How close to the tree were you standing?

Thanks Contactower

I was standing next to trees beside my house, so pretty sure about the height estimate at this point.

But I accept your point about estimating height over village; its about a third of a mile away... having said that if a/c was in level flight over house and it throttled back and lost height over village does that not suggest a lower altitude over village?

DH

If you're sure it really was that low, and you say you got the registration, if it's UK registred (G-Registration) then look it up in G-INFO (Google for it) and you'll get the owner's address.

I'd recommend a friendly approach (unless he or she keeps on doing it), noting all the comments about how hard it is to estimate height of an aircraft.

Well I've tried estimating heights, and I just can't do it.
So how about this?

• Spot the suspect aircraft
• Hold out your arm (length .62m in my case) = R1
• Measure the span of the aircraft against your index finger = S1
• Identify the aircraft (e.g. PA28, span=9.8m) =S2
• 500 ft rule distance (152.4m) = R2

Then S1/R1=S2/R2
=> S1=R1xS2/R2
As S1=500 feet (152.4m), then S1=4cm, as near as dammit
So if the span at arm's length is more than 4cms, then the PA28 is closer than 500 feet.
All I need to do now is calibrate my arm and finger against a PA28 at circuit height.

SD