By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more
Forum sponsored by:
Forum sponsored by Forum House Ad Zone

Aircraft General Discussion

This is where all the off topic discussion about aeroplanes should go

All Topics | Latest Posts

Search for:  in Thread Title in  
Andrew Johnston20/05/2016 14:21:47
avatar
7061 forum posts
719 photos

The sun has come out, and with it more aeroplanes. Just had a Spitfire fly over the bungalow, heading back to Duxford.

Andrew

martin perman20/05/2016 16:10:35
avatar
2095 forum posts
75 photos

Old Warden had its first show of the season the other weekend and during the display by the Red Arrows the new display rules kicked in and they had to stop the display when Air traffic controllers, possibly Stansted, reported a helicopter had strayed into the now very large show space causing the Arrows to abort, once it had cleared they restarted their display.

Martin P

Andrew Johnston20/05/2016 16:28:53
avatar
7061 forum posts
719 photos
Posted by martin perman on 20/05/2016 16:10:35:

Old Warden had its first show of the season the other weekend and during the display by the Red Arrows the new display rules kicked in..........................

Quite so, the RA(T) was Notam'd as 6nm radius from Old Warden. That meant it was within a couple of miles or so of us at Gransden Lodge. To avoid the embarrassment of a glider infringing the zone it was mandatory to attend a formal briefing before flying that day.

Andrew

Neil Wyatt20/05/2016 16:35:45
avatar
19226 forum posts
749 photos
86 articles

> Quite so, the RA(T) was Notam'd as 6nm radius from Old Warden.

Sounds rather small to me.

Andrew Johnston22/05/2016 09:57:41
avatar
7061 forum posts
719 photos

Neil: I think the RA(T) is intended to protect tha actual display rather than aircraft waiting to rejoin the formation. If you're 6nm from the airfield during the display the paying punter isn't going to see much!

Andrew

PS: If you recall some while ago we had a PM debate about when the undercarriage is lowered on commercial jets. I finally got round to asking one of the commercial pilots at the gliding club. They lower the undercarriage at about 6 miles and 1500 feet on finals. It's illegal if the undercarriage isn't down and locked by 1000 feet.

Michael Gilligan22/05/2016 11:53:30
avatar
23121 forum posts
1360 photos
Posted by Neil Wyatt on 20/05/2016 16:35:45:

6nm radius from Old Warden.

Sounds rather small to me.

.

smiley yes

MichaelG.

.

nm is considerably smaller than NM

Muzzer22/05/2016 11:54:01
avatar
2904 forum posts
448 photos
Posted by Neil Wyatt on 20/05/2016 16:35:45:

> Quite so, the RA(T) was Notam'd as 6nm radius from Old Warden.

Sounds rather small to me.

(1nm = 1/1000000000 metre)

NJH22/05/2016 12:12:31
avatar
2314 forum posts
139 photos

Come on you earthbound lot - you know that Andrew has his real focus ( quite rightly) in the clouds (or maybe just under the clouds) and the lack of operation of the shift lock button is of small consequence to one of his high ambition.

Andrew I hope it's a bit better where you are but here in the SW it looks like a workshop.  ( or maybe housework !!! ) day not a flying day.

Norman

Edited By NJH on 22/05/2016 12:13:48

Michael Gilligan22/05/2016 13:04:48
avatar
23121 forum posts
1360 photos
Posted by NJH on 22/05/2016 12:12:31:

Come on you earthbound lot -

.

Please Sir ... It was the Moderator wot started it.

Andrew Johnston22/05/2016 20:11:39
avatar
7061 forum posts
719 photos
Posted by NJH on 22/05/2016 12:12:31:

Come on you earthbound lot - you know that Andrew has his real focus ( quite rightly) in the clouds (or maybe just under the clouds) and the lack of operation of the shift lock button is of small consequence to one of his high ambition.

Andrew I hope it's a bit better where you are but here in the SW it looks like a workshop. ( or maybe housework !!! ) day not a flying day.

I did workshop, or at least carport, yesterday. The weather was awful. I spent hours welding and grinding the T-rings into the wheel rims for my traction engine rear wheels. Still quite a way to go, but the neighbours will get upset if I do too much grinding in one session.

Today wasn't as advertised, blue sky here this morning. I'd already agreed to go over to the club to collect the paperwork and do the survey to issue an ARC for a glider. Before that I nipped over to Screwfix to pick up a new (bigger) angle grinder and some discs ordered the night before on a 'click and collect'.

Having got to the club my syndicate partner had the Nimbus out of the T-hanger and fully rigged. Since his other half is indisposed there was a spare seat going. So I looked over the glider paperwork, did the survey and then rushed out to the launch point to jump in the back of the Nimbus. Definitely not a great day, a lot of high cover and no sun on the ground to the west of Bedford. We tiptoed out west and then I followed a sort of cloud street east to Newmarket. Oddly enough despite complete overcast we only lost about 1800 feet getting back from Newmarket into wind. By no means a good day, but we had a couple of hours, and it makes a change to look out the window and watch the world pass by.

Andrew

NB: ARC loosely equals an MOT certificate

martin perman22/05/2016 20:57:19
avatar
2095 forum posts
75 photos

Andrew,

You should have got your friend to head South East, I was at a museum in Essex, museum of power, and the weather was excellent and around lunchtime I watched six Red Kites thermalling above and in front of us and they went higher and higher until I couldnt spot them.

Martin P

DrDave22/05/2016 21:12:30
264 forum posts
52 photos

We dropped into Old Warden for a nice, quiet lunch today. It was only when we got there, we found that every flight-worthy DH Chipmunk in the world had beaten us to it. They had dropped in to celebrated the 70th anniversary of the type. I trust that those from North America had not been flown all the way from home, but had had a helping hand from a cargo 'plane.

martin perman22/05/2016 21:32:34
avatar
2095 forum posts
75 photos

Typical of me to wonder off else where but then living so close to Old Warden I can go any day except I'm never around when something interesting happens wink

It also brings fond memories of a spotty ATC Cadet going to Cambridge on a Saturday morning for an air experience flight in the University Squadrons Chipmunks, donning the walk restricting parachutes and being told that if we missed the sick bag we would polish the aircraft internals until every thing gleamed, I've still got my log book somewhere with all off my flights in.

Martin P

Andrew Johnston23/05/2016 11:16:14
avatar
7061 forum posts
719 photos
Posted by martin perman on 22/05/2016 20:57:19:

You should have got your friend to head South East, I was at a museum in Essex, museum of power, and the weather was excellent and around lunchtime I watched six Red Kites thermalling above and in front of us and they went higher and higher until I couldnt spot them.

The trouble with going south east from Cambridge is that we bump into the Stansted airspace; so of course that's where the good weather would be. sad

Andrew

Michael Gilligan31/05/2016 21:09:56
avatar
23121 forum posts
1360 photos

Of interest, I hope ...

Episode 2 of 'Storm Troopers' ... shown last night and tonight, on BBC 4

It's about weather forecasting.

MichaelG.

martin perman05/06/2016 14:28:52
avatar
2095 forum posts
75 photos

Gentlemen,

I've been outside all day, in gorgeous weather, preparing for a Vintage rally next weekend. The sky has been very busy with vintage aircraft so I'm assuming that Old Warden has a show on, about 12:30 a Fieseler Storch took several minutes to trundle over, then about 13:00 I heard a Merlin so looked skyward again to see a Hurricane with the Sea Vixen in formation, they circled over the top of me for several minutes and then went off to do their bit, then another Merlin was heard, this time a Spitfire who then circled around until the Hurricane returned and they both formed up circled and then went off towards old Warden, as I type another Merlin has just passed over.

Martin P

Neil Wyatt05/06/2016 14:49:58
avatar
19226 forum posts
749 photos
86 articles

Forgot to mention this - talking the dogs a few evenings ago two pairs of Apache 'copters went ominously across the A38 at probably around 200 feet. Surprisingly quiet compared to police/civilian copters.

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/506471/20160309-Low_Flying_Leaflet_-_Essential_Facts_Final.pdf

The .gov website says "Aircrew do not use specific properties as navigation markers, as this would severely restrict their tactical freedom. It is not inconceivable that aircrew might, on occasion; select an isolated/prominent building or static vehicle for this purpose, but it is most unlikely that the same marker would be chosen on a regular basis."

The number of military aircraft that come directly over our house (flying at 90-degrees to the Trent, the railway line and dual carriageway, so not following them) always on the same heading (and never the other way) suggests they are following a regular flight path - it MAY be the most convenient route that avoids overflying the urban area (by about 300m, but my guess is they navigate by a now-demolished power station or a large lake behind us as their route takes then straight over the centres of both.of them. TBH I don't mind, although Hercules scraping the 250-foot limit and Chinooks scraping the tree-tops can be a bit disconcerting.

Plenty of civilian aircraft navigate using the lake as well.

Neil

Andrew Johnston05/06/2016 20:46:23
avatar
7061 forum posts
719 photos
Posted by martin perman on 05/06/2016 14:28:52:

.....The sky has been very busy with vintage aircraft so I'm assuming that Old Warden has a show on.......

Yep, in the NOTAMs this morning as an airshow/aerobatics event. The ATZ was listed as being activated along with a larger circle to avoid. Of more concern as today's tug pilot was big EARS. For the uninitiated:

EARS = East Anglian Rocket Society

They operate from Elsworth, a few miles to the north east of us meaning that we modify our tow out patterns, particularly today as we were towing out to the north east. Mind you I've never seen, or heard, a rocket going up, or coming down on its parachute. They're usually NOTAM'd to 10,000 feet, so could make your eyes water if you met one. smile o

Andrew

martin perman05/06/2016 20:59:08
avatar
2095 forum posts
75 photos

My wife spotted an ad in the local paper this evening saying that it was a Navy aircraft event, hence the Sea Vixen appearance, I've seen plenty of pictures of it but not in real life, and it circled the village a couple of times and my camera wasnt accessible so just had to watch smiley

Andrew Johnston05/06/2016 21:13:49
avatar
7061 forum posts
719 photos

Good grief, I didn't know there were any Sea Vixens still flying. Funnily enough I was talking to my mum about the DH110 crash at Farnborough last weekend - we couldn't remember who the test pilot was and had to look it up. Once they sorted out the wing aerodynamics the DH110 became the Sea Vixen.

Andrew

All Topics | Latest Posts

Please login to post a reply.

Magazine Locator

Want the latest issue of Model Engineer or Model Engineers' Workshop? Use our magazine locator links to find your nearest stockist!

Find Model Engineer & Model Engineers' Workshop

Sign up to our Newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter and get a free digital issue.

You can unsubscribe at anytime. View our privacy policy at www.mortons.co.uk/privacy

Latest Forum Posts
Support Our Partners
cowells
Sarik
MERIDIENNE EXHIBITIONS LTD
Subscription Offer

Latest "For Sale" Ads
Latest "Wanted" Ads
Get In Touch!

Do you want to contact the Model Engineer and Model Engineers' Workshop team?

You can contact us by phone, mail or email about the magazines including becoming a contributor, submitting reader's letters or making queries about articles. You can also get in touch about this website, advertising or other general issues.

Click THIS LINK for full contact details.

For subscription issues please see THIS LINK.

Digital Back Issues

Social Media online

'Like' us on Facebook
Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
 Twitter Logo

Pin us on Pinterest

 

Donate

donate