Hot Water

[POMPI]

Interesting picture from today's Portsmouth News

http://www.thenews.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=455&ArticleID=573476

[The Nr Fairy]

Squinting at the reg in the picture didn't hel so I drudged up some fixed wing recognition skills and plugged "Lakes" into the G-INFO register.

I think someone from Ockham may well soon have the civvie equivalent of a no tea and biccies chat with the men from the CAA.

FL - worth a look ?

[NigelOnDraft]

Interesting picture..!

Initially I thought "he's knicked" - especially since the Reg is almost readable on that small shot - the original would reveal all...

However, look at the yacht sailing beyond the seaplane... A yacht (looks about 35') like that will not be a few feet off the beach, but more likely a few hundred feet, if only for draft reasons.

So there's a chance he's actually got his 500' (only 150m) from the jet ski & yacht, and we're seeing the effect of a long telephoto lens... especially looking at the different "focus" of the yacht v seaplane. No need of course to be 500' above the sea...

NoD

[WHBM]

Strange that there's no rippling of the water evident from the ground effect

[Onan the Clumsy]

Hundreds of lives were put at risk as beaches at Eastney, Southsea and Hayling Island were packed with swimmers as the pilot carried out the six-mile swoop. 'Hundreds' :confused: 'packed with swimmers' :confused: 'swoop' :confused:

More excellent reporting :yuk: :yuk:

[Pub User]

As Nigel says, this picture does not even begin to prove a case of breaking the 500' rule. Actually, it looks like a photo-montage, so I suspect the newspaper has been wound-up by a prankster.

[Speedbird252]

I dont know what time this shot was taken, but this aircraft flew into Goodwood at about 13.15 local yesterday,

Gotta remember that depending on angle and camera lens used, the image can be deceiving, and the non-flying publics idea of what 50ft or 500ft looks like is open to question.

If it can be proved that he has been a bit reckless with rule 5, then serves him right!

Speedy

;)

edited because I changed my mind a little...

[FlyingForFun]

There is a picture in The Sun which quite clearly shows the registration of the aircraft. If the CAA really are looking to talk to the pilot, I doubt it would take them long to find him and investigate - and I'm sure the investigation will include analysing the pictures to find out if any rules were broken or whether the camera angle creates an interesting illusion.

If he really is as low as he looks, and he doesn't have a very good reason for it, then, as Speedy says, "serves him right".

FFF
-------------

[witchdoctor]

What? No howls of outrage at the 'hundreds' of inconsiderate swimmers etc cluttering up his runway?!? Poor b#gger had to fly over 6 miles and then divert thanks to Joe Public.

Tut tut! Thank goodness he landed safely.:}

[NigelOnDraft]

<<If he really is as low as he looks, and he doesn't have a very good reason for it, then, as Speedy says, "serves him right".>>

Even supposing the photo is not a fake, there is nothing wrong / illegal about him flying at 30' all day, unless / until he comes with 500' of persons / vessel / vehicle or structure (or something like that). Unless the law's changed since I did my licence...

Of course, should a swimmer suddenly appear below him, then he has broken that rule...

NoD

[Evo]

There is a picture in The Sun which quite clearly shows the registration of the aircraft.


Yeah, I know, you just read it for the flying articles... ;) :p

[DamienB]

The Mirror helps out with some more balanced reporting:

FIND THIS MADMAN (http://makeashorterlink.com/?P59112195)

Looking at the photo alone I can't see any problem - it clearly is a telephoto shot, and everything including the 'screaming beachgoers' is well off his port side.

Edited as pprune software is mangling the link.

[englishal]

Maybe he was making an approach to land, then, without getting within 500' of any person, etc.., decided that in the interest of safety he should divert. So really this pilot has shown a great sense of airmanship and should commended.

Bloody newspapers, love to make a mountain out of a molehill. Did anyone actually see this "swooping amphibian" making "white knuckle rides" and the "rogue pilot"?.....BTW have Portsmouth got a Police "plane" or do you think they mean "H-e-l-i-c-o-p-t-e-r" ? [I can just see it now, the Police in hot persuit in their aeroplane with blue lights flashing..........dumb-ass springs to mind :D]

CU
EA

[Floppy Link]

englishal

sorry
Hampshire Police Air Support uses an Islander

[WideBodiedEng]

If our friend in the Lake IS flying legally, then lets hope he sues the Mirror etc for calling him a madman. Interestingly, I couldnt work the link.
If, however, he is NOT flying legally, then he deserves a few slaps!

[RodgerF]

WBE

Try this one

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=13282534&method=full&siteid=50143

RF

[DamienB]

Link edited - try again.

And one from the Sun...

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2003370973,,00.html

More of the same - 'crazy pilot', 'swimmers screamed and ducked', 'complete idiot', 'could have crashed, killing hundreds of people' and so on.

[SlipSlider]

Unfortunately in this instance the camera probably does not lie. A colleague saw this happen off hayling island beach and had spoken to me about it even before seeing the article and picture in the local press.

If this was an approach to land it must be a contender for the longest hold-off in history.

In todays edition of the local paper there is an interview with the .... pilot(?), complete with picture, who says that he was actually looking for swimmers in distress.....

:(

[Timothy]

And one from the Sun... Which is more interesting, scantilly clad Mike getting too cold, or scantilly clad Katy getting too hot?

...oh, the article at the bottom of the page...

W

[DamienB]

There's more past Katy? Blimey...

[Aerohack]

The foreshortening effect of a telephoto lens is very evident in the photo, which really proves nothing one way or t’other. Many years ago I shot a very similar picture of another LA-4, this time at nearby Calshot. It appeared to be flying below the level of, and very close to, masts of adjacent yachts. In fact, it was one of a number of seaplanes and amphibians operating from a stretch of water that had been licensed as a water runway that day, and the yachts were outside the buoy-marked area. My 500mm mirror lens apparently told a very different story. My old mum swears that, from her vantage point on Southsea’s South Parade Pier, she could have reached up and touched the Supermarine S.6Bs during the 1931 Schneider Trophy. Contemporary photographs again tell a very different tale, but I still wish I’d been there. After the Falklands War it was commonplace to see FRADU Hunters running in as low as that Lake towards the Eastney Beach shoreline and its radar installation, Ley lights blazing, simulating sea-skimming missiles. But of course that was in a designated Danger Area, and they always broke off or pulled up well before going ‘feet dry’.

[Bright-Ling]

Seeing it is no-where near as dangerous as flying under bridges there shoudln't be a problem!:sad:

B-L

[ETOPS773]

Quoting The Sun:
A coastguard said: “He broke every law going. A few feet lower and he could have crashed, killing hundreds of people.”

I disagree..he would have been an amphibious submarine :E

What have we come to :}

[Evo]

...and his circuit join at Goodwood was pants too... := := ;)

[t'aint natural]

You couldn't hang a dog on the evidence of this picture.
I wouldn't fancy his/her chances in a libel suit, though. Never ask a jury to put facts before emotion.

[niknak]

Assuming the picture is a reasonable account of what actually happened, why on earth did the silly **** take such a risk?

Its nearly as stupid as flying under bridges/power lines - one gust of wind in the wrong direction, and you're history.

By all means go out and kill yourself, but don't ever take others with you, don't expect anyone to clean up your mess, and for gods sake don't expect anyone else to pay for the mess that you make.

[ShyTorque]

Where were the "hundreds of people" that this coastguard was referring to? In the middle of the Solent?

Why are some folk so keen to see a pilot strung up? The pictures I've seen are inconclusive.

For goodness sake, let's not try to hang him here, leave that for the CAA (IF they choose to investigate).

[greatorex]

Hmm. . . . . .Something here doesn't quite add up. . . . . . . . :confused: :suspect: :confused: :suspect:

[englishal]

he was actually looking for swimmers in distress.....
Thats ok then, the Rules don't apply if safety of human life is at risk, or being involved in rescuing people in distress:D.......Just like some silly t*at who flew under a bridge. They got away with it becasue they "hit unexpected turbulence and the only way to ensure the safety of the flight was to fly under the bridge".....or something along those lines :D

[DamienB]

http://www.thenews.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=455&ArticleID=573887

Oh dearie me. :ooh:

[greatorex]

Sorry, I don't often get cross on here but:

. . . 'I carry flares with me in case I see anybody and then I can let the coastguard know. I love helping people and I have seen people drown through silly mistakes.'
. . . . He also claims he can use his seaplane, a Lake Buccaneer, to sneak up on drug runners. 'I haven't caught one yet, but I always have my eye out. I do live on the edge but I am always in control. Everything is calculated.'

What an absolute f:mad:ing prat! If his stupid antics don't kill him then the drug runners sure as hell will!
I hope to Christ the CAA take his license off him and use it as toliet paper. :* :suspect: :* :suspect:

[Vedeneyev]

'He also claims to be able to use his seaplane to sneak up on drug runners'

Who is this 60 year old lifesaving vigilante of the skies?! I know amphibians are known for their added utility but this is pushing the envelope...

[witchdoctor]

My extensive investigations have revealed the pilot was actually taking avoiding action to escape the same aviation-hating seagulls that recently forced another pilot under the Skye bridge.

It would seem this mob of fish-eating flying cr@p merchants have tracked down the country loking for opportunities to indulge in their nefarious deeds against pilotkind, and this gentleman was most unfortunate to encounter them. They mobbed his aircraft for several miles, trying to force him into the sea in order to satisfy their bloodlust and to provide some sick entertainment to the Sun-reading pie-eaters on the beach.

Time for a feathered cull methinks.

[Aim Far]

Didn't I read somewhere that the CAA were considering imposing 500ft as an absolute minimum height (except landing etc)? If the reports are accurate (and its a big "if"), antics like this will not help them see the error of their ways.

[GK430]

The photo shows him on the seaward side of the yacht following the wake of something else and then presumably the photo was taken by a person on another vessel further out.

Downunder he might have been on a "Shark Patrol", but that's no VH- reg!!

[Aerohack]

Given his self-appointed SAR/drug interdiction role, it's surprising this chap hasn't traded his LA-4 for the Seawolf version of the Renegade that Lake marketed in the mid-80s. That came with underwing hardpoints for miniguns, rockets or bombs, and could carry air-droppable SARpacks. Eight hours on-station time with standard fuel, too. ;)

[The Nr Fairy]

I read the article with Mr Macaulay's comments, and I said "F**kwit" out loud enough for my wife to question me.

She read the article and said "He's taking the piss".

He'll probably end up selling the aircraft to pay the fines and costs, IMO.

[down&out]

He also claims he can use his seaplane, a Lake Buccaneer, to sneak up on drug runners. 'I haven't caught one yet, but I always have my eye out.:sad:'
Yeah – I’ve heard they’re dead easy to spot, they all have "I'm a drug runner” painted on the sails of their 60ft yachts.

The sooner this guy is taken out of the skies the better. :*

[rotorboater]

I hope he take his spurs off to fly,

YEEEEEEEHAAAAAAA ;)

[BRL]

The pilot pictured yesterday......

http://www.batmantas.com/img/batman.gif

[GK430]

I note it was first registered on 7th August '97 - was he out celebrating:confused:

Makes you wonder what he does to wash the salt water off:confused: touch & go's on rivers;)

[Aerohack]

I understand that he had to ditch his previous (non amphibious) aircraft off the Channel Islands, which may explain his apparent concern for those in peril on the sea (no, not the swimmers and paddlers on Hayling beach!)

[strafer]

I was going to comment on this bloke's flying but I've just spotted a drug runner outside my window...

False alarm - it was a pigeon.

[greatorex]

Nice one BRL, But I suspect that he probably looks more like this:

http://www.muppets.com/images/kermithead.gif

:D ;) :D ;)

[Census boy]

If I'm right this is the guy who was flying down to the south of France in a Gardan Horizon and in order to save a few pence took off with minimal fuel intending to refuel at Jersey and then ran out off fuel off Guernsey. Not content with that he then went out and bought the Lake and then promptly landed wheels up at Popham.
Apparently the police unit at Lee have been inundated with phone calls complaining about this low flying aircraft which of course is not based at Lee but Farley Farm near Winchester (I suspect not for much longer though........)

[Boing_737]

To those who state that the evidence couldn't convict him.....

WHO B:mad:Y cares. Its people like this that give the rest of us a bad name. We have enough on our plate already with people complaining about our hobby without "Walter Mitty" types like that ballsing up all the good PR that various organisations put out about GA.

The public don't give a toss what we think, they're just going tar us all with the same brush. Its just another nail in the coffin for our hobby, especially with all the EASA stuff coming in soon.

I hope the CAA take away his licence. Someone needs to open his eyes.

I mean, its bad enough when you get a complaint for accidently flying your circuit over someone house, but to get it into 2 national newspapers and the local paper is really going above and beyond...........

[turnoffthepapis]

A fine example of 'listening to the correct pressure setting'!

[Saab Dastard]

I was on the beach on Hayling Island on Thursday 14th when I saw a small helicopter - R22? - doing a similar thing, running parallel to the shore at considerably less than 500 feet.

Difficult to tell how far off the shore line it was, though. I didn't see any swimmers or boats near where I was so it is possible that the pilot was legal, but it doesn't help the cause as others have already said.

He didn't have the excuse of having floats, either! Maybe he was looking for drug runners or swimmers in distress as well!

SD

[Timothy]

Please don't let us confuse antics among swimmers and yachts with the thought that all low flying over the sea is either illegal or unwise.

I quite often return (in my Aztec) from Denmark or The Netherlands at very low level (say 150-300') because I am fighting a strong westerly wind and want to tackle the 25kts at low level rather than the 50kts at 1000'. I keep a careful eye out for boats and rigs and steer to avoid them. I admit that I would never see anyone swimming the North Sea, but Hey!, I would be the least of their risks!

Apart from being intercepted once, nothing untoward has ever arisen. Even the interception was a bit odd. It was a Dutch Coastguard Orion (or something like that) and I was expecting a welcoming committee at Fairoaks, but not a bit of it, EGTF was as quiet as a grave when I arrived.

W

[greatorex]

I quite often return (in my Aztec) from Denmark or The Netherlands at very low level (say 150-300')

Please tell me this is a joke, right? :\

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Why would it be a joke?

If you can get a higher groundspeed why not fly low over the ocean?

We do it quite frequently, especially in the ITCZ for turbulence avoidance.

Chuck

[greatorex]

Why would it be a joke?

Because, these days, anything below 30,000 seems a little low to me! ;)

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Oh well at least down low we actually get to fly em. :O :O

Do you get to fly through the ITCZ much?

[Timothy]

Please tell me this is a joke, right? Oh, no, I have to work much harder to be funny.

Nope, no joke, it's what I do when necessary; and it's legal, economical and fun. What more could you ask?

Which is preferable, 200' over the North Sea, constantly monitoring the engines and the horizon, swerving to avoid boats, or sitting at F350 on A/p, doing the Telegraph crossword, picking the nose and making lewd suggestions to cabin crew?

I've done both and I know which I prefer! :}

W

[greatorex]

Which is preferable, 200' over the North Sea, constantly monitoring the engines and the horizon, swerving to avoid boats, or sitting at F350 on A/p, doing the Telegraph crossword, picking the nose and making lewd suggestions to cabin crew?

HOW DARE YOU!

You've gone too far this time, Collins.

I would NEVER, I REPEAT NEVER read the Telegraph! I'm a Times man through and through! ;)