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Skybird · 10-04-08, 05:38 PM

I searched and checked on that lantirn thing. These are made of rice-paper that does not burn, and they look orange like what I saw indeed. They burn for around 5-10 minutes, and usually fly at 50-200 m altitude, then gently decent back to the ground

However: the things I saw moved quite fast, not as fast as shooting stars or jets on afterburner, but faster than small or big balloons in the wind. I estimate it in the range of aircraft speeds, 150-350 kn. Also, the wind blew (and blows) at a right angle to the direction at which the orange dots were moving. Also, the formation kept it's spacing quite precisely. And finally, I would not say they were just 100 m or 200 m high, but more - much more.

Then, in Germany they are forbidden to be launched inside a 50 km zone around airports. But the airport Münster Osnabrück is much closer.

And finally, the sheer numbers. I even do not know since when they had shown up before I became aware of them, but I have seen at least 50-60 of them, I estimate. Usually, private person buy these rice-paper lantirns and launch them in numbers of 2, 10, or 20. After the Tsunami, they used them by the hundreds in Asia, but that were public events of rememberance. At least the local news holds no report about such a public event this night.

currently the rice-paper lantirn is the best optioin I have for an explanation, but it is a theory that has some unexplained contradictions (speed, altitude, wind, legal implications, huge numbers). I can't rule it out, but see the probability currently as low. and there is always that evading aircraft on my mind. I nevber have seen an aircraft doing such a sharp turn over the city. There are also no navigation marks dermanding them ihn the vicinity. Next major VOR is some dozen miles in the east - OSN - and even there such banks are not planned according to high and low altitude enroute charts, I checked that. the approaches for (I think at night: closed) airport Münster-Osnabrück also look differentl, and the plane was too high to land at FMO anyway.

10-04-08, 05:38 PM	#5
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,806 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	I searched and checked on that lantirn thing. These are made of rice-paper that does not burn, and they look orange like what I saw indeed. They burn for around 5-10 minutes, and usually fly at 50-200 m altitude, then gently decent back to the ground However: the things I saw moved quite fast, not as fast as shooting stars or jets on afterburner, but faster than small or big balloons in the wind. I estimate it in the range of aircraft speeds, 150-350 kn. Also, the wind blew (and blows) at a right angle to the direction at which the orange dots were moving. Also, the formation kept it's spacing quite precisely. And finally, I would not say they were just 100 m or 200 m high, but more - much more. Then, in Germany they are forbidden to be launched inside a 50 km zone around airports. But the airport Münster Osnabrück is much closer. And finally, the sheer numbers. I even do not know since when they had shown up before I became aware of them, but I have seen at least 50-60 of them, I estimate. Usually, private person buy these rice-paper lantirns and launch them in numbers of 2, 10, or 20. After the Tsunami, they used them by the hundreds in Asia, but that were public events of rememberance. At least the local news holds no report about such a public event this night. currently the rice-paper lantirn is the best optioin I have for an explanation, but it is a theory that has some unexplained contradictions (speed, altitude, wind, legal implications, huge numbers). I can't rule it out, but see the probability currently as low. and there is always that evading aircraft on my mind. I nevber have seen an aircraft doing such a sharp turn over the city. There are also no navigation marks dermanding them ihn the vicinity. Next major VOR is some dozen miles in the east - OSN - and even there such banks are not planned according to high and low altitude enroute charts, I checked that. the approaches for (I think at night: closed) airport Münster-Osnabrück also look differentl, and the plane was too high to land at FMO anyway. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert. Last edited by Skybird; 10-04-08 at 05:49 PM.