Booker Shooting

[semirigid rotor]

Has anybody heard a rumour that a helicopter was shot at about a week ago, somewhere near Wycombe Air Park? I believe the police have arrested one person. If so, well done Thames Valley Police, but a worrying turn of events.

[irc1804]

Someone must have heard that Leon's name was put forward on the thread about a TV presenter/helicopter pilot :E a few weeks back.......................


And decided to take matters in hand ...........to spare us all !!!!:}

[chevvron]

I thought it went on all the time at Booker; there's a clay pigeon club on the north west corner of the airfield!

[paco]

This was someone from the noise sensitive area who put a round through the stabiliser. Leon is getting missiles fitted.......:E

[4ero]

The cops must have just asked the local gunsmith if anyone had been in to buy a silencer

Noise sensitive and psychopathic what a terrible combination. Another fool spoiling it for everyone. This must result in a jail sentence.

[iainms]

Should I sit on my helmet from the Golden Ball to Xray ?:eek:

[206 jock]

Please tell me it was this idiot:ok:

Helicopter Noise Coalition - Home (http://www.helicopter-noise.org.uk/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1)

Interesting poll numbers now:D

[Need money]

You sure he wasn't just shooting at those pesky squirrels ! ;)

[Heli Teli]

Need Money

Would that be twin or single????:D
HT:ok:

[topendtorque]

You sure he wasn't just shooting at those pesky squirrels ! ;)


bloody 'ell, someone better slip round real quick and make sure me ol' mate nigelh is all ok.

[semirigid rotor]

Joking apart guys and girls, this is kind of serious.
I believe (just a rumour), that the person arrested was something to do with an anti noise coalition against Wycombe Air Park.
Did the moron not think that if the helicopter crashed (due to the pilot being shot) it just might be on top of somebody completely innocent?
If nobody is prosecuted, what kind of message does that send out to the anti everything league?

[birrddog]

There is enough on the telly these days as it is that make me throw up without any additional assistance!

[flight beyond sight]

The incident is under the control of the Thames Valley Police. They will make an announcement once their investigations are complete. It is important to realise that the matter is being taken very seriously and could carry a life sentence. And just in case you're interested, A109C now sporting two bullet wounds, from a high powered rifle.

[ShyTorque]

There is a silver lining to any cloud. Hopefully the actions of this criminal idiot will now make locals think twice about how they associate with the anti-noise lobby.

[Need money]

OK my apologies for the joke - and I understand A109 now NOT sporting any holes...was all fixed asap

[Taff Missed]

I see that 69.1% of voters haven't had a noise event. You don't think that people from this forum would go onto the site and vote that way do you??:E

T

[Agaricus bisporus]

from a high powered rifle.

Fabulous, even legendary journalistic nonsense-expression, isn't it?

To the media, rifles are always "high powered", aren't they?

Anyone ever seen a press report of a "Low powered rifle"? After all, no one here uses pipsqueak little pop-guns like .22s, do they?

Pavlov rules, OK?

(Let's face it, they'd be reported as "bullet holes from a high-powered rifle" even if they'd been made by an air gun or a catapult!)

[MartinCh]

I'd suggest police plant some covert agent into the group.
This is getting serious. People shooting at aircraft? That's terrorism.
Don't we have some first-hand experience of doing so in the past?
USA should show the UK police how THEY TREAT such cases.

Joking OK if nobody hurt, but could have been.

That :mad: doesn't realise if he (or she?? to be equal gender opportunities to be violent psycho) actually made the chopper enter some emergency procedure he in theory might see his big yard as the only possible auto/emergency landing spot and thrash his house? Or his family's.

[minigundiplomat]

We are always looking for new areas to test the miniguns.......:E

[SASless]

With all the gazillion hours of flying by helicopters in the UK and one takes two hits....what's the beef about? It is a very remote chance of occurrence is it not?:E

[mickjoebill]

Would the pilot hear/sense/feel the round impact the aircraft?

Asks he who was born in an age where others fought the wars.


Mickjoebill

[SASless]

MJB,

That question is more pertinent than one thinks....unless the rounds impact something of stoutness....such as main beams, or other heavy duty structural members....perhaps not. The distance between the point where the round impacts and the pilot also plays a role in whether it is felt/heard/recorded.

That being said....when a .51 Caliber round removes the pedal from under ones foot....trust there is no doubt that it has passed through the cockpit! However...there can be great uncertainty as to exactly what has occurred despite there being no doubt it is not for the good!

[amostcivilpilot]

Published on their web page :rolleyes:

Anti-helicopters? How can we be? When we saw sturdy Sea Kings and their winchmen hauling the elderly and infirm from their flooded Gloucestershire homes in July 07, we could only applaud. Truth is, these essential flights are a minority of rotary-winged movements.

If only they were silent.

Our embryonic website is attracting registrations from noise-affected communities across the UK. See also www.wapag.org.uk (http://www.wapag.org.uk) for our local action group.

"If only they were silent" :mad:

I trust that any of the muppets who support this sort of NIMBY drivel, anywhere, would not complain if Crab and Co. and his Naval and Coast Guard colleagues came thundering along to haul them off the top of their roof or if they happen to get stuck on a hill while out walking in less than favourable weather :ugh:

While there are a minority of pilots who fly without regard for the general populous and tarnish us all with the same brush I would firmly believe that the vast majority of helicopter and fixed wing pilots try to be as non intrusive as possible and fly as considerately as they can to reduce their noise foot print.

I know from experience when I was originally learning to fly (fixed wing) at Weston Aerodrome in Dublin in the early 80's that the great Darby Kennedy made sure that we all understood the necessity for being considerate to his neighbours with their stud farms, cattle farms and the local, then small village on the approach to runway 25. Woe betide anyone who infringed the rules!

Then developers started to build a new housing development at Leixlip within a mile or so to the 25 threshhold. And as usual as soon as the houses were occupied the noise complaints, etc started :confused:

Weston is an excellent example of a small rural airfield that has managed to survive being encroached on and if you check out their web page there is a major emphasis on their Fly Neighbourly Programme:

Weston Executive Airport Dublin, Helicopter, Jet Airport Dublin, Ireland, Citywest Hotel (http://www.westonairport.com/index.aspx)

Good luck to all at High Wycombe :ok: I had a very pleasant week there in September with Mike Green at Helicopter Services.

And hopefully the police will throw the book at the idiot with the rifle!

AMCP

[Whirlygig]

hopefully the police will throw the book at the idiot with the rifle!They'd love to, I'm sure but, as I understand it, they have no evidence to convict him. Like Macavity The Mystery Cat, he wasn't there and has "an alibi".

Cheers

Whirls

[Need money]

I wonder if they tried to turn away the air ambulance that landed within the Booker Zone some 6 months (maybe 12) or so ago to rescue the rider thrown from a horse in their "neighbours" paddock ?

[FairWeatherFlyer]

After all, no one here uses pipsqueak little pop-guns like .22s, do they?

A good summary of typical rifle use in the UK,

Stock Exchange Rifle Club London and Bisley Shooting (http://www.serc.org.uk/Shooting.html)

And perhaps there is an element worth conveying, e.g. 308 vs 22,

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Rifle_cartridge_comparison.jpg

when a .51 Caliber round removes the pedal from under ones foot

I hope your first action was an immediate weight and balance recalculation :)