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FrozenGate by Avery

Pointing a laser in the night sky

I have absolutely no intention of ever pointing at an aircraft. If there are no laws against pointing at the open sky, there is no problem. By the way, I live rather close to an airport, so pretty much all planes have a low altitude and are very easy to see. If I see anything moving that is possibly an airplane I avoid pointing in that direction.
 
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Many Countries have very strict laws against pointing lasers at aircraft and it is not a good idea for many reasons and The admonitions against pointing at aircraft are from people living in Countries where it is illegal to do so, hjowever, it appears that Portugal does not have any legislation or laws concerning same as yet. None that I could find anywhere on the internet anyway and no program advising people in Portugal about the dangers of dong so and law concerning same.
USA has very serious penalties for pointing at aircraft: US: Illegal to aim laser pointer beams at aircraft or their flight path; up to 5 years in prison and up to $250,000 fine see: https://www.laserpointersafety.com/rules-general/uslaws/uslaws.html
Am not aware of any Country that prohibits pointing laser in the open sky and not at or in the flight path of aircraft.

According to laserpointersafety.con there are no Laws in Portugal prohibiting pointing at aircraft much less in the sky woth no aircraft "Portuguese officials told the Irish investigators that there is no law in Portugal against aiming a laser at an aircraft."
see: https://www.laserpointersafety.com/news/news/other-news_files/tag-portugal.php#on
Article about same here: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20458691.html
and here: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Portugal+asked+to+review+laser+laws-a0535320726

You need to look into the law in your Country, Portugal and check the Countires Avviation Safety authorities web pages, as of today to be certain. see: http://www.gpiaa.gov.pt/

Regardless of the status of laser laws, it is not a good idea to point at or in the flight path of aircraft possibly endangering the pilots and by extension the crew and passengers, especially so during take off and landing.
 
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Nearly all European countries have become strict on lasers. Portugal is obviously an exception. However, my points still stand.
Best limit pointing in the sky even if there is no specific law.
 
CurtisOliver said:
Nearly all European countries have become strict on lasers. Portugal is obviously an exception. However, my points still stand.
Best limit pointing in the sky even if there is no specific law.
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It is weird, because I remember seeing a news report on lasers hitting planes a few years ago. I usually only point at the sky for a minute or two a day by the way.
 
If people started hurling pancakes at people and vehicles in the street then eventually pancakes would be banned too. That's the sort of logic that goes on. Doesn't matter that 99% of people use them for what they are intended, it is the 1% that ruin things. Yes, we absolutely hate them videos on here. They are what's ruining this hobby for everyone.
 
CurtisOliver said:
If people started hurling pancakes at people and vehicles in the street then eventually pancakes would be banned too. That's the sort of logic that goes on. Doesn't matter that 99% of people use them for what they are intended, it is the 1% that ruin things. Yes, we absolutely hate them videos on here. They are what's ruining this hobby for everyone.
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It especially pisses me off because I'm actually a fan of most of this guy's other content.
By the way, when somebody here said this:
Unown (WILD) said:
I'd also high tail it out of that discord
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What was the reason? I didn't really understand, is it because of what I said there or just the way the server is?
 
_xXx_MLG_PiNgU_69420_xXx_ said:
For some reason my reply is now before your message. I added screenshots of the discord conversation to my last message.
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You should delete the screenshots they take up a huge amount of space and are just annoying on LPF.
Really you shouldn't drag and rehash internet drivel and chitchat problems from other places on the internet on to/into LPF.
Whatever your problems on a Discord are, they have nothing to do with the purpose of LPF nor are they of any interest on LPF
LPF is not a social media chitchat forum in general much less about other internet chatter.
 
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Encap said:
You should delete the screenshots they take up a huge amount of space and are just annoying on LPF.
Really you shouldn't drag and rehash internet drivel and chitchat problems on to/into LPF.
Nothing to so with the purpose of LPF nor of any interest.
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Alright, I'll delete them.
EDIT: Done
 
_xXx_MLG_PiNgU_69420_xXx_ said:
So, I was talking about removing the lens of a laser to make it look like a flashlight, in case some paranoid person sees the beam in the night sky and calls the cops, on Styropyro's Discord server. Three guys were treating me like I was some sort of monster for even pointing the laser at the sky, despite me saying I check for planes on flightradar24 and never pointing to the sky if I see any airplane, saying that I was causing reckless endangerment, using metaphors like "So you would shoot randomly at people in the street." and such, saying that I shouldn't own a laser.
To be fair, I talked about possibly shining my laser through the door pinhole to blind my mom's harasser, which I understand is wrong, I was filled with rage when I said that, and even then I wasn't 100% on doing it. That message got promptly deleted of course, not sure if they saw it.
Are they right? By their logic, everyone here who posts outdoor beamshots is being reckless and risking lives. Styropyro himself responded that it's a legal gray area and he wouldn't comment.
Just so you know I had been researching for years before buying a laser, and I take all the safety precautions I can, I'm not some kid that just bought a laser and points it at people for fun.
This might sound like self-pitying, I apolozige. I just want to know if pointing a laser into the sky at all is bad.
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I live in the snitch-capital of the world where basically everything is illegal or bad for you. My Lasing hobby is mostly indoors.....but for night-time......
Excellent that you check the ATC first. I do exactly the same without fail.
Other than that wait for that perfect fog usually before dawn), find a place and get yourself an e-scooter! Heavy fog also means less air-traffic, depending on the hub. Don't go any further that 200 yards from home (suburbia). In the event any responders do get called, an e-scooter is not trackable by a dog and it's silent and they SHIFT.
 
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_xXx_MLG_PiNgU_69420_xXx_ said:
I have absolutely no intention of ever pointing at an aircraft. If there are no laws against pointing at the open sky, there is no problem. By the way, I live rather close to an airport, so pretty much all planes have a low altitude and are very easy to see. If I see anything moving that is possibly an airplane I avoid pointing in that direction.
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Do be aware airports have waypoints (beacons) so quite a bit of movement could be 35plus ASL and you won't hear anything till it's long passed. Check the website every single time (just in case)
I'd also mentioned the atc staff on duty are very well trained to spot any activity and log it (down time)
 
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