Wyton! Consider this a bollocking.

[forget]

9.30 Friday night and I’m driving home along a very dark country road. Light oncoming traffic, and suddenly I’m zapped from above by a zillion candle power. What the ……..?

Wyton - that’s not funny - and not very smart! What are you playing at - drumming up business for your road traffic accident mates?

Don’t flannel about ‘training’. I’m not new to helicopter ops. I was using Nightsuns decades before UK had ever seen them.
:*

[MightyGem]

We usually do that to cars driving well over the limit; it tends to slow them down a bit. I take it that wasn't the case with you?:E

[forget]

Now that's really smart Mighty Gem. Just as well I wasn't carrying a chair leg in the glove box eh?

[MightyGem]

That's OK. Weapons aren't allowed to be fired from aircraft. Not quite sure what the "smart" comment's about though.

[Old Man Rotor]

Can't you see the Headlines.

Cops cause multiple pileup on the M1.

Sue’em “Forget”, after all there will be thousands of willing witnesses!!!

Come on, get some of the Yankee Legal Culture going there.

[MightyGem]

The Cambridgeshire yokels must be of a more nervous disposition than our scousers!:rolleyes:

[Cyclic Hotline]

I love it when they shine the lights on me, I can drive even faster, because it is like daylight. I wouldn't mind having one of those things following me at all times.

What are they going to do? Land and give me a ticket?

Maybe this is why people shine lasers at them? ;)

[B Sousa]

"9.30 Friday night and I’m driving home along a very dark country road. Light oncoming traffic, and suddenly I’m zapped from above by a zillion candle power. What the ……..? "

Its the NWO(New World Over) checking up on you. Big Brother is alive and well. They actually zapped you with the Intelligence Ray which calculates any sign of known information and intelligence in the vehicle. None was found......

What woosie. 99% of complaints about aircraft and operations are other Pilots who seem to have this "attitude" about others flying and rule books.

[SASless]

It is plain he has not "seen" the light!

Could it be he is using his belly button for a peep hole?

Now I ask you....2130 hours, dark, country road, light traffic....just pray tell how he figures they singled him out for the enlightening experience? FLIR looking through the side window...digital face recognition computer photo comparison...and whah la....it's me dear chum and buddy heading home from down the pub....hey crew...let's have a lark here!

Must not take an IQ test to obtain a drivers license from the evidence provided here.:ouch:

[FloaterNorthWest]

One possible answer to why you were illuminated.

If we are searching for a car we can find them easily on thermal and even tell what make it is but thermal will not tell us the colour. In urban areas or roads with street lighting it is easy but in rural areas the best way to get the colour is to quickly illuminate the vehicle with the nightsun.

FNW.

[forget]

FloaterNorthWest, Civilised response, thank you. No doubt there are times when, ‘in rural areas, the best way to get the car colour is to quickly illuminate the vehicle with the Nightsun’. I doubt very much if this was one of those times.

My complaint/observation is simple. I was needlessly startled windless (as one of B Sousa’s woosies) by night suddenly turning into day. People have lost control of cars for less. Unless absolutely necessary, cut it out guys. It’s dangerous.

Now that I’ve made my point - Wyton, please continue to use my house as a high hover waypoint whenever you’re chasing bad guys in the ‘Meadows’ at midnight. The rattling bedroom window is my fault (poor maintenance) and I’ve no doubt you’re doing a grand job.

Helicopters - love ‘em, paid my way for years. Long enough for me to recognise the significance of the two respondents who immediately went into rant mode. Both show ‘guns’ in their profiles and I’ve always been very wary of helicopter pilots who believe that ‘Apocalypse Now’ is a documentary.

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

A Scouser gets stopped for speeding...

Cop stops a Scouser for speeding, and he's got a pit bull terrier sitting on the front seat.

" do you know how fast you were going " says the copper

The Scouser turns to his dog and gives it a slap around the head

" so not only are you a speeder, you're also cruel to animals " says the copper

" Cruel to animals ? Cruel to animals ? " bleats the man, " you'd 'ave hit him too if he'd just eaten your bloody tax disc ! "

[ShyTorque]

Forget,

I concur with FNW, it is quite possible that they were looking for a particular car involved in an incident and you just happened to be in the area. The NightSun is the only way to do it from the air.

I don't see why you should choose to complain. As a taxpayer you are entitiled of your share of Nightsun, after all you've helped pay for it.

Or perhaps you had a rear lightbulb out....
;)

[SASless]

For some of us....Apackoflips Now freshens old entries in logbooks.;)

Sorry O...but British guns here....only way of getting hurt by one is if you drop it on yer toes.;)

[Helibelly]

Be thankful you were only driving, last time I shone a nightsun on someone he was bare arsed and giving his bird one across the bonnet of his motor. Funnly enough he stopped mid stroke and got in his car leaving said bird on the side of the road!

[Capn Notarious]

I was in my garden late one night watching the chopper coppers at a distance. They came back must have been using flir, one waived the wine glass aloft an got all lit up

[sprocket]

I can remember a certain copper chopper shining the night sun through the hastily opened doors of a certain hangar in which a traditional 'porn and prawn' night was being held. Most of the patrons looked over their shoulders briefly and then returned their gazes back to the big screen.
The pilot probably had to contend with an extra 'cyclic' for a little while after that. :hmm: :E

[dawn raider]

used to do it in LA all the time to pedestrians in Long Beach who were walking home.......... seemed fun at the time.

[Aesir]

The pilot probably had to contend with an extra 'cyclic' for a little while after that.

Sprocket. Now thats just a sexist remark! Could very well have been a female helicopter pilot in which the problem would have been different :p

[ginjockey]

Forget,

You should probably regard yourself as lucky. They could have easily mistaken you for someone who , in the dark, looked like someone who they thought may have been driving a car on that same road, maybe, and that you were in fact fleeing from the authorities, landed, pulled you out of the car, held you down, shot you in the head 18 times before all admitting they got it wrong............ maybe.

Stranger things have happened!

[helicopter-redeye]

Cops cause multiple pileup on the M1.


Why blame Wyton for the M1? Its miles away ....

[ShyTorque]

Now come on, don't let geography and fact get in the way of a good whinge! :D

[tipsy]

You weren't per chance wearing a 'bulky jacket' and trying to simply catch a train to work were you????

Nah, never happen:yuk:

tipsy
:yuk: :yuk: furball:yuk: :yuk:
Don't lie, cheat or steal, the Government hates competition.:ok:

[Simon853]

The chances are they suspected you of eating an apple whist driving.

Si

PS. I had a similar incident a couple of years ago while driving west on the M40 in heavy traffic. Approaching the crest of a hill and suddenly a navy Merlin (I think) came over the ridge directly above the road at about 200' going east bound. It frightened the pants of an entire three carriageways of traffic. Brake lights and swerving everywhere. Damn irresponsible flying.

[jayteeto]

Sorry if it upset you mate, but in reality we only illuminate cars that are suspect/high speed/have committed an offence or are a similar type to a target vehicle. We try to light up from behind the driver when possible, to minimise dazzle.
PS. Eating, phoning and oral sex when driving can be dangerous...

[SASless]

Why the agro with police pilots and crews at Rotorheads? My association with them has been quite pleasant....but then I try to be a reasonalbly law abiding citizen. So someone throws a Nightsun beam on me....what am I missing.....its not like they handcuffed you to a desk and shined the light into your eyes looking for a confession after applying the London phone directory to your noggin a few dozen times.:confused:

[Gaseous]

Eating, phoning and oral sex when driving can be dangerous...

Ill be all right then cos I never do all three at once.:}

[theoriginalcyclicmic]

I think it very sad that FORGET feels he has to resort to this medium to lodge a compaint against the Air Support Unit of which I am the Chief Pilot. Since being made aware of his post I have investigated the reason why the aircraft was airborne and indeed why his vehicle was illuminated. It is enough to say that the aircraft was involved in a life and death incident, certainly not training or on any type of 'jolly' that FORGET might accuse us of. Should you, in the future, feel the need to complain (I don't accept the 'bollocking') please ring 0845 4564564 and make it formal, but then you would have to forgo the anonimity that this medium affords. Finally if you were using Nitesun decades before the UK had seen them, as you claim, you must be nearly 80 years old, perhaps that explains things. Mick Hemingway

[Helibelly]

I'll get the teddy.

[zorab64]

Aesir - some of them might fly like ladies but you'd never confuse any of them with members of the fairer sex by looking at them! :yuk: - unless confused by TOCM's b**bs?!

On a more serious point, as Old Man Rotor & Floater NW have alluded to, Police Units are more than aware of the litigous culture that now exists, on this side of the pond, & will make every effort NOT to cause mayhem by illuminating cars from silly angles - i.e. from the front especially. They do, however, have a job to do & Nitesun is one of the tools in the box - unless you have Nitesun 2 which spends much of its time not working, apparently!

Don't forget, of course, that they could have been checking up on one of their off-duty pilots; were you doing 115mph in an Alfa Romeo perchance?? :eek:

[forget]

What pomposity from Wyton! It almost borders on ‘mind your own damn business you ‘civilians’ - don’t you know who you are talking to?’

So ‘bitching’ on Prune is now classed as lodging a complaint? Simplifies the paperwork I suppose.

I accused who, precisely, of being on a ‘jolly’. First time the word appeared was in your own post.

‘It is enough to say that the aircraft was involved in a life and death incident.’

If you say so; but it must have been a very unusual life and death incident to involve lighting up cars willy nilly along a B class country road.

With an attitude like that consider withdrawn my blanket acceptance of rattling bedroom windows at midnight.

I was going to suggest you ‘Lighten Up’ - but maybe not.
;)

[jayteeto]

That must be it!! Nitesun 2!! They were probably trying to look in the opposite direction..... Mind you, theirs must be better than ours..... it actually lit up :p

Seriously though, Merseyside police now have a bit on the website titled 'what is the helicopter doing over my house'. Flights are logged each day and a short summary of time and position are shown, including a basic result. This has gone down well with a lot of the regular complainers. Have a look and see what you think...

http://www.merseyside.police.uk/html/aboutus/departments/air-support/whereabouts/index.htm

[ShyTorque]

Forget,

When it comes to pomposity, I think your original comment:

"consider this a bollocking" (who are you to give out bollockings to the police carrying out their lawful business?)

and:

"With an attitude like that consider withdrawn my blanket acceptance of rattling bedroom windows at midnight"

take some beating.

Who are you to issue an acceptance? Perhaps you would prefer some local scrote rattling your windows instead?

You have had your explanation as formally as you can expect in the circumstances, so why don't you now just stop being a plonker and wind it in a bit? :rolleyes:

Carry on the good work you Cambridge chaps! :ok:

[SASless]

Could it be there is something in the water? Eating paint chips off the wall or something? I thought the Plod was out here to protect us....something about the Thin Blue Line and all that. The Plod is going about our business for us and we see fit to complain?

Focus your angst on the speed camera's or something like that....but whinging about an Air Unit shining a light on you...or rattling yer windys at night....get a grip folks!:mad:

[forget]

Note to Helli Belly, Teddies plural now!..........:rolleyes:

[MightyGem]

theoriginalcyclicmic
Morning Mick. Keeping well?

[theoriginalcyclicmic]

MG
PM sent
MH :D

[zorab64]

JTT - I think you'll find that even a force who have made the "interesting" decision to buy an Explorer (meant to have been on-line this month but not yet in the country, I believe), aren't silly enough to retro-fit a Nitesun 2 onto their AS355! That therefore means they probably knew where they were pointing it, lucky chaps.

Seems Merseyside have got a handle on keeping the complainants at bay though - nice idea.

[inmate]

Where's Dixon of Dock Green when you need him :hmm:
l

[Helibelly]

Teddy now in orbit and will link up with ISS sometime later today.