Harrier at Cottesmore, 1600 today.
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Glad rag
It was not an RAF dog....It was my dog. Rabbits also scream.
Don't you worry your little head though....if you know much about the hare....you will know that 86KG of dog does n't stand a hope in hell! The one he dispatched was probably ill or aged. PREBAN!!!!
It was not an RAF dog....It was my dog. Rabbits also scream.
Don't you worry your little head though....if you know much about the hare....you will know that 86KG of dog does n't stand a hope in hell! The one he dispatched was probably ill or aged. PREBAN!!!!
Last edited by El Mirador; 26th Jan 2008 at 17:46.
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Forget,
The man you question is more than capable of speaking up for himself, but as he probably has better things to do on a Saturday night (unlike sad old me) may I be so bold as to answer for him.
You are very, very cold.
RNGrommits - a burger van? Don't eat all the profits
The man you question is more than capable of speaking up for himself, but as he probably has better things to do on a Saturday night (unlike sad old me) may I be so bold as to answer for him.
You are very, very cold.
RNGrommits - a burger van? Don't eat all the profits
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anotherthing.
Having checked Grommets profile/previous postings I'd say that I was spot on. 
The point I was making is that 'real' aircraft people never ever see spotters as 'sad weirdies'.
You are very, very cold.
The point I was making is that 'real' aircraft people never ever see spotters as 'sad weirdies'.
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His profile states his name and says that he is in the UK... how the hell can that make you think you are spot on in your assumptions?!!!!
You may have checked his profile/read other posts by him, but as I know him and used to work with him, I know you are very cold.
Nuff said about that, though I do think his comment about spotters would seem a tad harsh if you don't know him.
As a real aircraft person myself (at least I think I am... be interested to hear what you think makes someone a 'real' aircraft person), I think that quite a few of the spotters are very weird and I am far from alone in that assumption.
Note I say quite a few, because not all are weird, but quite a few are.... I mean FFS, how 'normal' is it to get a book, with the registration of every aircraft in the world once a year, then go through it crossing off the ones you've marked in the old list as having seen?
You may have checked his profile/read other posts by him, but as I know him and used to work with him, I know you are very cold.
Nuff said about that, though I do think his comment about spotters would seem a tad harsh if you don't know him.
The point I was making is that 'real' aircraft people never ever see spotters as 'sad weirdies'.
Note I say quite a few, because not all are weird, but quite a few are.... I mean FFS, how 'normal' is it to get a book, with the registration of every aircraft in the world once a year, then go through it crossing off the ones you've marked in the old list as having seen?
Last edited by anotherthing; 26th Jan 2008 at 19:30.
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post 26
Rabbits are not classed as game.
The reply was not directed at either you or your heavyweight (now in canine valhalla).
Believe me once heard never, never forgotten. Rifles only for me.
rgds
Glad Rag
The reply was not directed at either you or your heavyweight (now in canine valhalla).
Believe me once heard never, never forgotten. Rifles only for me.
rgds
Glad Rag
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My apologies Glad rag...If rabbits are anything to go by....I can imagine Hares screaming would be quite haunting. The one my dog caught was silent. He dispatched it quickly but it put up a poor fight. A hare in full flight could leave him for dust.
Dog was 37 iches at the shoulder and totally muscled. A heavyweight indeed but no fatty! ( not that you implied it , just some people can't visualise it)
Dog was 37 iches at the shoulder and totally muscled. A heavyweight indeed but no fatty! ( not that you implied it , just some people can't visualise it)
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As someone who also works at Cottesmore, I'm on Forget's side.
I find that there are plenty of "Sad Weirdies" in the Royal Naval Strike Wing hangar, who claim to 'work on' aircraft, but in reality, actually just create work for those that actually do work on aircraft
Flipflopman
I find that there are plenty of "Sad Weirdies" in the Royal Naval Strike Wing hangar, who claim to 'work on' aircraft, but in reality, actually just create work for those that actually do work on aircraft
Flipflopman
Hello all
First of all, the pictures are lovely.Second, as someone who was a spotter as a mere yoof and then grew out of it and got a job, fixing aircraft for a living,(I wanted to be inside the fence, not outside) I know that there are weirdos in the spotting game, just as there are in any other pursuit.I have always found it hard to understand why members of the spotting community don't make the effort to get into aviation, either by becoming pilots (civvie or military, PPL or CPL) or become mechs or become ATCOs or get a job in Ops or work on the ramp in a service capacity or even built one at home thru the LAA or go and fly a microlight..in other words, do anything except stare thru binoculars or jot down yet another reg or stand at the end of runways in the freezing cold.When I ask them, they always make excuses.Some are genuine; bad eyesight or gammy leg or scurvy or somesuch but, for the lovvajezus, there are ways and means if you want it hard enough.The next spotter who tells me he couldn't afford to fly, whilst listening to an expensive radio, staring thru expensive binoculars or telling all and sundry about his spotting holidays is going to get a toe up the hole.In my twenty years in the industry, I have met every emotion, from aviation workers, about spotters, from simple bemusement to outright contempt.The ones that provoke me the most, by the way, are the ones at Fly-Ins who trot up and down the flight line reading the regs and S/Ns into dictaphones, with scarcely a glance at the aircraft.
regards
TDD
First of all, the pictures are lovely.Second, as someone who was a spotter as a mere yoof and then grew out of it and got a job, fixing aircraft for a living,(I wanted to be inside the fence, not outside) I know that there are weirdos in the spotting game, just as there are in any other pursuit.I have always found it hard to understand why members of the spotting community don't make the effort to get into aviation, either by becoming pilots (civvie or military, PPL or CPL) or become mechs or become ATCOs or get a job in Ops or work on the ramp in a service capacity or even built one at home thru the LAA or go and fly a microlight..in other words, do anything except stare thru binoculars or jot down yet another reg or stand at the end of runways in the freezing cold.When I ask them, they always make excuses.Some are genuine; bad eyesight or gammy leg or scurvy or somesuch but, for the lovvajezus, there are ways and means if you want it hard enough.The next spotter who tells me he couldn't afford to fly, whilst listening to an expensive radio, staring thru expensive binoculars or telling all and sundry about his spotting holidays is going to get a toe up the hole.In my twenty years in the industry, I have met every emotion, from aviation workers, about spotters, from simple bemusement to outright contempt.The ones that provoke me the most, by the way, are the ones at Fly-Ins who trot up and down the flight line reading the regs and S/Ns into dictaphones, with scarcely a glance at the aircraft.
regards
TDD
Ah, but what about those who try to take photos through hangar office windows at 'Battle of Britain' days (or whatever the Thought Police require them to be termed these days).
Mind you, the lads at one RAF base were wise to this - and produced a splendid spoof chart showing the 'Sidewinder Programme' for the type they worked on. All sorts of spoof dates and notes - and able to be seen through the window. Several 'step ladder folk' were seen excitedly scribbling things into their notebooks!
Mind you, the lads at one RAF base were wise to this - and produced a splendid spoof chart showing the 'Sidewinder Programme' for the type they worked on. All sorts of spoof dates and notes - and able to be seen through the window. Several 'step ladder folk' were seen excitedly scribbling things into their notebooks!
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Sad weirdies? Not really; just enthusiasts and obsessives who enjoy looking, photographing or simply logging aircraft details. All part of life's rich tapestry.
blimey
(enjoying a very mellow Sunday morning
)
blimey
(enjoying a very mellow Sunday morning
)
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Note I say quite a few, because not all are weird, but quite a few are.... I mean FFS, how 'normal' is it to get a book, with the registration of every aircraft in the world once a year, then go through it crossing off the ones you've marked in the old list as having seen?
there are spotters and there are photographers, both are hobbies and theres no harm in either as far as I'm concerned
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I have been taking photo's of aircraft for over 30 years now and for a while worked within the airline business but I moved away from that after being made redundent.
One of the reasons for my work side being dumped was that it was quite annoying to be at Gatwick and seeing something I wanted to photograph but not being able to get anywhere near it because of work commitments.
At least now when I go to an airfield I can chase what I want without fear of being constrained by work.
As for weirdos, yes some are, but you get them in all walks of life.
One of the reasons for my work side being dumped was that it was quite annoying to be at Gatwick and seeing something I wanted to photograph but not being able to get anywhere near it because of work commitments.
At least now when I go to an airfield I can chase what I want without fear of being constrained by work.
As for weirdos, yes some are, but you get them in all walks of life.
Useful Spotters
There was once a Board of Inquiry in which the evidence given by spotters was very useful. The quality varied, but they saw the accident from many viewpoints.
At one extreme was the wife of the spotter, who was sitting knitting in the car until hubbie exclaimed "F***, look at that!" She did, and was able to describe what she saw in detail, but in domestic terms: the aircraft hit the big vertical blind at the end of the runway (= the barrier); there was a bang and a rectangular metal thing flew out of the aircraft and landed next to her - it was the size of a small fridge, but black (= the ejection seat).
The other end of the scale was the spotter who saw the crash, figured out the diversion airfield for the others still airborne, went there to see the recovery and the departures the next day, and testified accurately about details regarding both the accident aircraft and those at the other airfield.
There's often more to these people than just a long lens. If you work at an airfield where they gather, just try going and chatting to them every so often. It's good PR for the Service (whichever you belong to) and they may be useful to you one day.
The spotter I can't forgive was the one that sent me a rear view of myself climbing into the aircraft, showing me for the first time the advance of what one Chief Tech later described as my "Prince Charles toupé."
At one extreme was the wife of the spotter, who was sitting knitting in the car until hubbie exclaimed "F***, look at that!" She did, and was able to describe what she saw in detail, but in domestic terms: the aircraft hit the big vertical blind at the end of the runway (= the barrier); there was a bang and a rectangular metal thing flew out of the aircraft and landed next to her - it was the size of a small fridge, but black (= the ejection seat).
The other end of the scale was the spotter who saw the crash, figured out the diversion airfield for the others still airborne, went there to see the recovery and the departures the next day, and testified accurately about details regarding both the accident aircraft and those at the other airfield.
There's often more to these people than just a long lens. If you work at an airfield where they gather, just try going and chatting to them every so often. It's good PR for the Service (whichever you belong to) and they may be useful to you one day.
The spotter I can't forgive was the one that sent me a rear view of myself climbing into the aircraft, showing me for the first time the advance of what one Chief Tech later described as my "Prince Charles toupé."
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How come a thread starts by depicting some beautiful shots of a Harrier becomes an attack on so called weirdos. Who qualifies as being a wierdo anyway?
Rabbit squadron
Rabbit Squadron airborne :-)
(oops, I slipped into 'piece of cake' nostalgia mode there)
Alt' : bunnys trained to watch the wing tips maybe - saves Mod £££££
(oops, I slipped into 'piece of cake' nostalgia mode there)
Alt' : bunnys trained to watch the wing tips maybe - saves Mod £££££
there are spotters and there are photographers, both are hobbies and theres no harm in either
What about people who photograph spots though? Now they are really weird
What about people who photograph spots though? Now they are really weird
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Great shots of the Harrier! I was over in the UK for the first time a few months ago and hoped i'd see one - no luck! I did see a Typhoon and the red arrows though, cool stuff. All I see in my neighborhood is the aging (but not to say unloved or without character!) F111, very occasionally an F/A-18 Hornet. Maybe I should line up at the runway like a 'weirdie' and get some shots of my own 
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While spotters to the many ain't cool, how much would you wager the sign every petition that comes their way in support of the forces......?
How many kid spotters ended up joining the mob......??
how much did they help with funds for getting the Delta Lady back in the air?
How many kid spotters ended up joining the mob......??
how much did they help with funds for getting the Delta Lady back in the air?