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.

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 don´t 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

aa777888So 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 :D

Absolutely. No argument.

Not at all. You are ascribing cleverness where none was attempted. As I wrote in my original reply "Using the above equations you can figure out where you stand for whatever your favorite worst case laser scenario is." You all are doing exactly that.

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.)

The mind boggles...

... the trick is to have the right equipment in the cockpit to deter them from doing it again.... or ever.... ;)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/...s/aaasized.jpg

A report about laser attacks on HEMS in Germany
 

Laserattacken: Angriff auf die Flugsicherheit | Kontrovers | Bayerisches Fernsehen | Fernsehen | BR.de

:ok:

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.

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,:E

Possibly I am a little too hard on things( read idiots) that annoy!!:=

Peter R-B,
Lancashire