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They all looked like they had been velcroed to the wall.
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That's like all the photographs you see of the AOC's visit to Air Traffic and all of the boys n girls are wearing their Number 1 jackets sitting at the console looking uncomfortable. I was very glad to escape to FEAF, and be able to wear out cheap clothes :D |
Anyone see tonight's programme. Didn't think it was so good as last week's, although it had its moments.
What an absolute prize tool that drone bloke was - definitely making a case for every drone in the country not in mil hands to be put in the crusher! |
What an absolute prize tool that drone bloke was - ...! I'm not sure the severely time-limited rush to change the alternator on a single-engine prop before launching it at Ascot was a smart move! Perhaps a rush to fix a racing car is do-able in F1, but surely it has no place in the world of aviation. |
Good to see one of my former instructors (John Griffin) still plying his trade on last nights prog!
It was however a bit a lacking in spectacle following the Typhoon and SAR antics in the first show. Bonhomme struck me as a bit of a primadonna aswell (although no doubting his flying skills). |
Anyone see tonight's programme. |
As a proponent of UAVs I was horrified by the "Drone" Muppet. How surprising that you should see an inconvenient helicopter when you've elected to fly that close to RAF Benson (Ewelme is very close to downwind for the main rwy) - so if he's allowed to 400' low level circuit traffic could get pretty adjacent.
Having been to a number of events, including some at the RAeS, this level of muppetry is exactly what the industry is trying to stamp out. Well meaning, but catastrophically under prepared, amateurs trying to make a "quick buck" by strapping cameras to UAVs - at least this guy had tried to get qualified - but the gulf in his expectation of what his qualification would entitle him to do and what it actually did re London was jaw dropping. PB did come across a little precious, but context is everything and I imagine he was in "race mode" with the juices flowing when the race day interviews were done (and doubtless the organisers like to stoke matters up a bit for PR). Away from the race he was far more measured and showed a strong desire to win - I can't criticise a guy for that. |
I never spoke to Ulster, tried to hand over a southbound Vulcan at FL410 to Midland one day... that didn't go away quietly. Me: " Binbrook recovery, fuel priority, 040, edge of the dive, squawking xxxx, VFR" Midland: "fine, throw him across, stud 5". Neglected to tell him he was at FL680 descending.... Last few weeks before Binbrook closed and everyone was seeing how high they could get. The opportunity was too good to miss. They weren't happy when he checked in though. Happy days. |
I'm not sure the severely time-limited rush to change the alternator on a single-engine prop before launching it at Ascot was a smart move! Perhaps a rush to fix a racing car is do-able in F1, but surely it has no place in the world of aviation. |
I'm not sure the severely time-limited rush to change the alternator on a single-engine prop before launching it at Ascot was a smart move! Perhaps a rush to fix a racing car is do-able in F1, but surely it has no place in the world of aviation. It can take longer to get the cowls off and on than to do the alternator change. |
IMO that episode was a great disappointment. Indeed, it's only from reading this thread that I can recall what my eyeballs saw last night. Somewhat shallow.
OK, I'm a BOF and orobably not the target audience. |
Well, I thought last night's programme was very good.
A well-balanced variety of airspace users; yes, the drone operator was rather naïve with some of his views, but at least he's now keen to work within the rules. Here's what's in the next episode: Beneath the Clouds Skies Above Britain Episode 3 of 5 For thousands of recreational pilots, uncontrolled airspace - the skies beyond commercial routes - are a place of freedom and adventure and for many, flying in them can become an obsession. Al Coutts and Willie Cruikshank are the Wildcats, two former RAF pilots who perform aerobatic stunts at air displays across the UK. With several recent tragedies at air shows, Al and Willy must finish their display season safely. Julia Foxwell is a champion skydiver who relinquished her crown after having her first child. Now she is juggling motherhood with an intense training schedule as she attempts to win again at the National Skydiving Championships. Pete Dolby has been flying balloons for over a quarter of a century - now he is attempting to fly Britain's first solar balloon, powered using just the sun's energy. The experimental balloon will be launched at Europe's biggest ballooning event - the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. Elsewhere, Ady Dolan, NATS air traffic controller at Heathrow, works the most congested and highly regulated patch of sky in the UK - the congested skies above the capital. |
I agree Beags, a very reasonable offering. I found the story of the two people getting airborne despite;
a). Severe physical limitations standing in the way of pilot training, and b). a morbid fear of flying getting in the way of paxing to the other side of the world to scatter a mother's ashes ...quite uplifting. Aviation programmes don't have to be all about rugged granite-jawed super heroes, though we were duly fed with a great chunk of that as well. I always appreciate programmes centred on the Air Traffic Services, and have always taken the opportunity to visit towers and centres alike when so offered. Likewise, I have also flown LATCC controllers on the jump seat for "liaison" purposes, though a lot of their liaison was with a bottle and 200, IIRC. :ok: Oh, edited to add that I was a bit surprised that the emergency exercise for controllers of a supposed explosive decompression was simulated by the trainer transmitting through his cupped hands into a boom mike. Why not wear a quick-don oxygen mask and speak through that mike for greater realism? |
SWMBO and I both thought the programme was poor - the first edition had lots of potentially good stuff ( SAR, Typhoon, LATCC etc ) but wandered all over the place with no continuity and a dreadful commentary. Too many shots of people's noses and hands, and 'bosses' wandering around trying to look important and busy.
From an ATC point of view shots of radar screens with no attempt to explain to the layman what they are looking at. It would only have taken a few minutes for someone to have stood in front of a screen describing what all the 'writing' means i.e. callsign, level, speed etc - and to explain some of the RT that could be heard. I know Swanwick ATCO son and D-i-L were not impressed - be interesting to see what their mate Steve Moore ( management 'star' last night ) thought. |
No ones ever going to make a programme that describes all the intricacies of ATC. It'd fascinate a minority and bore the majority to tears.
I didn't enjoy it as much as the first but then my interest in fear of flying courses, Red Bull air racing and flying with disabilities is low. I kinda fancy drone flying though. Wonder if I've missed the boat on getting a job doing that? |
Well, as the Red Bull racing was mentioned ... is the fairly built-up area around Ascot racecourse an ideal environment to be zooming around at high speed with 90º AOB at not-a-lot-of-feet? I hope [and indeed pray] that everything happens over the Golf Course to the NE, but somehow I doubt it - otherwise the crowds won't see much..
Doesn't that beg for a repeat of Shoreham, or indeed many other crowd-related incidents. And in this case, there's a swathe of residential properties bordering the racecourse. (Google Maps screenshot refusing to upload ... sorry) |
the drone operator was rather naïve with some of his views, but at least he's now keen to work within the rules. |
The drone guy struck me as a bit of a selfish narcissist to be honest, posting his daily life on YouTube no matter what and it followed through into his drone use. A cursory Google search would have told him that flying a drone anywhere near a public building, especially in the centre of London, is liable to result in you being asked if you're a terrorist at the very least, and as for flying it inside the Nat History Museum..... what a prat. Apart from the obvious dangers, who the hell wants a noisy bloody thing like that buzzing round a museum? Possibly the only thing worse than tourists taking pictures with full size Ipads, which is about as inconsiderate as you can get now. No thought for others seems to be an increasing disease these days.
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I enjoyed it but I admit I watched it with the 'filter' of thinking "this isn't aimed at those with an aviation background". If you look at it as the BBC attempting to entertain and educate those without such knowledge, it seems a good stab to me.
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Hi viz
I was trying to work why a drone operator needed the hi viz jacket. Was it in case he flew his drone into himself?
On a similar subject I noticed the mass ranks of Fleet Street's finest had to be so equipped to snap our returning Olympic medalists , who despite sharing the same tarmac , were not so equipped |
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