Anyone else like Birds AND planes? (13 Viewers)

[PYRTLE]

MC130 J ( Strix 67 ) Hercules doing circuits and bumps overhead after 8 personnel exited over RAF Sculthorpe.......sadly that site is just too far away to see from back garden. Sunshine, birdsong and military planes, just need to ring my batman for an afternoon cuppa with a biscuit - dream on.

 

[Stonefaction]

Managed to catch this pair over Dundee yesterday. USAF KC-135R and C-17A refuelling.

 

[Farnboro John]

Managed to catch this pair over Dundee yesterday. USAF KC-135R and C-17A refuelling.

I'm quite jealous of that, never seen live AAR! :t:

John

 

[Stonefaction]

I'm quite jealous of that, never seen live AAR!

John

That does surprise me, John. I'm quite lucky to be relatively close to Leuchars which is often used as a turning point for USA bound (or inbound from USA - like this pair) military traffic. Usually there's too much cloud to see much, but often see the residual trails when tankers & fighters go over, through breaks in the cloud. Don't catch aircraft on the boom too often - last time was my first F-35s in 2017, I think, while birding.

https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=93995449@N00&sort=date-taken-desc&text=f-35&view_all=1

 

[Farnboro John]

That does surprise me, John. I'm quite lucky to be relatively close to Leuchars which is often used as a turning point for USA bound (or inbound from USA - like this pair) military traffic. Usually there's too much cloud to see much, but often see the residual trails when tankers & fighters go over, through breaks in the cloud. Don't catch aircraft on the boom too often - last time was my first F-35s in 2017, I think, while birding.

https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=93995449@N00&sort=date-taken-desc&text=f-35&view_all=1

Gripping! :t:

John

 

[MJB]

I'm quite jealous of that, never seen live AAR! :t:

John

At that altitude, it's more likely a rehearsal for a display fly-past. AAR normally occurs at altitudes where fuel economy for tanker and receiver is at its best. Obviously chopper AAR is at lower altitudes...

AAR over land is also much more strictly regulated than AAR over sea...
MJB

 

[Stonefaction]

At that altitude, it's more likely a rehearsal for a display fly-past.

Altitude was 28,000ft according to my SBS-1 receiver (and 360radar website - though I do feed into that). The route tracked on 360radar (out over the Atlantic to north of Ireland then back in over west coast routing towards Leuchars) and the fact that the altitude on the way back was 28000ft, was the main reason I decided to have a look - non-refuelling Quid flights tend to be a bit higher, fighters in tow tend to be a bit lower. Refuelling over this part of Scotland by USAF aircraft to/from USA is relatively regular (I just don't tend to catch it too often).
Not sure that AAR demos are an actual thing at many airshows these days - especially not connected.

 

[MJB]

Altitude was 28,000ft according to my SBS-1 receiver (and 360radar website - though I do feed into that). The route tracked on 360radar (out over the Atlantic to north of Ireland then back in over west coast routing towards Leuchars) and the fact that the altitude on the way back was 28000ft, was the main reason I decided to have a look - non-refuelling Quid flights tend to be a bit higher, fighters in tow tend to be a bit lower. Refuelling over this part of Scotland by USAF aircraft to/from USA is relatively regular (I just don't tend to catch it too often).
Not sure that AAR demos are an actual thing at many airshows these days - especially not connected.

Your telephoto had me fooled! Thanks for the detail.
MJB

 

[Chosun Juan]

Hanna Reitsch

This !

@1:40 Fass-ci-nating ! o o

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dvncIrQ-AxM





Chosun :gh:

 

[Richard Prior]

Hanging around outside, camera at the ready hoping for a glimpse of passing Bee Eaters (I heard some this morning and there's been a lot reported in nearby Switzerland today) I heard a rumble and a roar and this buzzed past, Rafale or Mirage, or something else?

 

[Farnboro John]

Hanging around outside, camera at the ready hoping for a glimpse of passing Bee Eaters (I heard some this morning and there's been a lot reported in nearby Switzerland today) I heard a rumble and a roar and this buzzed past, Rafale or Mirage, or something else?

Rafale, Mirage wouldn't have the canard planes ahead of the wings and wouldn't have two engines. Nice! I only see them at RIAT and there's no chance of that this year. :C

 

[Euan Buchan]

Only planes I ever see at the moment are Cargo planes but I have seen the odd BA & Ryanair fly by and I look up the Flightradar24 app to see where they have been.

 

[PYRTLE]

Tracked a few commercial airliners yesterday. But air force training nearby

One summary of a military flight yesterday -

An F15E fighter jet took off from Lakenheath, declared an In Flight Emergency shortly after, but carried on out to sea to dump fuel ( too heavy to safely be cleared to land ). Worked out the fault, so rendezvoured with a tanker to take on fuel, carried on with mission and landed 50 minutes after take off.

Later at night, two very low flying C130 Hercules did two passes during darkness, directly overhead the trailing flight without any navigation lights on. Pretty quiet regarding engine noise so guess the units were Special Operations of some type.

Eagles up and after burning today, whilst I'm out in the garden, blue skies but chilly Easterly breeze.

 

[Richard Prior]

Don’t know whether the link will work( and it’s in French ) but it seems that during this period with very little passenger flights from or to Geneva the Swiss authorities allowed a Rafale and a Mirage 2000 of the French Air Force to do what I think my Dad used to call ‘circuits and bumps’ at the airport: https://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/rafale-armee-francaise-passage-cointrin/story/16414659

 

[PYRTLE]

Don’t know whether the link will work( and it’s in French ) but it seems that during this period with very little passenger flights from or to Geneva the Swiss authorities allowed a Rafale and a Mirage 2000 of the French Air Force to do what I think my Dad used to call ‘circuits and bumps’ at the airport: https://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/rafale-armee-francaise-passage-cointrin/story/16414659

I believe they carry this out under what is loosely termed "Practice Diversion" if given permission to do so. They can check instrument functions etc for landing at an unfamiliar runway if ever required.The video shows a bit of showboating with the triple wing waggle as it departs the airport, crowds and controllers love that and it is also a physical way of the pilot saying thanks and godbye. Also in case the Swiss want to buy a Rafale or two.

 

[Richard Prior]

I believe they carry this out under what is loosely termed "Practice Diversion" if given permission to do so. They can check instrument functions etc for landing at an unfamiliar runway if ever required.The video shows a bit of showboating with the triple wing waggle as it departs the airport, crowds and controllers love that and it is also a physical way of the pilot saying thanks and godbye. Also in case the Swiss want to buy a Rafale or two.

It would be nice for France if somebody would buy a few, I think India were going to........

 

[Farnboro John]

I believe they carry this out under what is loosely termed "Practice Diversion" if given permission to do so. They can check instrument functions etc for landing at an unfamiliar runway if ever required.The video shows a bit of showboating with the triple wing waggle as it departs the airport, crowds and controllers love that and it is also a physical way of the pilot saying thanks and godbye. Also in case the Swiss want to buy a Rafale or two.

Also I suspect because, IIRC, the Armee de l' Air takes on QRA over Switzerland on the occasions that the Swiss Air Force isn't available, which is pretty much daily over lunch or something. Just in case an airliner goes rogue or a met balloon needs shooting down (which the Swiss did to one of ours back when I worked for the Met Office: sounds like a plot for a story - or a song....)

John

 

[Richard Prior]

Ah yes, there was a commercial flight that the Armée de l’Air ‘escorted’ to Geneva a while back (was it Ethiopian Airlines perhaps?) and indeed it was because the Swiss pilots weren’t at work (a weekend IIRC)!

 

[Farnboro John]

Ah yes, there was a commercial flight that the Armée de l’Air ‘escorted’ to Geneva a while back (was it Ethiopian Airlines perhaps?) and indeed it was because the Swiss pilots weren’t at work (a weekend IIRC)!

You're closer to this and probably know better than I do, but I gather the Swiss govern by referendum (given our own recent experience, the mind boggles) and a few years ago a proposal to get some new fighters was turned down when the good people of Switzerland discovered that the all important QRA wasn't a 24/7 operation as they had in their innocence supposed.

If they are looking at the matter again I can only assume they have resolved the QRA question, because if not they are likely to get a second thumbs down.

John

 

[rollingthunder]

Ok VE Day was a damp squib although there were plenty of street partying around here! I feel particularly for the dwindling number of veterans and those civilians that lived through a real crisis - i just hope folk remember all this when they are buying stuff online or wherever.....

With the RAF on a permanent budget they put up a few Spitfires - 1 each over the White Cliffs, London and the other subsidised Capitals and over Jug-Ears’ Estate:C

The Russians however do things differently:t:

They celebrate a day later as Eisenhower signed the initial one in Rheims whilst the Bolsheviks were still looting Berlin so another took place in the devastated German one a day later. Yesterday the planned Red Square Parade was cancelled but Putin had an ace up his sleeve.....

The Soviets sent 75 aircraft over Moscow, 1 for each year. They included every frontline combat type, fighters/bombers, plus refuelers and recon/intel:eek!:

Here is the YT link from RT with air to air footage as well as ground-based - for aviation buffs this is the stuff of dreams:eek!::t:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H8sjvC948p4

Good birding -

Laurie:t: