BBMF Spitfire pilot - thank you

[airborne_artist]

Thank you for holding over AA Towers before your display at Benson tonight. Next time feel free descend to roof-top height, but it was a lovely sound all the same.

[GeeRam]

And a thank you to the Hurricane pilot that flew low over the Watford/Rickmansworth area about 15 mins ago....(appeared to be LF363).....nice for Battle of Britain day as well.
However, a bit depressing as I saw it fly past the office window,
and "Aah a Hurricane says I out loud, and on Battle of Britain day as well"....

I was looked at as if I was an alien.....no one knew what I was talking about:uhoh:

Suddenly I felt very old........:{

[Strictly Jungly]

We had 2 Spitfires in formation stooging around Lee On Solent/Gosport/Portsmouth around dusk last night. Ditto on the wonderful noise!

[angels]

Geeram - Don't be too concerned about it matey. As time goes by fewer and fewer youngsters will realise the significance of BoB day. This is sad, but it's a fact of life.

My son (13) knows the significance because a) his school did a term studying WW2 and he was actually taught it - a rarity these days I'm led to believe - and b) I teach him.

It was great when we were camping in Kent recently that we were buzzed by a low flying Spit (I started a thread about it) and he was able to hear that magical sound and see that beautiful plane in the sky where the Battle took place!

My dad fought so that kids could lead their lives in some form of normality and not under a Jackboot. Millions of others did as well. All we can do is attempt to educate the younger generations that they owe their relatively cushy lifestyles to the brave men and women who battled all those years ago.

Cheers.

[Skunkerama]

Unfortunatley I didnt hear a merlin at all yesterday. I live in one of the most boring areas in the UK for low passes as were in the Heathrow corridor so no fun stuff going on here then. So I just cheered myself up by watching the Spit doing the f**k me low pass on the reporter about 5-6 times, classic video.

I really miss the interesting aircraft stooging around as I used to live near the Shuttleworth collection and was spoilt for choice most summer weekends.

If there is a more joyous and moving sound than a Merlin going overhead then I have yet to hear it.

[kevmusic]

At the Medway River Festival several years ago the Blenheim and a Spit were booked to augment the day's attractions. There was a large turnout. The Blenheim was first and did some lovely low passes before loping off north. As his radials faded the sound was replaced by a Merlin coming in fast from the south. The noise crashed and echoed from the buildings over the river then he appeared low and fast. He pulled up into a loop and as he went over the top the crowd just erupted. They cheered and clapped as if Bader and Churchill themselves had walked on.

Quite a moving moment :D

Kev.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<in the Heathrow corridor >>

Out of extreme curiosity - where/what is that please?

[Skunkerama]

Heathrow corridor

It's what us blokes on the ground call the boring piece of airspace around, Windsor, Bracknell, Sunningdale.
You know, that’s where the extremely boring and environmentally unfriendly sky junk fly’s.

I'm sure you have a more accurate term for it and if you would like to pass it on I promise not to disgrace these hallowed pages with my ugly and ignorant terminology.

[angels]

Come, come gentlemen, the weekend approaches. Let us not enter it in ire and angst. Let us talk of Merlins and heros!

Mr Director - I understood what skunkerama meant, although living in the bit of the Heathrow Corridor (sic) away to the east I would have called it Margate, Woolwich and Westminster!! :}

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Skunkerama... Did I rattle your cage, or something? I asked a perfectly civil question as I was involved with Heathrow ATC most of my life and had never heard the term "Heathrow Corridor". I wondered if perhaps some new procedure had been introduced about which I was unaware.

[Skunkerama]

Sorry HD, it's just that there are some very pedantic "people" on this forum, thought you were being funny.

It's just a term that I thought fitted the area of sky that in our near vicinity. Although I realise that it probably looks more like a flattened inverted cone.

[ImageGear]

The "Heathrow Corridor" is a term quite fancied by the HACAN clear skies lobby when referring to noise cones.
End of thread creep.

I also live almost under the "corner" of the Bovingdon 222 radial for 09L but often get "Mil Traffic" overhead including a pair of F3's last month, the odd Jag, Harrier, Assorted Apache, Merlin, Puma, Seaking (Even the rattling Yellow things), Herks, Spits, Hurricanes, Yaks, a Nimrod, and various holding for a Strike visit, and the Northolt Limo twin jet often. Oh Bliss, the BBMF Lanc transiting east/west both ways, so often this summer I lost count - come over this way.

Imagegear

[Skunkerama]

Crikey, with that lot going over i'd have a permenant crick in my neck.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<the Bovingdon 222 radial for 09L >>

Wow - another term I'm not familiar with! Please fill me in... Tks.

(I was a Heathrow Air Traffic Controller for 31 years until I retired 3 years ago so I am familiar with most of the Heathrow procedures but realise that things change rapidly in aviation).

[hobie]

As a youngster I remember a chance for the family to climb to the top of a Lighthouse somewhere around St. Eval or thereabouts ...... the only one to refuse the offer was my father .... why won't he climb?, I asked my mother? :confused: ..... he doesn't like heights I was told :(

He was an ex Spit Pilot!!! ......

I remember seeing his joy when a couple of them put on a mini show at Northolt many years ago ......

God be good to him ..... :)

[Phil_R]

Hi,

For the last year or so I've been regularly shooting (video!) at Fulham Palace for a long term documentary. Most of the time there's aircraft - clearly approaching Heathrow - passing almost directly overhead, or just to the north, about every forty-five seconds.

On some days, oddly, this does not occur. I have no idea why this is, but it'd be nice if I could find out exactly which days this tends to happen, as obviously the odd 747 going by at can't-estimate-altitude is not terribly good for recording interviews.

Sorry for the OT, but while it's being discussed.

Phil

[GeeRam]

Hi,

For the last year or so I've been regularly shooting (video!) at Fulham Palace for a long term documentary. Most of the time there's aircraft - clearly approaching Heathrow - passing almost directly overhead, or just to the north, about every forty-five seconds.

On some days, oddly, this does not occur. I have no idea why this is, but it'd be nice if I could find out exactly which days this tends to happen


That'll probably be when the wind changes around and they come in to land from the opposite direction....:ok:

[Maple 01]

On Monday Norwich City council held a Battle of Britain reception with a Spit flypast:ok: There were representatives from Marham and Colt and some of the old boys and girls from the RAFA - I ran into Jaise * , but didn't lend him any money

All this week City hall and the Castle have flown the ensign - don't suppose many of the locals know why but at least someone made the effort.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Phil R.. As GR said, the days you don't see the landers is probably when they're landing the other way. They land over Fulham when the wind is from the west. If the wind is from the east they land from the other way. There are complex rules about deciding when to change runways and they may still land to the west even if there is a slight easterly wind because Heathrow operates "preferential westerlies" for noise abatement purposes. If I can help further please PM me.

[TheOddOne]

hey HD,

In days of yore (i.e. the 1980s) it was generally considered by ATC at LHR that the most expeditious manner in dealing with zone transit raffic that was remotely of historical or technological significance, or of any military connection, was for them to carry out a low approach and go-around. This was definitely approved of by those of us humble types scraping a living as Checker or Seagull, but not by every visitor to the airfield.

I was once escorting a reporter, Chris Searle, a keen aviation enthusiast. He was making a radio documentary about some aspect of our job airside. We were in the middle of the 27L holding area, well out of the way as this was the landing runway. As he was doing his stuff, suddenly I noticed 3 a/c in formation, a 4-engined piston type flanked by a couple of singles (you can guess what they were). I drew Chris's attention to this and he started enthusing about this wonderful apparition, holding the mic high as they thundered by at around 100'.

The whole thing was completely spoiled by the lady director who was in charge of the sound equipment, who complained that she would now have to edit out this unseemly interruption and start the piece all over again. Chris and I were scandalised!

I was also lucky enough to be out on the airfield when the Space Shuttle/747 combo made an approach & go-around on 09L in its way to Stansted - was that 1982 or 3???

Cheers,
TheOddOne

[ImageGear]

Ohh Dear, massive thread creep, apologies,

Showing my age now:

AD 2-EGLL-7-7 Initial Approach Procedures ILS Rwy 09L/09R (without RADAR Control) (8th Oct 1998) (When I moved into ImaTowers)

"Leave BNN on BNN VOR R222 maintaining 7000' At BNN d4 commence descent to 2500' At BNN d15 turn left to intercept ILS localiser course. Continue approach as detailed on the Instrument Approach Chart"

(The new chart is different now)

Going back in the closet now

Imagegear

[hobie]

was that 1982 or 3???


STS Enterprise at Stansted June 5th 1983 ....

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0540359/M/ (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0540359/M/)

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

ImageGear.... Yes, that's the published procedure which is never used because everything is under radar control. Usual procedure is to leave Bovingdon heading 240 (or thereabouts). In my 31 years as a Heathrow Radar controller I only ever saw one, maybe two, examples of aircraft flying the proecdural approach which you outlined.

TheOddOne.. .... and a formation of Daks down 27R when the "press" were waiting at Harrow and a Sea Fury (or the like) barrel rolling up 05... They were the days. Oh yes - I did a Short Sandringham down 09L at zero feet.. turned left over the M4 and just about cleared the traffic....

[blue up]

For those of you in need of a "fix"....

http://www.mossie.org/sounds/mosquito_flypast.mp3

[JP1]

Talking of Spitfire displays, the best sight I have ever witnessed was in '97 in my back garden...

In the kitchen and the almighty sound of a Merlin powering overhead, rushed out into the garden but too late. 2 minutes later another pass, this time I am ready and see a Spitfire banking at almost 90 degrees about 300 feet (maybe less) at the end of the garden, you could just feel the engine pulling the aircraft round a very high g turn. Rushed to the front of the house and see the rest of the fly past. Another 2 passes, (what a treat and this time probably lower!), now motorists are pulling over and getting out of their cars, as well as other residents coming out to stand on the pavement and see the show.

I'm pretty sure this was a privately owned Spitfire, simply for the stress that the aircraft was put under and the CAA rules that were broken!! I know the general public on the ground are extremely bad and judging heights of aircraft, but several years gliding told me that those turns were lower than my turns onto final.

This all happened over Frimley Green on a late summer evening in July just at dusk, the circuit probably just clipped the North West of Farnborough. I always imagined it was a salute to a former BoB Spit pilot. I believe one was living in Farnborough.

It would be nice to know the reason for the display, these things just do not happen over highly dense residential areas.

[jumpseater]

Phil, (puts on wellies and green barbour jacket), the prevailing winds in the uk in general terms means a 70% westerly and 30% easterly useage. I.e. 70% of the time they depart to the west and arrive from an easterly direction, and the remaining 30% of the time its the other way round. NB I used to do noise and track issues in a former life. Heathrow has an agreement for environmental reasons that can skew the figure even further to a westerly bias, as HD mentions. If you are going to film and want a rule of thumb :ok: test before setting off, the following will apply in most cases.
Have a look at the BBC weather forecast, if the London area is underneath a 'Low' pressure system, this will favour the normal westerly departures. If however it is underneath a 'High' then you have a good chance they will be taking off towards London, 'Cranford' agreement permitting. A high pressure is usually quite stable so you may get a good few consecutive days of easterlies. Hope that helps.
js

[BEagle]

On the way back from Filton to Abingdon in a Bulldog, I came across a Spitfire near Lyneham. A quick couple of turns with him and a final waggle.....

He was waiting for the '10 bringing Jackie Mann back from Beirut.

I'm sure Jackie would have been amused by our illicit doggers! Especially as the Spitfire chap was a VSO!

[Tombstone]

Just been to a friends house over at Scampton & had a BBMF Spitfire take several passes over the place (1300 ish). Beautiful sight, topped off with my kids waving at the Spitfire mate during a slow pass for which he returned the wave with a wing waggle.

Made their day mate, thankyou.

[GeeRam]

"A Bridge Too Far", where the recce spitfire flies over the lad on the bike. I believe the late great Neil Williams was the pilot. I may be wrong.

You're not wrong:)

[Strictly Jungly]

Spotted over Portsmouth approx 1425 16 Sep, low flypast, anyone know if there was anything going on in that area on Saturday?

[FrogPrince]

I attended the commemoration at Oosterbeek yesterday. Hearing and seeing the C-47 pass overhead at low level... just brilliant !

The whole weekend was very humbling.

[hobie]

some special sounds for Spit fans .... what do you think of the flying? ....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=A95tD9iZKkc

[airborne_artist]

I enjoyed the C-47 that went past AA Towers (on the way home to Coventry?) yesterday evening - Arnhem Day - The Day for those of us who like to land under silken canopies :E

[Gingerbread Man]

I'd like to add my thanks for the chap who flew over Newark on the 10th. Always very moving and great to hear as well as see :ok: .

Ginger ;)

[scan]

Chaps a few LL passes over Sleaford on your way home would not go a miss. The wife loves the sound of those Merlins!:D

[bwfg3]

Sleaford is difficult because of the north airfield at Cranwell, but I ve recovered via holdingham at times. Last trip on the Lanc for me on Sunday, so the jolly scotsman should get a fly by at about 3.45.

[scan]

Thanks bwfg3 we'll be out in the garden:ok: