Aircraft Noise Last Night

[Draft Dodger]

I am a current airline pilot with 22000 hours and I do not think I am an idle speculator. This morning at 0130 I was awoken by the noise of an aircraft circling the area where I live. At first I thought that it was somebody on one of these small scooters with the two stroke engines that you can hear for minutes after they have passed. It was however an aircraft, it had navigation lights and an anti collision beacon. It circled for 20 minutes about the same point a though it was circling on a fix. As it approached I could just hear the beat of blades but for the rest of the time it sounded like the scooter. I guess it was a helicopter but from the scooter sound it seemed a very small one. I live in SE London near Croydon. Any Ideas

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Someone may give you an answer but Police helicopters are airborne very often during the night around London, sometimes for hours at a time.

[ground_star]

Does sound from the description like a Police chopper. Often the Eurocopter EC135's sounds like scooters from the ground, especially if they're in a hover.

[BetpumpS]

Police Helicopter circling Croydon at 01:30.

I thought you would be used to it as surely that happens every night :ok:

[Have briefs]

Draft dodger

Have a look here Air Operations - About Us - Surrey Police (http://www.surrey.police.uk/about/air_support.asp)

May explain your slumberus interruptus

[Draft Dodger]

Thanks HB absolutely spot on. The flight over my area is shown at 0115 maybe I slept through the first 15 minutes.

Regards DD

[magpienja]

Up here in the north west one police force has a remote control surveillance helicopter UAV quite small prob a form of 2 stroke, maybe they have em down south as well.

Nick.

[Yorky Towers]

Snorring could be the other alternative, 22000hrs only comes with age...and guess what...?:p

[treadigraph]

You are lucky Draft Dodger - at the other end of Riddlesdown we get the Met's EC145s which are more akin to pneumatic drills than scooters!

[dixi188]

Police helicopters are obviously a very useful tool but can be quite worrying sometimes.

A few years ago, where I live in rural Somerset, we had a police helicofter flying around one night at fairly low level shining its search light around the fields and buildings, including my sheds and stables.

Obviously looking for someone, but was it an armed robber or other un desirable, who might break into our house? ( I don't think my wife slept much that night)

It turned out, our local retired vicar had gone out with his dog, and the dog had come home alone.

The unfortunate chap was found dead the following morning.

[TJF97]

Count yourself lucky, I was in Florida last year and managed to get a "ride along" in a Sheriff's helicopter. They went to the scene of a burglary to search for suspects, lets just say that they havn't heard about the 500ft rule!!