RAF Heli's Over Berkshire, UK

[DUB-GREG]

Hi there,

I have just moved to Winterbourne, outside Newbury in uk.

Every now and again a heli flys over my flat very VERY VERY low. As a private pilot i estimate its around 50-100 feet. AT NIGHT!

Does anyone know what the nearist RAF base is to me and if so why do they fly so low over my place?

To be honest i was on the couch watching TV at around 11pm the other night and i was dozing off, half asleep. Suddendly i heard this massive whosh and the place vibrated....

It was indeed a heli flying over.

Also does anyone know what type if heli's these are or most likely are?

Cheers Chaps and chapesses.

[airborne_artist]

Al-Q gets everywhere these days, even rural West Berkshire. More than likely the heli was from a secret base in either H**pshire or O*f**dshire, and was inserting crack troops from 49Para (http://www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/Forums/viewtopic/t=40411/highlight=49para.html) who are mounting covert OPs on the Al-Q cells.

The helis will be of this type (http://www.gregdonner.org/blue_thunder/blue_thunder.html).

[Roadster280]

Hi there,

I have just moved to Winterbourne, outside Newbury in uk.

Every now and again a heli flys over my flat very VERY VERY low. As a private pilot i estimate its around 50-100 feet. AT NIGHT!

Does anyone know what the nearist RAF base is to me and if so why do they fly so low over my place?

To be honest i was on the couch watching TV at around 11pm the other night and i was dozing off, half asleep. Suddendly i heard this massive whosh and the place vibrated....

It was indeed a heli flying over.

Also does anyone know what type if heli's these are or most likely are?

Cheers Chaps and chapesses.

Did it have a red star on the side?

[mlc]

You should live in my house in the Malverns. I've been attacked by Harriers all week!! :)

[airborne_artist]

Would that be the Malverns in Helmand Province, Afghanistan?

[DUB-GREG]

Anyone got some serious answers?

[Whirlygig]

Airborne artist, you rotter!

As an ex Compton and Colthrop resident (land of the racehorse and lardy cake), I miss the Chinooks from Odiham to Benson. Wouldn't have thought they'd have gone over as far as Winterbourne but perhaps they wanted to welcome a new resident.

I hope nobody's going to shoot me now under the Official Secrets Act :eek:

Cheers

Whirls

[mlc]

Would that be the Malverns in Helmand Province, Afghanistan?

Well, there's quite a few curry houses about! :}

[Champagne Anyone?]

Dub,

Originally Posted by DUB-GREG
Hi there,

S.. I have just moved to Winterbourne, outside Newbury in uk. Every now and again a heli flys over my flat very VERY VERY low. As a private pilot i estimate its around 50-100 feet. AT NIGHT!!

A.. That low?? What were you using to determine the height? A NVG Theodolite? Another townie complaining of life in the country! :ugh:

Q.. Does anyone know what the nearist RAF base is to me and if so why do they fly so low over my place?

A.. Buy an AtoZ and look for yourself. Why didn't you check before you moved there?? :ugh:

Q.. To be honest i was on the couch watching TV at around 11pm the other night and i was dozing off, half asleep. Suddendly i heard this massive whosh and the place vibrated....

A.. I usualy hear a massive whosh just after one of the Bengalli Tigers best on a friday night and a few lagers! Sometimes, if I dont get home in time, it becomes a massive wash!! :} :E

S.. It was indeed a heli flying over.

A.. Thank god it wasnt the curry!! :E



Q.. Also does anyone know what type if heli's these are or most likely are?

A.. Noisy ones! :ugh:







Ask a sensible question and you might just get a sensible answer!! :ok: :ok:

[Whirlygig]

Aw, cut the guy some slack! He's 23 and new to the UK. Let's face it, he probably didn't have any choice where to live as he's with his parents. I can't imagine any 23 year old (unless they're a millionaire) being able to afford to live in Newbury let alone Winterbourne!

So DUB-GREG, in your vicinity there is RAF Lyneham, RAF Odiham, RAF Benson. Brize Norton, Fairford and Middle Wallop are not a million miles away either! There was Greenham Common and mustn't forget the bustling civilian airfield, Brimpton!

Cheers

Whirls

[SASless]

Agreed Whirls, he quickly noted he was a ppl and new to the area and asked questions and was not whining about the event....but then what do I know. At least it wasn't some Crab whining about allowances and such.

[Whirlygig]

Oi! Some of my best friends are Crabs! Cromer Crabs!

Cheers

Whirls

[maximo ping]

The M4/A34 junction is a convenient entry point to the UK low flying area which contains Salisbury Plain. Helos come from all over to attend to the needs of the Royal British Army on exercise.

[Marly Lite]

Dub greg,

By way of location I'd say 75% probs it was a chinook, and 25% Puma. Although having said that it may have been AAC. 50ft unlikely, 100ft probable at night.

Either way be glad you are so well looked after. The taliban and Al Q are Suffering more than you at the hands of the other forces who may or may not disembark one of her Majesty's finest.

If you enjoy the noise - great, rest assurred that HM Forces are training hard to implement the policies of the government you voted in.

If you don't enjoy the noise - thats too bad.

If you feel strongly that the noise impinges on your way of life - GO FORTH AND MULTIPLY.

ML

[NutLoose]

look on the bright side, it wasn't these ones..........

http://www.alexisparkinn.com/photogallery/Videos/2006-3-4_AC-130&uh60mosul.wmv


you could try contacting the RAF, probably RAF Odiham or RAF Benson, they may ask them to avoid the area if possible

[BEagle]

Tell them you often ride your horse at 2300.......

[FrogPrince]

http://www.raf.mod.uk/equipment/puma.html

or this ?

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/mi-24.htm

If it's the latter, can someone tell TB we have a problem but no Air Force left to respond...

[Skunkerama]

Oh nooooo those nasty noisy forces types are practicing to go to war an stuff. Whilst I lie here in a cosy bed all safe an sound.

Just think if you let them practice for long enough and hard enough you have less chance of reading about their losses in afganistan or wherever the tin pot General Bliar decides to send them next.

Any chance you guys can make a detour around the southern end of Bracknell as low as you can please?

[mlc]

Was in my back garden about ten minutes ago. A Toucano has just flown over and nearly parted my hair as it went into a 90 degree bank. (OK, that's a slight exaggeration)

Came back into the house and the missus said, "Was that a bird!". Bless her.

[ShyTorque]

The M4/A34 junction is a convenient entry point to the UK low flying area which contains Salisbury Plain. Helos come from all over to attend to the needs of the Royal British Army on exercise.

Yeh, and the rest of us use that low level waypoint to deflect the blame to the military! ;)

I didn't actually read a complaint, just a question.

[tonkatechie]

Al-Q gets everywhere these days, even rural West Berkshire. More than likely the heli was from a secret base in either H**pshire or O*f**dshire, and was inserting crack troops from 49Para (http://www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/Forums/viewtopic/t=40411/highlight=49para.html) who are mounting covert OPs on the Al-Q cells.

The helis will be of this type (http://www.gregdonner.org/blue_thunder/blue_thunder.html).
Come on, you can't expect him to believe that; everyone knows that this type of heli has a 'whisper mode' - he wouldn't have heard that over the tv!:rolleyes:

[DUB-GREG]

Aw, cut the guy some slack! He's 23 and new to the UK. Let's face it, he probably didn't have any choice where to live as he's with his parents. I can't imagine any 23 year old (unless they're a millionaire) being able to afford to live in Newbury let alone Winterbourne!

So DUB-GREG, in your vicinity there is RAF Lyneham, RAF Odiham, RAF Benson. Brize Norton, Fairford and Middle Wallop are not a million miles away either! There was Greenham Common and mustn't forget the bustling civilian airfield, Brimpton!

Cheers

Whirls


Well Whirls, You'll be glad to know I moved over here for work. Yes im 23. I have my own place in Winterbourne. Yes I can afford it.

But funny thing is im not here to discuss my finances (even though they may be considerably better than yours).

Secondly I wasn’t complaining about the noise, I was just wondering.

Finally "Champagne Anyone?", Your what I would call a muppet! Look it up on google and you might see a picture of yourself!

Thanks everyone for the decent posts and PM's.

EIDW

[RobinXe]

Some of you guys really need to revisit your ISS, in order to learn how to interpret English, and be able to tell the difference between an honest, civil question and "just another whinging civvie who bought a house near an airfield and tries to get it closed down coz of the noise".

In your area DUB, it could be pretty much anything from the frontline rotary fleet, get yourself to www.raf.mod.uk and see if you get any clues from the limited recognition info therein.

If the noise continues, and I doubt it will for more than a week or two at most, then give your nearest RAF station a call, talk to Stn Ops, and civily explain your problem. They will no doubt be more than happy to get a call from someone who's not ranting, or threatening to get their shotgun out, for once! They won't be able to give you any explanations or resolutions over the phone, but you will likely be contacted, in a manner of your choosing, by the Stn Media and Communications Officer, who may be able to offer no more than the literature explaining the UK Low Flying System and the need for low level training. If however there is a high density of complaints in your area, and the problem is likely to be an ongoing one, a compromise will no doubt be sought. Good neighbors!

Nobody wants to work late into the night, so you'll probably find that once the required night flying package has been completed the late night noise will stop, at least til next time :p

[DUB-GREG]

Cheers dude,

As i said its not a problem i was just curious! ;)

Im doing ATPL next year so it doesnt bother me in the slightest... I was just wondering.

Thanking you and good evening!

[Champagne Anyone?]

Ooooooohhhhh Dub,



Don't you get grumpy you get when your sleep pattern is disturbed! :E :E











And it's Mr Muppet to you sonny! :ok: :ok:

Run along now or you'll be late for school in the morning!


ps, is that your real hair?

[Whirlygig]

Oi Dub, you can cut me some slack an' all - I was trying to stick up for you after you had no serious replies initially.

Cheers

Whirls

[Sunk at Narvik]

Christ on bike! What a bunch of juvenile tossers you lot are (with one exception).

The guy has a perfectly civil question.

The choppers are probably Chinooks from RAF Odiham. I work in Newbury and see them all the time- although much higher.

[Skunkerama]

giggle...............

[airborne_artist]

Christ on bike! What a bunch of juvenile tossers you lot are (with one exception).

Indeed - look at my age (on L) -

The guy has a perfectly civil question.

When all he had to do was go to raf.mod.uk and look up the info he wanted.

Re-read his Q: "Every now and again a heli flys over my flat very VERY VERY low. As a private pilot i estimate its around 50-100 feet. AT NIGHT!

Does anyone know what the nearist RAF base is to me and if so why do they fly so low over my place?"

Lucky he's a private pilot or they'd have been at 25' and likely to blow his roof off :E

[Phil_R]

Hi,

I must admit that I find it extremely difficult to estimate the altitude of passing aircraft. Obviously it gets tricky if they're at tens of thousands of feet, but for example, the Tornados that passed en route to a flypast the other day looked to be at considerably less than 1000ft; presumably they wouldn't have been lower than 500 over a built up area.

That said it's misleading, because you watch these things bouncing around the sky in a fairly agile manner, and then wander up to one on the ground and are immediately struck with the thought "Christ, this thing's absolutely enormous."

I presume people who fly regularly get much better at it.

Phil

[diginagain]

I presume people who fly regularly get much better at it.
One would hope so.:}

[movadinkampa747]

One would hope so.:}

One would, would one?.............. How very posh:)

[Ops_Monkey]

If the noise continues, and I doubt it will for more than a week or two at most, then give your nearest RAF station a call, talk to Stn Ops, and civily explain your problem. They will no doubt be more than happy to get a call from someone who's not ranting, or threatening to get their shotgun out, for once!

Sure i'm more than happy, I'll do it in between getting Dip Clr and re-routing a Flt Pln thats been handed to me on a copy of the Observer :E

[diginagain]

I have a sneaky suspicion as to the culprits, however I'm more than happy to allow our sideways-scuttling brethren take the heat a little longer.

Mova - me, posh? Unlikely.

[Nat O'Thee]

Blimey some testosterone in hear.

Blokes asks a couple of questions, not IMHO moans or groans, and he gets some stupid answers.

Champagne where at all in the first post is the moan about noise? With PR skill like yours its now wonder we the military sometimes upset our "shareholders" and dont get as much public support as we used to. Probably they think the military has turn into a bunch of high horse riding, self centred t055ers. Responses like yours only provide fuel to this thought.

Dont even try to tell me that whats on the forum stays on the forum, its much more a sign of your attitude towards the public.

Agree with Sasless if its not a complaint about JPA or the fact that we now dont get the best allowances in the world then lets just jump down the throat of the poster.

I thought a decent question deserved a decent answer, clearly others didnt.

[Ed Winchester]

I thought a decent question deserved a decent answer, clearly others didnt.

So where is the decent answer then?

[Nat O'Thee]

Well I thought I had read a couple above, at least giving a few suggestions.

[Champagne Anyone?]

Nat my old china....

You need to go and ask your English master for some more tuition! :ok: :ok:

You, employed by Aunt Betty? Don't make me laugh! I have just read your post again and have not laughed so much in ages... :D :D

'With PR skill like yours its now wonder we the military sometimes upset our "shareholders" and dont get as much public support as we used to. Probably they think the military has turn into a bunch of high horse riding, self centred t055ers.'

Priceless, absolutely priceless! Keep it up matey, it's brightened up an otherwise dull evening!

'Dont even try to tell me that whats on the forum stays on the forum, its much more a sign of your attitude towards the public'

Please some one get him to stop, I can't take any more!!

'Agree with Sasless if its not a complaint about JPA or the fact that we now dont get the best allowances in the world then lets just jump down the throat of the poster'

Well if you agree with sasless that just about says it all!


I suggest you go back to your first love, as indicated in your profile and start burping from said orifice instead of talking out of it! :ok: :ok:

[Nat O'Thee]

Granted a couple of typo's. Wireless keyboards are a pain

My points still stand, if you have a point please try again.

Mocking of a couple of lines is hardly constructive is it, but then perhaps you are just concentrating on your JPA log in - hurry away now and welcome to the real world chap.

[Mmmmnice]

DG - could have been me - post a precise grid and i'll pop round to see if your house looks familiar!