"No Callsign" over London
Anyone know what the very low flying Partenavia P68 is doing around London the last few days ? Although at a legal height, I always wonder what the plan is if one of the engines has issues, bearing in mind that for the most part it's just street after street of houses ?
SHJ
SHJ
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Every aircraft flying over London will have a callsign. The fact that it may not appear on FR24 or SBS means nothing as those "callsigns" may have no bearing on the true callsign.
I always wonder what the plan is if one of the engines has issues
Er, abort the mission and land at the nearest available airfield, perhaps ?
Er, abort the mission and land at the nearest available airfield, perhaps ?
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Once at loiter power settings even in the cruise at cruise power it is relatively easy to deal with an engine failure in a twin. As soon as your 20-30 knots over your Vyse your rudder is way more effective and you have energy to trade for height.
No where near as exciting as an engine failure at rotation, low speed and everything working against you in a low energy state with absolutely nothing to trade, no height for speed and no speed for height.
No where near as exciting as an engine failure at rotation, low speed and everything working against you in a low energy state with absolutely nothing to trade, no height for speed and no speed for height.
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safety
Above is very right be careful . these flights been going on for years its only
now you notice because of what's Avail on line . There for our Safety
and Security . The Press and TV Has got into this all week one paper even
posted maps and Aircraft Registration when they should know better but then it sells papers .
Tony
now you notice because of what's Avail on line . There for our Safety
and Security . The Press and TV Has got into this all week one paper even
posted maps and Aircraft Registration when they should know better but then it sells papers .
Tony
The Press and TV Has got into this all week one paper even
posted maps and Aircraft Registration when they should know better but then it sells papers.
posted maps and Aircraft Registration when they should know better but then it sells papers.
If they really are that sensitive, one wonders why Heathrow regularly publish the flightpaths in question on their WebTrak site. I did suggest to them a few months ago that if they were, it might be prudent to suppress them, but I didn't get any response.
Here's the one in question from earlier this week, for example:
WebTrak My Neighbourhood - Home Locator: London Heathrow Airport
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I can't help thinking that the ones giving it the "hush hush" are doing the online equivalent of the pub bore who tells you he was in the "army", touches his nose and winks. An attempt to indirectly allude to secret knowledge and/or connections without the need to put one's cards on the table.
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Sorry to drag this thread up from the deep -I noticed on Friday, at some considerable height above North London, a very small single-engined aircraft chugging slowly around in a sort of random pattern. I noticed the same thing last year on one occasion.
As chance would have it, I photographed a "pollution halo" at around 5pm Friday and there was our friend still meandering about. The silhouette is pretty clear, square-tipped wings well forward on the fuselage. Of course, it could be a little UAV of sorts and the scale makes it look higher than it really is, but single-engine? I thought that was a no-no for civilian flights over London?
Here's a link, click on "original" and download for a good zoom in (plane in upper right part of image): 2015-04-18_18707-1: 57LowRider: Galleries: Digital Photography Review
As chance would have it, I photographed a "pollution halo" at around 5pm Friday and there was our friend still meandering about. The silhouette is pretty clear, square-tipped wings well forward on the fuselage. Of course, it could be a little UAV of sorts and the scale makes it look higher than it really is, but single-engine? I thought that was a no-no for civilian flights over London?
Here's a link, click on "original" and download for a good zoom in (plane in upper right part of image): 2015-04-18_18707-1: 57LowRider: Galleries: Digital Photography Review
Last edited by 3rd_ear; 19th Apr 2015 at 09:31.
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3rd, was it definitely a single? Hard to tell from your pic, but might it not be an Islander? I was walking along the Regents Canal towpath on Thursday and there was, I think, a BN2T mooching around.
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tread, I was fairly sure it was a single, although checking the Islander profile it may be that I just couldn't see the engines - and when I actually heard it last year (directly above me) it did sound remarkably like one of those parachute club flights (slow revving engine). It didn't sound like two engines but I couldn't ascertain that for sure, again because of its altitude. The tailplane wasn't squared, though, from my recollection.
Why would it be so high? Wouldn't that cause one or two ATC headaches? It just mooches over a whole area, takes sharp turns hither and yon at about 0 knots; the area in question can get quite busy when aircraft are coming off the holds and are on the "S" into the Heathrow slope, although that's more like 4000 ft altitude. On the day in question, there were Heathrow outbounds occasionally coming over but again, not very high.
Edit: ah, I read elsewhere that there are three Islanders kitted out to suck up mobile/wifi comms for GCHQ's delectation, flying between FL12 and FL15. Seems a bit desperate, tbh.
Why would it be so high? Wouldn't that cause one or two ATC headaches? It just mooches over a whole area, takes sharp turns hither and yon at about 0 knots; the area in question can get quite busy when aircraft are coming off the holds and are on the "S" into the Heathrow slope, although that's more like 4000 ft altitude. On the day in question, there were Heathrow outbounds occasionally coming over but again, not very high.
Edit: ah, I read elsewhere that there are three Islanders kitted out to suck up mobile/wifi comms for GCHQ's delectation, flying between FL12 and FL15. Seems a bit desperate, tbh.
Last edited by 3rd_ear; 19th Apr 2015 at 13:39.
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Those aircraft, one type or another, have operated over London for many, many years often in cloud so they are not easily seen. They are little concern to ATC, who can see them on radar.
I like that comment HD, again showing how fearsomely accurate out brave press lads are.
In the Mail article I don't want to speak ill of the dead but do they really need an RAF style flying suit for an Islander?
In the Mail article I don't want to speak ill of the dead but do they really need an RAF style flying suit for an Islander?