pilots flys aircraft under bridge..(Merged)

[Bluebaron]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3043308.stm

nuff said....;)

[VectorLine]

Dangerous, foolish............


But very cool!

[Zlin526]

Obviously the latest craze......

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3043308.stm

A CAA spokesman said:

"We are aware of the incident and it is being dealt with by the police.

Was the fact that these pilots were Spanish anything to do with the decision by the CAA & Police not to do anything? Maybe the fact that they just wouldnt turn up for a court hearing?

54ft high bridge, must have been quite sporting!!

Anyone know any good structures in the south east? I've always fancied having a crack under the Dartford Bridge....

Zlin

[AlanM]

And they are NOT being prosecuted they say..... why the **** not?

The CAA spend fortunes taking zone infringers to court who (ok foolishly) get lost in the LCTR. Then let these jokers off who deliberately break the rules.

WTF is going on?:*

[kinsman]

How times have changed! Still I guess it was foolish but no one was hurt! I have far less time for those who get lost in the London TMA shows a distinct lack of skill!:D :D :D

[TimS]

"hats and goggles" in a 152/172 (picture is little small) !!!!

I remember flying into Brough many years ago and the temptaion to fly under the bridge they were building adjacent was nearly more than I could resist - if I had my goggles, maybe a different thing !

(edited 'cos I hate sloppy Punktchewation)

[ReginaldSpotter]

AlanM

I agree - this is exactly why the EU will never work.
Yes there are rules for everything but the UK is the only country that enforces them with great gusto - but only on its own citizens.
Its exactly the same with speeding. Do it France and its fine on the spot or car conficated. EU citizens caught speeding in UK are told to go home and hopefully come back later and pay the fine:hmm: :hmm:

Looks like this is much the same.:ok:

[Flyin'Dutch']

RS,

I have always suspected it but you have just confirmed it!

All Brits are godfearing and lawabiding citizens and all foreigners are 'bandits'

Yah yah.

On the spot fines abroad work the same for whatever nationality you are, as do camera witnessed offences. You will 'get away' with them even if you are a Brit.

Vis-a-vis flying I think that it is just as well that the DGAC has a seemingly laidback approach to the misbehaviour of some pilots of these shores. As has been lamented on these pages before there is quite a bit to moan about regarding legality and airmanship even when one does not look further than Le Touquet on a sunny day!

Come on mate, keep wearing those pink tinted glasses and pop the anti-paranoia pills!

;)

Great Britain is great, but it ain't Nirvana and angelic wings are not standard issue to its inhabitants.

FD

[ReginaldSpotter]

FD
"All Brits are godfearing and lawabiding citizens and all foreigners are 'bandits'"

I think you need some of the anti paranoia pills !!

If you stop and read it very carefully you will see it was not aimed at advocating the angelic british public but against the British bureaucracy.
As far as the EU law enforcement is concerned you will find it very different between almost anywhere in EU and UK.
On the spot fines are not used in UK but are very much so in France ( from experience !!) and certainly the UK points system is not applied to any EU licence

[Flyin'Dutch']

RS,

In your original post you make 2 statements:

1. That the UK enforces law more vigorous than any of the other EU countries and does so only for its own citizens.

If true I think this is something you can hardly blame the EU for.

2. That France has on the spot fines for speeding. For your information, these also exist in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Spain. These are applied to speeding and other traffic offences to the perpetrator, regardless of country of origin.

Again that there are no on the spot fines in the UK is not down to the EU.

May be we can get these things streamlined once the US of E are fully established and we have done away with the 'sovereign' parliaments in the memberstates, pay with euros, drive on the right side of the road and have a proper president.

:D

The paranoia that some people have about Europe makes me smile. This entire thread had nothing to do with Europe at all. The alleged perpetrators in this incident may well have not come from these shores, who knows.

But does this make the matter worse or better? The person in the TB was, and the helo driver likely was. Are they spending the rest of their days in the dungeons in Warwick Castle? No!

Mate of mine found himself in CAS abroad last year, the country in which this happend wrote to the CAA who in turn wrote to my mate. He was asked to explain what had happened which he did. He got a letter with a request never to do that again and a telling off and that was it.

So give those dark specs a rub, and brighten up.

Thanks for the pill offer but I think I'll decline.

;)

FD

[javelin]

TimS,

Many moons agao, as said bridge was nearing completion, a friend of mine said he was going to fly under it. Next week, he came back rather agitated. He had flown under said bridge alledgedly, however as he approached it he noticed at the last second, there were loads of guy ropes still dangling from the deck. Fortunately, the apparent wingspan contracted at the same rate as his sphincter and all was well :\

[paulo]

And for those of you of who haven't seen it, here's Jurgis Kairys and one of the ten bridges of Vilnius he did a few years ago.

1.4mb video...

"Proceed Inverted. Not below 4ft." (http://www.haute-voltige.com/videos/kairys.mpe)

(There was a fine. For illegal cigarette advertising :) The then Lithuanian prime minister, an ex aerobatic champion himself, took pity and paid the fine for Kairys.)

[Tartan Giant]

AlanM

I am with you in what you say......weel said.....WTF is going on !

The CAA have an email from me which demands a logical reply as to why the PIC was let off Scot-Free.

There is NO excuse for this clown to be sending two-fingers at the CAA (much like Prescott at No10 !).

If they want to play silly-******s then I think Spain has some pretty fancy bridges.........risk a prang and expense in their own back-yard.

Letting off the B727 Stansted high-jackers must be a reportable disease.

TG

[bush]

Will somebody please explain what's so dangerous about flying under a bridge.

[farefield]

Flyin Dutch,

You've gone completely off at a tangent and I'm not surprised RS cannot be bothered to reply.
You are the one whose took this thread down the EU route no-one else.RS was not being anti EU he was being anti bureaucracy in the UK.Unfortunately you let your prejudices show and look a bit daft for it.

[turnoffthepapis]

well Bush, under the bridge inverted will aid whiskey spillage!!:mad:

[Heliport]

Some superb old photographs of an intrepid pilot flying under bridges along the Thames in 1930 and again in 1953 .

Click Mad Major. (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=94400&referrerid=30158)

He's flying a fixed-wing, not a helicopter, so thought the pics might be of interest to you.

Heliport http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung/aktion/action-smiley-085.gif

[used2flyboeing]

They were'nt prosecuted because they were wearing kilts & had their square & compass rings on ..

This was recently done in Paris - right under the Eiffel TOwer - didnt realize it was that high but it surely is !

[Flyin'Dutch']

Hi FF,

I leave it to you to assume why RS hasn't posted back........

Following your comments I have reread my posts but can not find any prejudices in them.

May be you can enlighten me on what prejudices I have. Always keen to learn. We don't want to look silly, do we?

Can I suggest you read the posts in chronological order (that is the time-order in which they appear). You can probably see that the EU was dragged into this debate by someone else.

Of course I agree with you that the EU matter is a tangent; if you reread the exchange of emails you may appreciate that this was the essence of my postings.

Have fun!

;)

FD

[QDMQDMQDM]

The 'Mad Major' flew his Auster under all the Thames bridges bar one, I believe, in the early fifties and got a short ban and a five quid fine or somefink like that. He did it to prove that people weren't washed up at 50. Them were the days. Fancy the link road bridge at Bideford myself -- it would be a doddle.

On the CAS infringement issue, heard some poor sod being told off by London Information yesterday for infringing Luton airspace and then being told to take down a phone number and that action would be taken against him. Honestly, punitive action just makes you want to turn off the transponder and keep stumm. It's counter-productive.

David

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

Flying under bridges is illegal, but if it's a high bridge with clear approaches, it's not dangerous. I'd love to do it at Barton and Thelwall, among others, but some sourpuss would report me :~(

SSD

[Tartan Giant]

Readers may be surprised to learn that I have been reliably informed that, the CAA has no powers of prosecution in Scotland, Isle of Man or the Channel Islands for even proven breaches of the ANO.

News to me, but then the law is an ass.

I hope somebody, somewhere fills in that stupid hole !

TG

[mad_jock]

This is very true about Scotland they have to go through the Proc Fiscal and there is no way round it unless they completely change the legal system in scotland.

And the Proc's and Judges seem to think that dealing with drug dealers etc has far more weight than flying issues. And from personal experience seeing a local case the Proc's don't take kindly Gatwick telling them what to do.

MJ

[gasax]

Nothing like a few people having fun to bring out the comments!

I know the bridge well, and those who have watched the video will see it is pretty easy to fly under, no cables, clear approach and departure. No drama at all. All credit though to the Mad Major!!

Of course it is illegal - largely on the basis of not wanting aircraft to frighten the horses or the general public. Is it dangerous? Only if you are an appalling bad pilot.

Does the law have much better things to spend money on? No of course not!! (right).

Surprised we haven't heard some councillor suggesting radar controlled cameras under the likely sites so they can fine people - just like speed cameras.

The reason this all got into the media is the potential spoof regarding the Skye bridge (the clan Sikorski's homeland) and of course the 'accidently' shot video of the event - which lets face it makes good TV. Nothing contentious, but really good pictures.

Suggest we might all be better occupied in reviewing the somewhat more reasonable second go by the CAA on revising the 500 foot rule?

[pontius's pa]

If I remember tomorrow, I will come back with the story of a Hunter, Tower Bridge and I think toilet rolls and a pilot whose initials may or may not be AP.

However, don't hold your breath. I do not come here very often.

But if I do, there's always Menai Bridge.

Sorry, had a few,

Good night!!

[Negative 'G']

SSD,

As for Barton bridge, How about an "accidental" EFATO on climbout from 14, after all Chippys are known to have the odd misfire or two after a long taxi :D:D:D !!!!!!!!
I wonder how many have gone under the wires after a 27 departure ?

Welsh folklaw has it that several brave aviators have conquered the Menai bridge which connects Angelsey to the Mainland, the last being not too long ago in a very distict Cessna 310........Allegedly of course :D:D:D !!!!!!!!!

Neg G :D

[yellowperil]

personally I blame the bloke with the video camera; it's clear he was encouraging the pilots, and says so himself:

"I really enjoyed it, I'm quite into planes."

-CAA agent provocateur?!?

[ratsarrse]

Just saw this on www.avsim.com:

Bridge Stunts With Scotflight Scenery

Posted: Monday, July 7, 2003 - 17:43
From John Farrie of Visualflight. "Following the recent spate of spectacular and dangerous bridge bridge stunts in Scotland, in which two Spanish pilots both flew their aircraft under the 54' high Ballachulish Bridge in Scotland, and an as-yet unidentified helicopter pilot twice flew under the 100' high main span of the Skye Bridge crossing, Scotflight Scenery author Iain Gallacher has worked flat out to add Ballachhulish Bridge to the forthcoming version 1.1 of Scotflight Scenery in addition to the Skye Bridge crossing already added to version 1.1 by co-designer Iain Murray and well over a dozen Scottish bridges already included in version 1.0. Now, instead of risking life and limb, not to mention possible loss of license, pilots can indulge in these dangerous activities from the safety of their own home. According to designer Iain Gallacher, Scotflight Scenery users will be able to attempt to recreate the flights of the Spanish pilots as captured on video, or try their hand at flying beneath many other Scottish Bridges, including the Forth road and rail bridges. Scotflight Scenery version 1.1 is due to be released imminently, and will be free to existing users (with a small charge for anyone wanting to upgrade on CD). It is fully expected to be compatible with FS2004. This will be confirmed when the final release version of FS2004 is available."

[VFR800]

Fantastic,

Who cares if they're spanish or not, in this weird, PC and conformist world we live in, it's good to see some guys putting a couple of fingers up at authority, lighten up dudes! :D

[juswonnafly]

I've always fancied flying under the old Severn Bridge.............

and then flying along the length about 50ft above the road surface.............

and finally a loop over and under...............

(when I give up flying............;) )

JWF:D