what happened at a nature reserve?

[airborne_artist]

"In the context of the Internet, a troll is a person who makes inflammatory or comments, which by effect or design cause disruptions in discourse, or a post made by such a person. "

[PlasticCabDriver]

I shall make the assumption you are not a troll. So:

does this sort of thing still happen?

No. As Jacko so rightly (if maybe a little pointedly) pointed out, it does not. Reckless flying and indiscipline is stamped on ruthlessly, we do not have enough pilots or aircraft to allow them to crash because of "pranks" and "hedgehopping".

was on the edge of low-flying area 31h recently, and observed raf pumas at approx 20-40ft over a nature reserve, flying through clouds of birds, including swans, which could have got into the rotors and affected pilot control. the helicopters were facing towards the viewing hides at that point, and there was a mum and toddler in one of those hides.

Pilots of all kinds have a distinct aversion to flying through flocks of birds, especially ones the size of swans. It does happen, but not through any intention on the part of the pilot.

20 - 40ft? Are you sure? How did you judge this? Were you looking down on them or up at them? Were you looking into sun or down sun? How far away were they? Do you know what manouevres or exercises were being carried out at the time? As Tigermate says above, these are not prohibited heights for rotary.

I'm sure the crews are very sorry that they failed to see and avoid the mum and toddler who were hidden inside a camouflaged hide.

are sssi's (nature reserves) featured on pilots' maps?

No, they are not, unless they are large and of national importance(Slimbridge/Caerlaverock etc). There are hundreds if not thousands of SSSIs and small nature reserves all over the country, many of which are just a few hundred yards across, if that. Rotary crews fly on maps which are roughly 5 nautical miles to the inch, FW crews use 10 Nm to the inch. If every little site with a few pretty butterflies was put on the maps, they would be unusable.

what happens if a swan gets in the rotors

It gets mushed.

is there anything i can do to politely inform aircraft training centres of the risk to pilots

No, believe me we are aware of the risks, we do this every day.

birds

No

birdwatchers

No

toddlers

Don't let them near the AT/Nimrod crews, they will probably get eaten.

mums

Don't let them anywhere near crewmen, they will get pregnant again.

however i'm only interested in seeing that it doesn't happen again, and i'm not interested in how the mod deals with the staff/students concerned, and don't expect to be told that kind of detail.

Sorry, it is likely to happen again. You don't say where you actually were, but if it is out in free airspace, at some point an aircraft is likely to come your way again.

from what i hear, i now understand that the problem is systemic: the maps and regulations are apparently there; however from where i stand, it appears that there is room for improvement in the way they are being used, at least by some departments.

What did you hear? How are the crews and "departments" concerned misusing the maps and regulations? I say again, even if the helicopters were at 20 - 40', that is not necessarily an infringement. It depends on what they were doing, which you do not know.

one reason why i posted my question was that i was interested to understand the mindset of those people who had risked causing distress or an accident. i still cannot be sure whether it was a prank, but i am beginning to wonder whether poor training had something to do with it.

Please don't go there or I shall stop being polite.

[OKOC]

malthouse love if ive dun my summs right and your dad was a b o b pilot that makes you about 65+. insted of takin the mik and botherin profeshional folks here with your half arsed hairbrained nonsense about which you clearly know nowt (as ar believe they sey in yerkshure) a visit to't herdressers to top up yer blue rinse may give yer moure satisfaction please exsuse lack ert gramma but a really think all them commas an that are a waste a paper an time an thaaat an a visit ter yer local librery an reeding books wot is ritten in inglish with gramma anall that bollocks proves wot av alus thought gramma is fer poofs luv am really sorry if thas really old an serious but a just cant believe it a thaut an still do think that yer aving a laff an yer fromt yerkshire poast an looking fert story abart somat cos yer editas afta yer fer some kopy. Soory that fullstop were a mistaike. lol ps swans andt other birds should stay ont nest whent pumas are wazzing abart aving a laff ant showin off tert girlfriends an that;an why shudn't the if the want to once thev escaped off trainging course thev got ter let ther haire down cos ifvthe dont then somat serious mite hapen. pse note all spelin mistackes are FD dislocksia induiced.

[speeddial]

My guess is this is related to the Yorks CND bunch ooop norf with nothing better to do than try and find something wrong with the agreed and legal operations of their military forces who protect their freedom as well as assist in relief operations.

Even using the Internet I am willing to bet money that any 65+ granny cannot tell the difference between a puma and merlin based on a visual overflight sighting and Internet images only.

I'm bored of typing now.

[Pontius Navigator]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VLYpKGVBUg

i think granny is the one on the right although it could be the left











there's nowt so queer as folk


and then there's Yorkshire.

[Jackonicko]

Who frightened granny away?

I had a third stage of diplomacy to demonstrate.....

[Archimedes]

Would that be the one that the House is voting on today?

[speeddial]

Just to put a couple more turns on the wind up....why are the house voting on something which they actually know very little about the value of?