if working a call aggressively. At that range it's blinding. God forbid if i've got the NVG's down. We've been lucky and avoided a direct hit on the NVG's but I'm told a laser will destroy the NVG tube on a direct hit.
If we can identify where they come from, we get ground units to scoop them up and arrest them.
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 614
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From: On the Rump of Pendle Hill Lancashi
Seems the bad/idiot boys are world wide, Simple solution would be a recip laser target designator paint them and let the locals boys in Blue pick em up,....or simply splash em! could be messy, but after a few they would soon stop others copying,
Possibly I am a little too hard on things( read idiots) that annoy!!
Peter R-B,
Lancashire
Possibly I am a little too hard on things( read idiots) that annoy!!
Peter R-B,
Lancashire
