Icare9
31st May 2009, 14:49
I've just been watching something heading from over north/Central London towards Heathrow from approx 15:20 to 15:30 when it passed out of my view.
There was a large long lasting contrail heading basically east west and I was watching some of the flights coming east out of Heathrow when I noticed a fairly bright white high altitude balloon shape "drifting" parallel to this contrail. If you can visualise a childish drawing of a yacht with a curved base, then invert it, that's the best description I can give, somewhat like an ice cream cone, but it was quite high and slow moving, not steady, but definitely in one direction.
A "straight wing" airliner crossed nearly overhead of it heading north east at about 15:25 and I would guesstimate that it was half the altitude of that airliner. it seemed to be behaving somewhat like a powered parachute wing.
I was a bit surprised that something like this was around the Heathrow zone as it looked "flimsy" and much slower than say a single engined light aircraft.
Anybody help with more correct details?
Otherwise I'll order a lot more bottles of that particular vino!!
There was a large long lasting contrail heading basically east west and I was watching some of the flights coming east out of Heathrow when I noticed a fairly bright white high altitude balloon shape "drifting" parallel to this contrail. If you can visualise a childish drawing of a yacht with a curved base, then invert it, that's the best description I can give, somewhat like an ice cream cone, but it was quite high and slow moving, not steady, but definitely in one direction.
A "straight wing" airliner crossed nearly overhead of it heading north east at about 15:25 and I would guesstimate that it was half the altitude of that airliner. it seemed to be behaving somewhat like a powered parachute wing.
I was a bit surprised that something like this was around the Heathrow zone as it looked "flimsy" and much slower than say a single engined light aircraft.
Anybody help with more correct details?
Otherwise I'll order a lot more bottles of that particular vino!!