Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Yes after doing circuits over Billinge for a while. Only 3 aircrew on board so it's safe to say it was just a check ride. No fast roping onto office blocks this time around ;)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

An instrument calibration specialist based in Brighton seems to be making the most of the clear skies in the UK today. It's flown a small aircraft up to Glasgow, which has been wheeling around the approach and departure zones around Glasgow Int'l for the last hour or so. It's also landed three times, two of them touch and go. They seem to have some work to do on their altimeter, because the last time it came down it was on the runway at about -250ft. :D

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1588604655

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Looks like the RAF's new toy (Poseidon MRA1) is conducting an active mission east of the Forth. Either a sub or whales a humpin' ;)

Attachment 28342

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I have just been watching that. If it had gone any lower it would have been a submarine. Extraordinary flying by our RAF pilots.

(edit) This screencap from Planefinder indicates altitude - paler colour, lower alt. Where it's white, it's practically on the deck (or in the north sea, in this case).

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1588778513

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I'm in the flight path of Stansted, I know that the plane flying over my house at 17:04 is the FedEx MD11 from Indianapolis.


Yesterday I had 5 FedEx MD11s fly over my house within 40 minutes.


I use the free Flightradar24 app, but I'm debating do I buy the silver membership (83p a month), gold is silly money (£2.83 PM)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Dunno ... it's a fun spectator sport while I'm stuck at home for weeks and the interesting flights are easier to spot because the skies are so empty. I'm kind of tempted to subscribe to something myself but I know that when normality returns I wouldn't make good use of it.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

The unfiltered stuff, ie: adsbexchange is where the fun is ;)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I literally have no idea what that means:D

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

tar1090.adsbexchange.com

No filtering or blocking of certain private and military traffic that the mainstream tracking sites do. Of course aircraft on active strike missions which are operating under emission controls you wouldn't be able to see.

They have changed the platform for this site over the past few months and it's not very user friendly to the casual observer as there are no database or photo tie-ups to tell you who the aircraft belongs to or in fact exactly what it is but you get the mode S address, registration and the aircraft type code to look up externally.

eg: L2T - B350 is a multi engine turboprop, type: Beech King Air 350 and the registration is ZZ419. We know however this is an RAF aircraft by it's registration and is actually a Shadow R1 ISTAR platform which just happens to be based on the King Air.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

ADS-B IIRC is radar IFF (Identifation Friend or Foe) stuff, tells you stuff about the plane, I used to progame ICs & IFF Boards in a previos life.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Kind of. The IFF function is more a feature of Secondary Surveillance Radar which relies on an ATC ground station interrogating the transponder of an aircraft (mode C and more recently Mode S) which will return it's altitude based on air pressure just like the altimeter on board.

This is traditionally used in conjunction with a "squawk" code assigned by ATC which the pilot will set on the transponder and the result of Primary surveillance radar (the big radar dish that spins around on the airfield or sits inside a golfball on top of a hill) returns merged onto the controller's display.

ADS-B is a system where aircraft will automatically transmit position data without being interrogated so it is potentially a replacement for Secondary Surveillance Radar. As it stands though there is no security around ADS-B and it is possible to spoof and falsify packets as there is no authentication in the signal chain so we're some way of before this will be able to happen.

Oi! you can wake up now ;)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I do know that "squawk" code 7500 is a hijacking

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

RAF's new toy: ZP802 just gave us a nice little airshow. Did the pattern a few times and now off towards the Isle of Man.

Camera at the ready this time :)

Attachment 28387

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One of the Lakenheath F-15's went down off Flamborough Head this morning. Search for the pilot ongoing.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...hes-north-sea/

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They’ve recovered a body in the North Sea :(

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RIP

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I think this one fits here

Planes wedged together after collision at airport

ouch :shocked:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla...tland-53076806

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Large dry-cleaning bill for the flightcrews gro-bags*, I would imagine...

https://ukaviation.news/raf-a400m-fl...y-bird-strike/
Glad they’re all unhurt.

*flight suits

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...2&d=1593114691 https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...3&d=1593114691

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Coffee with no biscuits for the bird

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

We used to call it "a meeting with no tea being offered...’.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Nice :tu: ;)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Just had TF-AAL come over us quite low (low enough to see it was a 747). It looks like it's been doing some Doncaster to Beijing runs the last few days. It's nice to see and hear something other than the air ambulance for a change.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

RAF A400M Atlas is supporting channel border force ops from today.

Might as well use them for something if there's nowt to shift.

Attachment 28475

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I'm in the flight path to Stansted, the flight are slowing picking up

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So the RAF has a Shadow R1 spy plane circling five miles above our heads, meanwhile a large helicopter that isn’t showing up on the planefinder app is circling much, much lower. Freaky biscuits.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Wassat? :confused::confused::confused:

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

A bad Photoshop? The engines don’t look evenly spaced at all. Or is that a trick of perspective?

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

That is so bad, the work of a 3 yr old.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I think it was the prototype for this one...

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...6&d=1600722162

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Thought I'd share a few pics of these BA 747's on my last trip to Kemble.
Thankfully, G-CIVB will be preserved and escapes being turned into saucepans and pepsi cans.



https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1606737545




https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...2&d=1606737545
https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...3&d=1606737545


https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...4&d=1606737545

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

747's have been making low and slow passes over Cardiff as they head to the junkers.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Really depressing to see the end is near for the passenger 747's.


Luckily my local airport East Midlands has quite a few of the cargo 747s that regularly come in.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I count myself lucky to have flown on them, half a dozen times (including once upstairs) :D

They’re quite something, especially if you’re more used to the smaller aircraft used on short-haul flights that accelerate and get airborne at quite a lick. The first time you feel a 747 lumbering down the runway you start wondering if it’s going to get off the ground at all ...

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

This the "standard" 737 rather than the max but the scenario is chillingly familiar. Just two years after another Boeing 737 - Lion Air Flight 610 - crashed into the Java Sea after taking off from Jakarta killing 189 people.

I wonder how many (computer) systems are shared between the two versions. :scratch:

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Looking at the data the average sink rate was about 26,300 fpm which seems to imply something catastrophic happened especially as there apparently was no Mayday call. The other probably scarier possibility is pilot input - a ground speed of 290 kts equates to a sink rate of about 29,000 fpm. It sadly looks like all soles are likely to have been lost.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Quite a catastrophic end.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I've worked in aviation for 15 years and the CAA has a list of airlines banned from European airspace, a lost of Asian airlines are on that list as their maintenance is poo.


A guy I worked with said it was safer to swim in shark infested water than fly on them.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

So there’s an RAF Shadow R1 circling the area and two helicopters - possibly Apaches - flying up and down, low and slow. I assume the wilderness between me and Falane is being used for some sort of exercise. But it’s flipping noisy. :disturbd:

Incidentally, reason I think they’re Apaches, despite it being pitch dark, is two of them buzzed us last weekend for the first time ever ... seems a bit of a coincidence.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1614978943

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

That’s definitely an Apache

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Yes, I was sure they were last weekend, I just couldn’t see them tonight ... so I’m having an educated guess.

Needless to say they’re not showing up in the planefinder app.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Run!

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They have a very recognisable sound, as do Chinooks. We get get a lot of aircraft flying over us both rotary and fixed wing, military and civil, and I can tell the Chinooks and Apaches.

Just today we had either an F22 raptor or F35 lightning fly over, I assume it was an F35 but I only had about 3 secs and I’m not in the royal Observer Corp.

First one I’ve seen and It didn’t sound like any other fast jet I’ve seen.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

In the RAF, helicopters are called "wokkas" (due to the sound they make).

Chinooks are known as "wokka-wokkas"...:D

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

So the Apaches have been back ... three nights we've had them, up and down Loch Lomond late in the evening, and at least once in the small hours (I slept through it, missus was awakened, and unimpressed). They're so low we can almost touch them.

HMS Queen Elizabeth has been in the area for a few days and is currently moored at the ammo dump in Loch Long. So I'm guessing they're doing exercises of some sort. We don't often get fixed-wing jets over the loch but I'm beginning to suspect the one I spotted earlier in the week may have been an F-35.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

*SHOCKER*

Cable forum member almost scalped by apaches



:D

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I live in the flight path to Stansted Airport, planes normally fly over my house, (Despite the face the Airport says this is not the case).


It's weird not hearing them as often as I used to. What I used to get an hour is about a week ATM

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

We had a similar issue some years ago where people near Leeds Bradford Airport said planes always flew over their house and not where they were meant to. We sent people maps and asked them to make a note of the date and time and to draw what they thought was the track the aircraft followed, we then compared these to the actual radar track. Almost without exception nobody got the track of the aircraft correct and pretty much had the aircraft flying over their house. Some of the participants lived 3 or 4 miles apart and were on both sides of the flight path.

I'm not saying you're wrong just that it's human nature to think the planes are flying over you when they aren't!

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I'm lucky that my local is EMA and we still get a good amount of Cargo, with regular 747F.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I know what you are saying, but I have photos, as I was testing my then ne 18-400mm camera lens

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Had an Osprey come over today, never seen one in the flesh before.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Do the RAF operate those? I've heard speculation they might acquire a couple to improve airborne early warning capability for the new QE class carriers. Mind you there's also talk of them designing drones that could do it and fly off the deck without requiring a full-power catapult system.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

There was rumours one was loaned to the Hereford Boys by the USMC, but otherwise they are just operated by the USAF and USMC.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

The Osprey is the one with the large propellers that can rotate between horizontal and vertical.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I know. That’s why they would be well suited to the RN’s new carriers, which don’t have cats and traps installed. They rely on regular helicopters for AEW but this limits the range and operating time. US carriers use the fixed-wing E-2C Hawkeye which can work with a catapult and arrestor wire. The Osprey is a good compromise for a carrier designed for STOVL aircraft.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Interesting, and informative, article about them (from the US Navy)

https://seapowermagazine.org/ospreys...dependability/

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Possibly why the RN hasn't jumped all over them...

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Well they have trialled them

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/hms-...rey-tiltrotor/

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

That looks like interoperability trials so US Marines can land their Ospreys on the flight deck if need be during a coalition operation rather than prospective purchasing.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Or was it an attempt to sell them to the RN?

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Quite possibly. Their mission availability problems are in part due to the low numbers of them in use. Fewer spares, higher cost. If the British military bought significant numbers of them it would make life easier for the US. I guess it’s still very early days for the QE carriers so plenty of time for the RN to decide if they want to ask the MOD to buy some. But I suspect that metaphorical ship has sailed - AEW is the sort of thing that drones ought to be able to do and when the navy is ready to consider swapping out their helicopters for drones I think they will find it possible to install a system capable of launching and retrieving them from their carriers.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Agreed. I think the RN will just continue to depoy forces (we have so few now) via helicopter where neccessary.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Well would you believe it ... two Ospreys in close formation, flying very low and heading north, right over my house. :D So low I didn't hear them until I saw them, so no time to grab my camera unfortunately.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-an...f5umCVyG-yr54w

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Someone should tell the USMC they’re about 500 miles off course. They spent about an hour going up and down Loch Lomond this afternoon, at an altitude of around 100 metres, presumably wondering why they couldn’t find a ship to land on. :D

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Full story, video and stills on link above.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Gloster Meteor, Southport Airshow 2012.

My pics.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Bit of an exaggeration. If it takes longer than a few hours to lay that carpeting back down there's something wrong.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

It can take days for several reasons. (based on my 15 years in aviation and some understanding of how slow the cogs move)

1. They will need to clear the ground and ensure all previous material is removed, including the tie downs.

2. They will need to check and replace the stuff blown away

3. There could be a lead time for the material

4. They will need to lay and tie down the new pad.

5. It will need to be tested and certified (this step alone could take a few days)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Yup - FOD can be sub-optimal.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I have seen an engine blade from a BAe-146-300 that was involved in a bird strike.

The blade had a 2/3 mm dent, this required that blade and the one directly opposite as they are balanced.

If a small bird did that damage you can guess what metal can do.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I was on the apron at Leeds Bradford many years ago when a Hawk did an emergency landing after a bird strike. The instructor looked completed unflustered while the young lad he was training was pretty pale and looked like he could do with a change of underwear. There was a very strong KFC type smell coming from the aircraft.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Activity increasing down here in advance of the G7 get together next week.

A little while ago a USAF C17 flew over and landed in Newquay from Mannheim.

Then just now a trio of Hercules from US Navy and USAF went over headed East.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I wonder if the C17 had “The Beast" in it?

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

No, he lives in Florida now. :D

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

LOL

---------- Post added at 10:41 ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 ----------


A few days ago a C-17 landed at Stansted, surprisingly it appeared on my flight tracker app

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Another USAF C17 just went over to land at Newquay- this one was from Mildenhall.

This one didn’t show up on Flighaware but did show on ADS-BExchange.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

And another C17 from Mannheim

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I can't wait to hear the roar as planes fly over my house every 5-10 minutes, rather than the 5-10 a day ATM.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Just to get in on the act ... I can hear a jet at high altitude right now, but it’s not showing up on my flight tracker app. Typically, traffic crossing the North Atlantic passes up to 30 miles to the west of me, altitude over 30k ft. This sounds like that. It’s too cloudy to spot a vapour trail.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

2 more USAF C17 This morning both from Andrews Washington.

I guess they are shipping in there own comms possibly.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

RAF Boeing P8a circling west Cornwall and a Delta A330 just landing from Washington

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Biden is nearly here at Mildenhall....

Attachment 29088

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I think this one might be off-course.

Or planefinder is screwed again...

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Hijacked by a herd of Australian Beef hoping to be the first ones here ;)

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Had the oppportunity to explore round one of British Airways recently retired 747's.
This one had been repainted in the classic Landor livery back in 2019.


Beautiful aircraft.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Maybe it's going the long way round? :D

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

For those interested here's the Red Arrows route to and from Wembley this evening.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1626002875

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Rolls-Royce electric speed plane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd-RDX1IjuM

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Austrian Airlines BOEING 767-300 flight from Vienna had to circle until the fog cleared. It was on it's way to the great hangar in the sky.

1500ft over our home!

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Anyone watched the Netflix documentary "The Case against Boeing"?


An interesting documentary that suggests that when the Boeing and Mcdonnal Douglas merger happened all things went down hill and the once close team and safey conscious group changed to become one poowered by greed and proffit, cutting corners and maximising proffits.


As the A320 Neo arrived, Airbus was finally overtaking Boeing in orders and Boeing didnt have anything to compete with it.
Boeing took the old 737 design and stuck more efficient engines on it...however failed to forsee the challenges this would bring......for example the dreaded pitch problems and the invention on MCAS to counteract this.
It feels like it was rushed and as we all know anything that is rushed is usually not done well.
Not to forget the FAA either who seemed to have taken a back seat when they should have been more on it.
The aircraft could have been grounded a lot sooner in my opinion, especially after the first crash.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

I watched this last night. Absolutely shocking. I knew the basics of the story, but the lengths Boeing went to cover up the new MCAS system it had added to the 737 Max 8 in order to avoid costly pilot retraining was shocking, as was its heel-dragging and obfuscation when the inquiry tried to hold it to account.

It was quite telling that in the days after the 737 was finally grounded, more and more pilots were refusing to fly them to their storage facilities.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Yes it is indeed shocking and some high up people at Boeing should be made responsable for the two crashes that killed everyone onboard.


It was very clear what they were doing to save time and cut corners to get the 737 Max out the factory as quickly as possible.
They felt threatened by Airbus taking the lead in sales and pushed the 737 Max out as quickly as possible.
Trying to pass off the changes made to the 737 as nothing major and that would need no additional training.


Any business that also dismisses people highlighting faults or problems will in the end be the ones with the biggest of problems.
In an industry where safety has to be paramount nothing should ever be missed or dismissed.


The company needs to re-focus and get people back at the healm who prioritise safety.


But equally the FAA need to be scrutinizing everything Boeing do.
I dont know if it was americans backing up americans or whether things had just become too trusting, but they need to delve into things a lot more closely.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Having worked in aviation for nearly 15 years I do know this.


If a plane has a fault, that means that 1 in a 1,000 will crash and kill all people on board.


Now say it would cost $10,000,000,000 to fix, but a crash pay out they would only payout $250,000,000 guess what is the cheapest option.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Sad isn't it. It's a bit like the searching for MH370.
Malaysia Airlines aren't interested in searching anymore as if there was evidence found that they were to blame then there would be millions of law suits.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Sadly that the search area is to vast.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

The Worlds only and largest ever plane, the Antonov 225 "Mriya" has been destroyed in a fire in the Ukraine during the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.


Sadly it was there for maintenance and could not fly out.



This aircraft has not only been used to shift some of the worlds largest cargo including other planes, trams, etc, but also for humanitarian aid delivering much needed supplies.


Another step backwards for the world of aviation.


I saw this beast of a plane land at East Midlands Airport and it is awesome.




NOTE: I am ofcourse aware that lives are much more important than a plane and some may say it doesnt matter about the plane, but still, it is a shame its gone.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

There will be another one built, apparently it will cost $3 billion, and Russia will be made to pay for it.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Some discussion the An-225 may not have been totally destroyed, first photos show the tail appears to be intact and I read something a couple of days ago saying they wouldn't know the extent of any damage until a full inspection could be carried out.

Re: Plane Spotters Corner
 

Sadly, Completly destroyed.