Definitely illegal. I was in the area at 650 feet (Bournemouth QNH, so accurate) oggling the f'ing huge yacht, and that aircraft 'appeared' from the flotilla of boats in the bay, climbing fairly sharply, in a zoom climb, not a small height adjustment, to about 100 feet below me! Then proceeded to cross my path left to right, so apparently wasn't paying any attention to lookout, as I was not far away in an aircraft with fairly visible colour scheme, skylined. The fact I had seen him an estimated 400' below me is on Bournemouth Radar ATC tapes, and my altitude should be on the radar records as well, so if anyone got the reg perhaps something more could be done. The behaviour was a genuine hazard, not least to me with him appearing from a direction I would have least expected. Fortunately my lookout was good.
He then cut across the Needles and headed down the south-west coast of the island, flying over a power boat mototring in the same direction at what looked about 100', although I was at about 1500' by then so cannot tell accurately.
Last edited by Send Clowns; 12th June 2005 at 08:09.