What Was it?

[JFFB]

Went to put out a camera yesterday and as I almost drove up in the woods this plane is coming over from the woods and is flying pretty low maybe a couple of hundred feet or so above the trees and I see some sort of cable or rope hanging below it then as it clears the trees there is some sort of a little plane hanging on the cable maybe about two foot long just trailing behind and below the plane. I have no idea what they we’re doing? Any guess. Thanks


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[flywise]

I can’t imagine this being done at low altitudes but was it like this?
[ame="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H4T6Vr4a1hY"]DARPA Gremlins Program Demonstrates Airborne Recovery - YouTube[/ame]

[ctom87]

I think there are sometimes gliders that "takeoff" by being dragged behind an actual plane.

https://youtu.be/qoKftHt9_EI

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[RifleBowPistol]

Went to put out a camera yesterday and as I almost drove up in the woods this plane is coming over from the woods and is flying pretty low maybe a couple of hundred feet or so above the trees and I see some sort of cable or rope hanging below it then as it clears the trees there is some sort of a little plane hanging on the cable maybe about two foot long just trailing behind and below the plane. I have no idea what they we’re doing? Any guess. Thanks


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What size or type of plane was doing the towing?

[JFFB]

Nope

I think there are sometimes gliders that "takeoff" by being dragged behind an actual plane.

https://youtu.be/qoKftHt9_EI

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It was not a Glider just a small like miniature plane less than 3' long and they were dragging it right above the tree tops flying in a straight line far as I could watch them going. Wish I would have thought to hurry and get a picture or video of it. Some kind of a detector device or little drone type thing just hanging below the plane flying level like the plane and the plane was not going real fast either. Plane was kind of weird looking maybe a little bigger than say a crop duster just for reference. Look like there was some kind of a door compartment under the back end of it maybe so they could lower this thing down once they were in the air then get it back in side before landing. Never seen any thing like this ??????

[Huntergirl723]

My guess is they were tracking a piipeline

[PYBUCK]

Probably some kind of GPS unit mapping something.

[Johnny Dangerr]

I did not find anything on the net.

Possibly a cheep LIDAR job...

[alien_scones]

Lidar or survey equipment generally is in a pad attached to the aircraft frame or inside the aircraft itself.

Having lidar towed behind doesn't make much sense and would be a rough ride.

Im thinking glider tow hookup, or maybe a banner pickup?

Are you near a border?

Maybe towing a larger sizes drone to deploy it elsewhere? That might explain the low altitude.



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[JFFB]

Not near a border. Dragging some kind a Drone makes sense.