The Falcon Project: Has It Been Done Before?

Since unveiling the Falcon Project, founder William Allen Barnes has received every kind of criticism imaginable. Last year, BFRO President Matt Moneymaker poo-pooed the idea, arguing that it has been done before and keeping the blimp stable would be next to impossible, especially in windy places like the Sierras. While criticism from well regarded Bigfoot researchers are few, Facebook remains a constant battle for the founder of the Falcon Project. This latest criticism from Todd Neiss is one of them:

Todd Neiss:

Mr. Barnes...

With all due respect, your assertion that the Falcon Project's approach is "completely new," and that "no other organizations have attempted this type of airborne strategy" is simply not true.

As far back as the 1970s, my friend Professor Grover Krantz proffered the concept of aerial surveillance of Bigfoot utilizing a home-built gyro-copter.

In the 1980's, Ron Morehead and Peter Byrne conducted aerial surveillance flights searching for Bigfoot using Ron's private aircraft. One such flight involved searching for the small 8 - 10 acre basin described by Albert Ostman near the Toba Outlet in British Columbia.

In 1999, the American Primate Foundation (my organization) designed an aerial camera platform based on an airship I dubbed the "NITE O.W.L." project. It utilized a tethered helium blimp which was deigned to support standard, night-vision and thermal camera variants. Originally I considered a powered dirigible (like that of the Falcon Project), but dismissed it as a viable option due to it's insurmountable vulnerability to wind and noise issues. "NITE O.W.L." stood for a nocturnal "Overhead Wildlife Locator."

Later, Autumn Williams utilized a similar blimp strategy when she worked with the Outdoor Channel a few years ago.

Last year, at my annual BEACHFOOT gathering of Bigfoot researchers, I demonstrated a UAV prototype (in the form of an HD camera mounted to an electric airplane) to the guests there. It broadcasts live video to the RC unit's 3" screen as well as recording on-board.

I am also working with quad-copter-based UAVs. This web site has a fairly inexpensive model that will carry a Go-Pro camera >>> http://www.rc-fever.com/dji-phantom-4ch-gps-rc-quadcopter-rtf-24ghz-w-free-gopro-camera-mount.html?tracking=5&utm_source=RC-Fever.com+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1e1926b25b-AB_Subject_Test8_6_2011&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_caa0a8af46-1e1926b25b-286070033

The "Finding Bigfoot" TV show demonstrated a similar drone aircraft platform on the show. See it here >>> http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot/videos/aerial-search-for-bigfoot.htm

There is also an organization that has been using drones to monitor primates for years. See it here >>> http://www.alltheworldsprimates.org/All_The_Worlds_Primates_Blog/12-09-08/Unmanned_Drones_Used_to_Count_Orangutan_Nests.aspx

And this web site also sponsors similar research in the form of "conservation drones” >>> http://conservationdrones.org/2013/01/05/night-vision-conservation-drones/

So while the Falcon Project's dual-cell airship might represent a unique platform, it is a far cry from "a completely new and innovative approach to hominoid research" and hardly the first time any organization has attempted an "airborne strategy."

For the record, I stand by my concerns of the practicability of using any un tethered airship. As an Active Duty Soldier who has personally witnessed drones used in battle and watched their live feed-back in the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) in Iraq, I can attest to the effectiveness of these UAVs for reconnaissance and surveillance. If the RATS, Inc. platform were superior to that of the D.O.D.'s drones, I assure you we would be using them.

My point is that it is disingenuous to suggest that "no other organizations have attempted this type of airborne strategy or that such an approach is "completely new."

Regardless, I know most of your team, hold you in high regard, applaud your endeavor and wish you the best of success.

Beast Regards,

Todd Neiss
Founder - The American Primate Foundation

"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Anyone Who Threatens It"

William Allen Barnes' response (typing from his phone):

we are not into copters,we are not into planes,we are not into single blip or airship, (not good in the wind)we use 40in flat screen, quad-copters low fly time,they called us from Africa to count apes, (Dr.Redman) with the dual airship we have a bigger pay load, at 48 feet on each side = 96 feet, we can fly in high winds , up to 25 miles hr wind, (you can not do that with a single 48 foot blimp,as a public person you can not fly a drone more than 400 feet, FAA rules, and our project is under government stats , fish and game, US forest service, BLM, AND THE UNIVERSITY,AND we can fly up to 10.000 feet and a 10 mile fly zone, we have no props, our camera is one of a kind, custom made for this project, even the government dose not have this,the dual airship will be the first of it's kind, custom made for our project too, the D.O.D wants test our drone, border patrol wants to see it , and the Texas Rangers wants to buy one or more for there border ops, now I have spoke with all these people, NOW I CAN SAY THIS A FIRST, an last of all we can fly an track anything on the ground from a mile away for up to 6hrs. my lens on the camera is almost a foot wide, at 3 1/4 of a mile I can see you an know if you are a man or ape, an this is at night time, now you need to learn what we are doing, not what you think we are doing.