Hacker News Reader

Comment by ineedasername | Hacker News Reader

Are people using something to help aim their laser? How do you accurately even target something like that so far away where you don't even know if you've hit the object?

(And just to be clear, I'm not asking for instructions on this)

View on HN

Lasers still expand as the beam travels. The dot when you aim at your hand is smaller than the dot on the wall 10 feet away.

By the time you aim at something a thousand or two feet in the air, it's pretty close to filling the cockpit window. Plus it goes through helicopter door or front window plexi, which has a diffraction effect and will scatter the beam even more within the cockpit.

You absolutely can see where it hits, there's enough particulates in the air to show the beam itself.

Just momentary swiping of laser across the cockpit is already quite debilitating. Precise targeting is not necessary. I've had lasers aimed at me while i was flying, and it is so bright that it blinds you for a minute or so. The actual laser strike on the aircraft was maybe 1/10 of a second long

It's a classic survival technique to use a mirror to signal aircraft using the sun's reflection. In boy scouts I was taught to extend a "peace" sign outward and align the aircraft between my fingers, put the mirror near the eye, and bounce the reflection across the fingers.

Having been hit in a high-wing 182, I’d say it’s going to be quite apparent when you’ve hit the target. Half the wing lit up blindingly bright (when night adapted).

I’m sure that “hit” was readily visible to the laser operator.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com