Interesting aircraft - what have you seen on your computer today?
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Bradfield CO11 2XD
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Coming ahead to Monday Morning 2 x KC135s in close formation off the N.Norfolk coast 0830ish this morning ,58-0095 and 58-0100 and a 3rd one 59-1522 close by.There were also 2 x F15s in the vicinity. It looked like the pair of KC135s might have been refueling one another.Not been looking for any thing else today.
Visiting Sandringham Norfolk, its been real noisy from 7am to 7pm with a clear skies and nothing to see, sounds unmistakably like the roar of a F35 singleton but I might be mistaken, is this normal, what's going on?
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Nice fly past by S-76 G-XXEB this morning, labelled on ADSB as "TQF1" Presumably that should now be TKF1!
Lefty Loose, when I was up in Norfolk a month ago, plenty of F-15 and F-35, and probably Typhoon action audible but mostly not visible as noted several pages back, but I didn't see much of them sadly. And no V-22s came my way at all
.
Lefty Loose, when I was up in Norfolk a month ago, plenty of F-15 and F-35, and probably Typhoon action audible but mostly not visible as noted several pages back, but I didn't see much of them sadly. And no V-22s came my way at all
.
Grumman Wildcat G-KINL out of Duxford just flown east along the coast here at approx 7,000ft has now turned onto its reciprocal course - the unfamiliar sound made me pop out for a gander........
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Gnome de PPRuNe
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Think I heard that!
Walking across the playing fields opposite Croydon Airport, can hear the slap of Chinook. Blimey it's following the Thames at Fulham. Can hear it over noise of Purley Way traffic...
Walking across the playing fields opposite Croydon Airport, can hear the slap of Chinook. Blimey it's following the Thames at Fulham. Can hear it over noise of Purley Way traffic...
ADB3431 on WebTrak
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Into Stansted. Although it turned north a few miles west of me, sure it is what I heard around 1.30pm while I was in the bathroom. Quite a distinctive noise, forgot to check when I had finished my other business! 
Join Date: Oct 2009
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UR-82008 operating ADB3431, approached from the west over Farnborough and Woking, then turned NNE over West London, descending. Maybe into Mildenhall?
ADB3431 on WebTrak
ADB3431 on WebTrak
Of course I meant AN-124 showed south of Heathrow....
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Vaguely hear pistons over the noise of traffic, apparently an American registered Aerostar up in the Airways heading towards Dover. Wish I'd seen it, a favourite type, not seen one in donkey's years!
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Just caught a KC-130J 167923 SUMO76 taking off from Cambridge at 1135. Currently heading S over Reading at 25.000' Does the ASAF use Cambridge for maintainance ??
Marshalls have an MRO contract for the USMC's KC-130J fleet. I think half a dozen or so have been through there since the first one in December 2020.
Just out of interest, in case anybody might know, the Marshall's test pilots/engineers are the ones flying all the various MIL C-130;s that go through Cambridge every year agreed ? That being the case, it is probably likely that no civilian is allowed to fly MIL aircraft in many of these client country's Air Forces, correct ? That being the case, how does it work for anything more than static engine/systems testing ? Do the aircraft lose their MIL-status as soon as they go into Mx, or is there some other workaround ?
Just out of interest, in case anybody might know, the Marshall's test pilots/engineers are the ones flying all the various MIL C-130;s that go through Cambridge every year agreed ? That being the case, it is probably likely that no civilian is allowed to fly MIL aircraft in many of these client country's Air Forces, correct ? That being the case, how does it work for anything more than static engine/systems testing ? Do the aircraft lose their MIL-status as soon as they go into Mx, or is there some other workaround ?
In the case of the USMC C-130s, I'd be surprised if there was any requirement to fly the aircraft between its arrival and eventual departure.
Even heavy checks don't typically need an airtest - in the days when I was hands-on with such activities, the only such flights that I can recall were very occasional ones where a fault couldn't be reproduced on the ground and a memorable one (which I hitched a ride on) after a tailplane was replaced on a Viscount (which, for reasons I never understood, involved doing stalls and engine shutdowns, probably just because the crew couldn't resist the opportunity and I certainly wasn't about to shop them
).
Even heavy checks don't typically need an airtest - in the days when I was hands-on with such activities, the only such flights that I can recall were very occasional ones where a fault couldn't be reproduced on the ground and a memorable one (which I hitched a ride on) after a tailplane was replaced on a Viscount (which, for reasons I never understood, involved doing stalls and engine shutdowns, probably just because the crew couldn't resist the opportunity and I certainly wasn't about to shop them ).
).
Back to the civilians working on Military aircraft, in general i'm surprised that so many militaries allow their assets to be out of their sight/security notwithstanding Marshalls reputation and abilities. I get the economics and efficiency of such arrangements, but not the security issues/risks.
