Shannon

Was just doing my usual Saturday morning online newspaper reading and this story's strange and important enough to share.

Check it out -- View the article for more info and a photo of the weird missile-like contraption they'll be dangling from the low-flying helicopter.

Make a mental note -- low flying helicopter with strange white missile-like dangling thing labelled "RESOLVE" = **NO THREAT**, nothing out of the ordinary. Got it?

Check out what they named this mapping system (that looks like a missle) "RESOLVE", eh? That goes right in line with the Patriot, the Stinger, the... Perhaps it should be named something a little less weapon-like; perhaps the "SNAIL DARTER" or "BLIND SALAMANDER"? Better yet, paint it purple and name it "BARNEY" so kids will delight anytime it overflies them.

I love technology... it creates such great opportunities for misunderstandings, sometimes. We'd probably have considered calling the FAA if we saw something like that near our home without any prior warning, considering how panicky the world has become about aviation these days.

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- Shannon Moore
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copuswalker

The terrorist are coming, The terrorist are coming!
It will raise some eyebrows and perhaps even rate some rednecks home made mortar?

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Shannon

Sadly, that's exactly what I'd be worried about if I were piloting that contraption anywhere near populated areas! Of course, since I'm not a pilot, I would probably be one of the folks on the ground eating dust and making sure the mapping "missile" is performing optimally.

What I can't figure out from the article is if this device works by just passing it over areas of ground they want to map and study, or whether it needs to be slowly "dragged" on the ground to do its job. The latter seems a lot more dangerous (for the helicopter pilot, and for the mapping device itself), but the former seems odd. I like to think I'm a geek, but when it comes to geoscience and mapping, I'm just as clueless as the next gal.

I live near a large portion of Camp Bullis' boundary, but I can't say I've seen or heard any helicopters in the area today. I'll keep my eyes out for the device, as it's got to look downright weird in the air, just as it looks downright weird mounted to that pick-up truck for transport! It's supposed to be around here for 2 weeks, so maybe I'll have an opportunity to observe it.

I always get a kick out of seeing the Apache Blackhawk and other military helicopters fly over when they're actively doing training at Camp Bullis.

__________________
- Shannon Moore
Your Host @ WildTexas.com
http://www.twitter.com/ageekgal

toejam

Would those be the unmarked black helicopters that used to be so prevalent flying low in our skies? The government is almost as good at striking terror in the hearts of the people as Al Qaeda.

black eyed peas

(this is not meant as a political endorsement of any kind, just an observation)

Shannon

I thought I caught a glimpse of the helicopter a couple nights ago, since it made several low passes along the border of Camp Bullis that's within view from my house. However, it could have been a nighttime military practice exercise, since Camp Bullis is an active training base (as the machinegun fire attests when they're doing wargames!

Even after getting to see the Stealth Fighter (not the bomber) do several low passes at the Randolph Air Force Base airshow, I still feel like I saw a UFO. Some of these high tech military fighters are so bleeding edge and odd in appearance, your brain doesn't have any frame of reference for them. I mean, c'mon, does this look like it should FLY? And now we have planes that have liquid fueled JET boosters.

Sorry, I guess I'm a technology geek in all its forms, even when it comes to military hardware.

__________________
- Shannon Moore
Your Host @ WildTexas.com
http://www.twitter.com/ageekgal