ANYONE NEED A NEW ROOF? [Archive]

airborne_artist

28th Mar 2006, 10:59

"Mrs Wallinger, 61, said yesterday that the Ministry of Defence had agreed to pay her “substantial compensation” for the damage done to her house.

Prolonged exposure to the vast helicopters has begun to undermine restoration work and the house in Upton Grey, Hampshire, is showing signs of serious wear and tear. Part of the roof is crumpled, cracks are spreading and tiles have been shaken loose. “It’s like a child’s wobbly tooth,” Mrs Wallinger said. “Once it starts, it gets more and more vulnerable.”

Only when Andrew Hunter, then her MP, threatened to raise the matter in the House of Commons did she receive the first of two payouts of about £1,000. The latest pledge is for £3,600, based on an estimate of provable damage.

“The RAF are bullies and they have tried to run roughshod all over me,” Mrs Wallinger said."

Any structural engineers care to comment? Seems unlikely to me unless the wokka hovered over said roof at less than 100'.

A slightly more balanced article in the Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/28/nchin28.xml) which points out that she moved in long after the Chinooks moved to Odiham.

The Helpful Stacker

28th Mar 2006, 11:13

If a Chinook can apparently do that sort of damage from 200ft up shouldn't someone move all the trailers and blade boxes near the RTR site at Odiham?

:rolleyes:

I'll be first to admit (being a humble stacker) that my knowledge of down wash is limited to be blown over whilst waiting to refuel various a/c in some of the worlds finest locations but surely this must be some kind of pay off to stop bad press, not for actual damage?

Seems to be another case of people buying houses underneath the approach to long-standing airfields moaning about the noise/vibration/whatever that was probably one of the reasons they brought their house pretty cheap in the first place. Heathrow anyone?

:mad:

GeeRam

28th Mar 2006, 11:22

Any structural engineers care to comment?
I'm one and I will...........
If I worked for the MOD I would have told her to go and :mad: herself.

For a start she bought the place in 1984 so it's her fault for not doing her homework as Wokka's were flying out of Odiham years before that date.
Secondly, the onus should be on her to prove it via an engineers report, which wouldn't be an easy thing to do as well as being an expensive undertaking.....;)
£3,600 for provable damage......hmmmmm.........yeah right.

Instead the MOD just seem to capitulate for an easy life, giving ammo for the ars:mad: oles of this world try it on even more.......:rolleyes:
And yes, in the hover at 100' or less then maybe you could claim something....but passing overhead at 200' or more......no chance IMHO.

Roadster280

28th Mar 2006, 11:42

Jesus H Christ.

The woman has the privilege of hearing that wonderful sound every day, and then has the goddamn balls to complain!!! They aren't called Wokkas for nothing!!

I bet she knows the serial numbers of every one...well, the ones that fly anyway.

Some people don't know they are born, and she is obviously one of them.

The Swinging Monkey

28th Mar 2006, 12:01

As my dear old Mum used to say....'they should just thank God they don't have red stars on them son!..........' well said Mum.

This silly old fool buys a house close to a big military airbase, and then complains about the noise and a bit of wind blah? I would have thought her argument was with her solicitors for NOT pointing it out to her, not with the boys from Odiham. If you don't like it - MOVE!

People like her just make me despair, along with the fools who have paid her out the money. Can you see an airman getting compensation for something like this? not likely.

Need to go and have a lie down now and take some more medication.
Kind regards
TSM

thank God for Wokkas

cazatou

28th Mar 2006, 12:21

In the late 70's I was SDO at Northolt one Sunday when a request was made by Heathrow to see if a BoBF Spitfire inbound to us could do a fly through at LHR.

The Spitfire did a couple of low passes before a crowded viewing balcony and departed for Northolt. Whilst he was on the approach I fielded a "Noise Complaint" from a local resident.

I pointed out that it was a BBMF Spitfire and it had to transit to Northolt at relatively low altitude because of its lack of modern navigation aids.

I got an earful of invective as it was pointed out that said "Gentleman" had lived in his house for over 40 years and he was damned if he was going to put up with this noise.

That's when I booked myself an interview with the Staish - I replied "Did you complain in 1940 then Sir?"

MightyGem

28th Mar 2006, 12:36

I was once accused of flying low enough to break glass in a conservatory. I was most disappointed that the CFI didn't rush round to inspect the "damge".

airborne_artist

28th Mar 2006, 12:37

"Did you complain in 1940 then Sir?"

Love it, great reply. :ok: What did the Staish have to say?

Krystal n chips

28th Mar 2006, 14:01

[QUOTE=cazatou]"Noise Complaint"
lived in his house for over 40 years and he was damned if he was going to put up with this noise.
QUOTE]

Well if is still alive, I wonder how he reacted to the sight that greeted me about this time last year, maybe a couple of months later, when I drove past the place heading North on a Sunday morning--and noted a Tonka and a couple of Hawks sat on the ramp---which, as, I said to my pax, would "go down well" with the locals when they got airborne ! :E

ShyTorque

28th Mar 2006, 14:11

Gainesy

28th Mar 2006, 14:15

Had a Wokka, ahem, "go past" this morning lovely noise, great sight, tracking too far north to get a decent pic. More please. TQ234280.:)

buoy15

28th Mar 2006, 14:18

Perhaps the Sqn could send her an advanced copy of their flypro - then she could stand in the garden and note down the details of offenders
Hopefully the old bat will get blown away with her slates and roses
Might be a good idea to have her 'ambulance chasers' in the garden as well

PPRuNeUser0211

28th Mar 2006, 14:32

Love the diagram labled "Emergency Flight Path"..... someone should give this woman a slap then drop her off in a certain remote mountain region of pakistan and get her to ask the locals what they think of her opinions... back in her box methinks

The Helpful Stacker

28th Mar 2006, 14:39

I used to be a QFI member of EMUAS at Newton.
Some total morons bought houses on the perimeter of the airfield and immeditaly started complaining about aircraft noise! Some years later, when the airfield finally closed, for other reasons, they undoubtedly felt very pleased - UNTIL the plans for the illegal immigrant detention centre went in. I would have LOVED to have been a fly on their wall! LOL :E

I did an exercise with a Herc, a Chinny and a couple of Lynx (Lynx's, Lynxi?)
a few years back at the site of the what is now Robin Hood International and within 30mins of the Herc coming in and landing a chap who had brought an ex-OMQ right next to the front gate had decided to come around and complain about the noise. Strange thing was that on a trip down to the shops we noticed that he had a poster supporting turning ex-RAF Finningly into what it is now. I wonder what he thinks of the 747 cargo conversions popping in and out all the time?:rolleyes:

Cambridge Crash

28th Mar 2006, 15:23

Unfortunately, under environmental legislation, that RAF has no more right than anybody else to create noise that could 'constitute a nuisance'. Truckies will be familiar with a vexatious complainant near the gates to Lyneham who understood this principle and complained (and was listened to) about ac noise, the gain on guards radios etc etc.

Note to self:
Having just re-roofed my house in the Lake District by spending enough money to house 100 families in Sudan in permanent dwellings, I must make a retrospective complaint against the RAF for the obvious damage to the slates. Clearly, low flying ac can corrode nails and rust iron guttering, too.
CC

Time Flies

28th Mar 2006, 15:32

This type of publicity really grips my sh!t

If it wasn't for said chaps flying around in their marvellous death bananas, as well as any other aircraft in our inventory, then this silly wench would be worrying about the defence of the UK and not her bloody roof.

And as for the chap complaining about the Spitfire....:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Time Flies

28th Mar 2006, 15:33

PS. Keep up the good work fellas! :ok:

KENNYR

28th Mar 2006, 16:11

What a load of c**k !! I have just watched the local news dealing with the compensation payment. The Chinooks pass over the house at 500' agl, so where is the problem??

I watched the toffee nosed female describing the noise and vibration caused by the RAF low flying over her house.................I wonder how many more claims she will make against the RAF.

SubdiFuge

28th Mar 2006, 16:20

Anybody got a copy of the letter that appeared in the local Andover rag in response to some gripes by NIMBYs about helicopter noise? I will send it to them if somebody can find it, or why not do it yourself; from the BT Website:

J.D.A Wallinger
TEL: 01256 862827
Manor Ho Upton Grey, Basingstoke RG25 2RD

Pilot Pacifier

28th Mar 2006, 16:40

What a load of Bo!!ocks!

I live just south of Odiham, got a crack in the wall just under the roof, perhaps...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/_79_Vortex/anihook7d.gif

Talking about cracks, having just done 80hrs in the last two months in the mighty Wokka, I must get my teeth checked! :}

Next time I'm over Upton Grey, I may just have a ND with one of these
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/_79_Vortex/sc-rambo.gif
That will increase the ventilation in her roof somewhat! :E

I've seen that letter that you mention SubdiFuge, would love to see that posted here!

Pilot Pacifier!

KENNYR

28th Mar 2006, 17:10

Any ideas as to the date the letter was published? I will go to the Andover Advertiser office tomorrow and get a copy of the paper and publish the letter, with their permission,tomorrow.

tmmorris

28th Mar 2006, 17:23

That Emergency Flight Path diagram deserves a formal complaint from the RAF to the newspaper. There are only two places it could have come from:

(a) the imagination of the woman concerned;

(b) the imagination of a Times reporter,

as it is both inaccurate and biassed (notice the way it curves over the village - actually the approach passes to the north, which rather spoils her claim).

Tim

SubdiFuge

28th Mar 2006, 17:33

I'm sure it was sometime in 2004. Sorry I can't be of more help.

cazatou

28th Mar 2006, 17:41

airborne artist,

The noise complaint was Part 1 of the interview to which the Staish said "I appreciate your feelings, but do try to be a little more tactful next time."

Part 2 of the interview was to enquire why I, as SDO, was serving behind the bar on the Saturday Evening when the Staish and his Lady had appeared prior to their attendance at the Airmans Mess Summer Ball.

I replied that the Mess WO had detailed a married SAC to be barman for the evening and that I had ordered him to go home, collect his Wife and proceed to the Ball. I would look after the Bar and that any losses would be down to me. The Staish thanked me and told me I could go; and as I left I heard him tell his PA that he wanted the Officers Mess WO in his office in 5 minutes with no excuses!!

Before anyone points out that I was doing 2 SDO's that weekend,I hadn't planned to go anywhere so I volunteered to do both to get the ticks on the board. Northolt at the weekend was as dead as a Dodo in those days.

Talk Wrench

28th Mar 2006, 18:05

Cazatou.

Love the story:ok:

Thing is though, why can't these senile delinquents just shut up, stop buying property near OUR airfields and go and hide somewhere like Gatwick.:E

Talk Wrench

Mr B

28th Mar 2006, 18:07

A couple of years ago the Benson`s Co at the time related to me a noise complaint, from the Officiers patch to him one evening. The gentleman concerned had a one way interview, the next day.

Pontius Navigator

28th Mar 2006, 18:10

Last week, at a base not a 100 miles from the mighy wokka we had an in-house massage. Could not see what it was until we went out doors.

It was not downwash that caused the massage just the sheer pulsing vibration. Once was enough. Every day and I would either buy a Rapier (try ebay?) or sell the house (ebay again):)

Gainesy

29th Mar 2006, 05:47

the sheer pulsing vibration

My dogs pick that up at least a minute before I hear it, beware Baddies with Labradors.

Monty77

29th Mar 2006, 05:48

Mid 90s at Benson, Saturday morning.

As SDO I fielded a flying complaint from a bloke complaining about light aircraft noise (WTF!).

Politely enquired as to the colour of the nuisance aircraft to see if it was the red and grey/white of the UAS.

Chap said he hadn't actually been outside to see it but it was really annoying!

Well I could think of a few annoying things. Like having to talk to dorks when you have a headache. Told him it was probably Kidlington aircraft as our Bulldogs fly much higher and use oxygen. :ok:

FJJP

29th Mar 2006, 06:13

Exact details - not sure, but apparently when St Mawgan was in full swing as a maritime base, the mayor of Newquay wrote to the Stn Cdr politely asking him to keep his airmen out of the town during the height of the season - interfering with the tourist trade. The summer months.

The Staish wrote an equally polite letter in reply, apologising profusely and declaring that he had no wish for the Royal Air Force to be deemed a nuisance to the local population. All personnel were henceforth to be banned from going into Newquay. Permanently. All year round.

It didn't take long for the implications to dawn overhead the mayoral office and there was considerable grovelling, profuse apologising and a plea to have the order rescinded. [Nothing to do with the fact that RAF St Mawgan personnel sustained the grotty little dump during the long winter months...]

--------------------

WRT this devious money-grabbing resident who thinks she has found a money-pit in the shape of MOD: I hope someone very soon points out to her that by law she is required to declare any disputes she has engaged in with neighbouring properties.

She has legally established the fact that Wokkas come close enough to damage the property; that might just have something to do with her inability to sell at the price she wants [if, indeed, she manages the task at all before it becomes the problem of her beneficiaries].

BATS

29th Mar 2006, 06:49

In the 80s I handled the flying complaints for the North Of Scotland.... about 400 a year IIRC. If the claim was plausible, and many were not, the claims section of MOD used to pay up if the 'damage' was below the cost of sending an RAFP to investigate......

There was a lady in Lossiemouth who complained that an aircraft went over her house which in turn caused her dog to take fright and knock over her brand new television. Attached to her letter was a bill for an all singing and dancing TV....... I sent her a polite reply telling her that I had forwarded her complaint to MOD claims, but that it was unlikely that anything would be forthcoming. My covering note to MOD claims was somewhat tongue in cheek and suggested a restraint for the dog. MOD's response was to settle the bill in full and not even investigate...... MOD used to spend £6m a year in settling claims for low flying; it may be rather more now.....

No wonder we're broke.....:(

BT

Oh yes, and then there was the racehorse in Wales which MOD forked out an enormous sum for after it bolted....

South Bound

29th Mar 2006, 07:27

This is just another one of those factors that continues to de-motivate Servicemen on a daily basis. I am sure all the troops living in their beautifully maintained (ahem) SFA don't mind paying their 13% rent rise straight to someone to subsidise the renovation of her 'near-derelict' manor house, especially when they have no choice where to live as it is soooo expensive around there. I am sure none of them are eagerly awaiting news of the tranche-3 redundancies...

Does make me wish that I had complained about the noise the Skodas and TriStars used to make when I lived in the front of the Mess at Brize though....

airborne_artist

29th Mar 2006, 07:43

See the thread about Lyneham closing and the possibility of all SH moving there. Wallingford has just woken up to the potential loss of 1700 service people and their buying power and 170 civvy jobs, yet for years people have bleated about noise from Benson, despite the base having been built in the 1930s.

Surprisingly the most irritating noise (and it's low on the scale) is the sound of the UAS/EFT Grobs climbing to altitude - it's quite a piercing buzz.

KENNYR

29th Mar 2006, 07:55

IMHO the MOD should not compensate this house owner with cash but rather send a contractor round to make the repair. That way the owner has to have the repair done rather than pocket the cash.

Wouldnt it be ironic if all the SH ended up at Odiham?? I wonder what she would dream up next.

johnfairr

29th Mar 2006, 09:39

I'm with Gainesy and PPacifier on this, as I also live directly under the flight path of the mighty Wokka when it's bimbling around the environs. I'd be happier under the flight path of an F4 base, but that's another story.

I wonder how much she would have complained if she had been there for the Queens' Coronation Review and flypast in the 50's?

Whatever happened to "taking responsibility for ones actions" when buying a house? She can't miss the big red signs that are all over the place there, can she?

Makes my blood boil, bl00dy huggy-fluffy, not my fault, blame someone else, blame anyone else but me, whinge, whinge, where's my compensation, I demand to be protected from myself, etc etc.

jf:rolleyes:

FJJP

29th Mar 2006, 10:35

I had had a bellyful of the aftermath of a local crash where several guys died. In the middle of it all a call was put through to me from an irate bloke complaining about low-flying aircraft, and didn't this latest crash prove the point? And who was going to pay compensation for the damage caused?

The Staish was standing in front of me at the time and I looked him in the eye as I told this pratt [for that is what I called him] that several good men died. Who was going to compensate their families for the loss of the men who gave their lives for their country? I then suggested that he put his complaint in writing, and I would ensure that the MOD fully investigated his complaint, and I would furthermore ensure a copy of his letter reached the widows, the local and national press and television. No doubt, I told him, he would be sought after to give interviews allowing him to give his viewpoint a public airing.

Finally, I said, I would ensure that he receive an invitation to each funeral, where he could voice his grievance to those perpetrators of the acts he so loudly complained about. I then put the phone down [which is something I would not normally dream of doing].

Staish's PA later told me that the pratt had complained to the Staish about my attitude, whereupon the Staish gave him an earful as well.

It's good to talk...

niknak

29th Mar 2006, 14:06

Its a shame that the MOD doesn't include a comprehensive module within the Officer training programme which pertains to MOD staff regarding civillians as normal people, without making patronising and condesending remarks about them, and constantly reminding the world what wonderful upstanding people serving personnel are.

If you'd bothered to read the remarks of the background of this complaint properly, you would know that it is a genuine complaint, backed up not just by professional reports from INDEPENDANTqualified surveyors, but also from her insurance company's own survey staff.
The claim of this lady is fully supported by both, neither of which have anything to gain as they will be the ones paying out, and ultimately, all she wants is the helicopters to divert aroung the area, not a big problem and one which could be sorted with a very small amount of forethought and commonsense.

It's rather unfortunate that there have been the usual references to the lady concerned owning an expensive property and therfore she should pay fo everything herself, again, had you bothered to check, she is on a very limited income and just happens to be living in a property that's worth a lot.
A very common trait these days, I am sure that many of you have parents in the same position and you're hovering like vultures.

Shame on you gentlemen (and Ladies if appropriate), your inability to see beyond the mess is extremely unfortunate but not entirely suprising.

Time Flies

29th Mar 2006, 14:15

This still does not change the fact that she moved into the house in the knowledge that the airfield operated Chinooks only a few miles away.

I do sincerely hope her insurance company are paying out...it's just a shame that money also has to come from the taxpayers pocket.

ps. Can you (are you in a position to) honestly say that the damage sustained was due to helicopter downwash/vibration? As already posted by a structural engineer on this thread...

If I worked for the MOD I would have told her to go and :mad: herself.

buoy15

29th Mar 2006, 14:19

As we are talking about noise complaints, I will throw this one in for those who haven't heard it before
It's and oldy, but a goody
Need to select Win Real Time player
http://stevepenk.com/file.ram
Enjoy!:)

Time Flies

29th Mar 2006, 14:22

No joy...do you have another way of accessing file?

:(

buoy15

29th Mar 2006, 14:28

Time Flies

Try accepting the default option on your system or type in the address for a search

Anyone else got any suggestions?

airborne_artist

29th Mar 2006, 14:29

Niknak
Two points -a) the wokkas were there first - and b) by her own account it's a very old house. The latter is important - old houses need repairs far more frequently, and indeed most old houses are in a poor state of repair, particularly on a change of ownership.

Having spent quite a bit of time looking after old houses (though I'm not a surveyor) I can assure you that wind, rain, frost and ground movement will do far more damage than a wokka at 200', if they are at 200' at all. (Most complainants halve the real altitude of an aircraft). The lady is not cash rich, we know, and it's my guess that she and previous owners have skimped on repairs to a house that could easily cost £100,000 to get it back to a sound condition.

The amount paid out to her is very small in the overall scheme, but people who read about it and comment here are naturally a bit peeved at how easy it is to get £6,000 out of MoD, when they can't get money paid out for out of pocket costs incurred OHMS.

----------------------------------

Its a shame that the MOD doesn't include a comprehensive module within the Officer training programme

FWIW my last substantive rank was Corporal - so can I carry on now please, Sir? :E

NutLoose

29th Mar 2006, 14:41

Hmmm :) I can remember the Days when we recieved the First ever Chinooks on the OCU fresh off the boat, in fact the first one's period.( Fiery Fred and Flirty Gurty )...... I think they were ZA670 and ZA671 but it was a long time ago...

Anyway I digress, I was in ops at the time the first one was flying around the circuit and the Australian Exchange Pilot we had on the OCU took a phone call from an Irate farmer complaining that the new big Helicopter we had was upsetting his horses.
Our Exchange pilot nonchantly replied... "well as this is the first of many and as they are going to be here for the next 20 odd years plus, then they better get :mad: used to it" upon which he promptly put the phone down on him. :)

I do believe he never called back :)

air pig

29th Mar 2006, 15:37

What a pity the Lightning is long gone, a squadron battle climb on Q alert would have soon shaken the s**t out of her.

You buy the house where you want to, and then complain about the surroundings, maybe she should sue her solicitor, for doing a poor search on the property. Odiham is not exactly inconspicuous and was there long before this silly old bat.

Keep flying lads and lasses, and come home safely, maybe she should think about these people before herself.

Hilife

29th Mar 2006, 17:17

The Helpful Stacker

29th Mar 2006, 17:51

Hopefully the next time the MoD compensate her will be as a result of a triple fuel bullock impact to the house.

Just a triple? Their is a scheme for anything upto 5 you know*.;)

* Although 5 is a pig to rig.

Collapsar

29th Mar 2006, 19:46

I think that this is what some PPRuNers were looking for
Andover Advertiser 9 July 2004-07-08
Letters to the Editor (pg. 17)
We should be grateful rather than grumpy over these helicopters.
YOUR tired and anonymous reader from Cole Close wrote complaining about military helicopters, asking who gave them permission to fly over his house, waking him in the night.
Well, I live near Cole Close, I can tell the gentleman that the helicopters (which woke me too, briefly) fly in the air corridor over open land to the east of Andover, away from housing.
But the ones he complains of so bitterly were Chinooks and their noise travels on calm, windless nights.
The Chinooks were flying to part of a recent army exercise on Salisbury Plain, an exercise for soldiers who recently returned from six months in Iraq and who will no doubt return there (or to Bosnia or to Afghanistan, or Africa, or wherever the UK Government next decides to keep the peace).
UK exercises provide a brief, safe opportunity for the Army and RAF to practice operations or test new equipment and to train new personnel without the threat of enemy fire.
They take place infrequently and are well planned, avoiding as much disruption as possible and keeping noise to a minimum. But inevitably someone’s back yard is encroached, even briefly. Even in Cole Close.
No doubt the next day Mr Grumpy of Cole Close drove safely via Kiel Drive and avoided the non-existent shell holes not obstructing Saxon Way, with no danger of ethnic snipers from ‘that lot’ in Charlton or Enham Alamein trying to pick him off.
His spouse may have followed him, delivering children to school without having to run the gauntlet of bigoted hate-filled neighbours intent on stoning them as they passed. And when he returned home (possibly upset by a hash email from someone in accounts or angry because the stationary cupboard had run out of paper clips) no burning bodies lay in the road.
His house had not been burnt down because guerrillas from Winton objected to his religion or place of birth or skin colour or language or narrow-mindedness.
He could barbecue in the garden, leaving the children to play safely in the adjacent nature reserve, because the Andover Revolutionary Party had not booby-trapped their footsteps or land-mined the roads.
Wake up and smell the peace Mr Nimby! You and I and the other residents of Andover owe a huge thank you to our soldiers and aircrew who do our Government’s bidding under terrible conditions month after month.
And when they do need a few nights per year to exercise in safety then I for one am happy to hear the helicopters pass by. After all, they won’t be firing missiles into my back yard. Will they?
A serving soldier
Name and address supplied

This appealed to me when I saw it and kept it for just such an occasion as this.

SubdiFuge

29th Mar 2006, 20:06

Collapsar

I prostrate myself at the feet.....

SudiFuge

PS. Printing it off right now and sending to Mrs Whingalot

NutLoose

29th Mar 2006, 20:55

NutLoose
That would have been ZA672 (FF) & ZA673 (FG) and Flt Lt Daryl Wilcox (12 Squadron RAAF) was your man.

In the early 80’s most of the complaints were from battery hen farmers - one can only imagine how a chicken lets loose a square egg, but that’s what they used to say.

There is a delightful lady I know just north of Dummer who owns a stables and allows the Chinook crews to practise field landings on the estate. A couple of years ago during training one of the livery horses bolted and sustained very minor injuries to a leg, or so the owner claimed.

The owner and a few others who stabled their horses on-site insisted that she ban the Chinooks from landing on her land in future as they were a danger to the horses. She would have none of it and as a consequence several clients took their business elsewhere.

It’s a great shame when the ‘not in my back garden’ brigade win one over on the MoD.

Hopefully the next time the MoD compensate her will be as a result of a triple fuel bullock impact to the house.

Yeah I know, I took the decision not to pop his name in as I thought it would have been better that way, we also had all the Boeing Test Pilots and crews there at the time too, Ron Mechlin ? (spelling) amongst others... I still have all the original Chinnok badges I was given by them at the time including my obligitory Boeing Helicopters Derby Hat lol....

They made an interesting change from the Wessex and Pumas which I came off when the OCU did it's split with the Wessex going to Benson..... still have some photos floating around somewhere of all of 72 Sqdns Aircraft departing in mass formation from Odiham too as well as the OCU ones :) Oh and the 5 Pumas the OCU put over Benson as a bet ( beer of course) due to the Wessex contingent saying we would never get all 5 serviceable......... we did it and won the beer, often wonder if they ever figured out we had borrowed a Puma to do it lol.....:E

Roland Pulfrew

29th Mar 2006, 21:01

Looks like a nice village

http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=469500&Y=148500&scale=10000&width=700&height=400&gride=469669&gridn=148442&lang=&db=pc&coordsys=gb

Which one is the Manor House? :E :suspect:

Pilot Pacifier

30th Mar 2006, 08:24

Excellent Collapsar, just excellent!

Please let us all know if you receive a reply!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/_79_Vortex/anihook7d.gif
I'm so dizzy, I just keep going round and round!

gravity victim

30th Mar 2006, 09:22

Many years ago a friend of mine found himself up before the magistrates to explain an over-exuberant approach at a small Essex airfield which involved the removal of a farmhouse chimneypot with the wheel of his Prentice. He defended himself vigorously, with the interesting argument that the approach to a runway was a damn silly place to build a house.

The farmhouse probably dated back to around 1700. Fined £50. :hmm:

KENNYR

30th Mar 2006, 17:53

Thanks Collapsar, You saved me a long search at the Advertiser offices for that letter. Absolutely priceless!!!

ACW599

30th Mar 2006, 21:32

>There is a delightful lady I know just north of Dummer who owns a stables and allows the Chinook crews to practise field landings on the estate<

It so happens that Madam and self own and live next to one of the fields used by Shawbury for something similar. So we see and hear Griffins and Squirrels daily and the occasional Puma and Merlin. We've only had the pleasure of a few visits from Chinooks over the years, but apart from the low-frequency component of the sound (which is thoroughly enjoyable) I'd say they're a lot quieter and less intrusive than the Griffin -- which is not only noisy but doesn't even sound pleasant to my tolerant ears. And the Merlin is fantastically quiet compared with everything else we've heard and enjoyed in the past twenty years.

Oh, and parts of our place are a good 200 years old. We haven't seen any helicopter-related damage yet.

So let's have more in Field 24 (SJ328150). And as for a passing Spitfire, chance would be a fine thing . . .