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Interesting aircraft - what have you seen on your computer today?

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Interesting aircraft - what have you seen on your computer today?

Old 28th Feb 2023, 10:36
  #3541 (permalink)  
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I love the sound of AN-12s in the morning...
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Old 28th Feb 2023, 16:13
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For anyone interested….Exercise “Cobra Warrior” starts next week and is due to last three weeks! Exercise aircraft from several airforces, are currently assembling at both RAF Coningsby and Waddington. Recent arrivals have been Saudi airforce Typhoons into Coningsby along with associated C-130 and A330 flights taking place! Finnish a/f F-18’s should have arrived today as well. Tomorrow, (weds 01), there should be 2x Indian a/f C-17’s and an IL-78, (tanker version of IL-76) routing into Waddington. IL-78 should be dragging 5x Mirage 2000’s into Waddington…..these should all route up from the south!

Last edited by CHINOOKER; 1st Mar 2023 at 07:40.
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Old 28th Feb 2023, 16:25
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Forgot to mention in my previous post, that there are B-52’s currently operating out of Moron in Spain…..one of their first missions has brought two up over the UK, basically coming up from the southwest and routing via Shawbury/Leeming out over the North Sea and Scandinavia.

As i type this, one, callsign “Noble 21” is southbound over Carlisle fl270 returning to Moron.
Should be visible on both FR24 and Adsb!
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Old 28th Feb 2023, 17:29
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Originally Posted by CHINOOKER
As i type this, one, callsign “Noble 21” is southbound over Carlisle fl270 returning to Moron.
Should be visible on both FR24 and Adsb!
Yes, but unfortunately not visible to this Cumbrian resident's eyeballs due to 10/10 clag. Damn!
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Old 1st Mar 2023, 08:03
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Originally Posted by CHINOOKER
For anyone interested….Exercise “Cobra Warrior” starts next week and is due to last three weeks! Exercise aircraft from several airforces, are currently assembling at both RAF Coningsby and Waddington. Recent arrivals have been Saudi airforce Typhoons into Coningsby along with associated C-130 and A330 flights taking place! Finnish a/f F-18’s should have arrived today as well. Tomorrow, (weds 01), there should be 2x Indian a/f C-17’s and an IL-78, (tanker version of IL-76) routing into Waddington. IL-78 should be dragging 5x Mirage 2000’s into Waddington…..these should all route up from the south!
Aah! That explains the Saudi AF A330 that overflew my garden the other day Waddington-bound!
Thanx!
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Old 1st Mar 2023, 09:39
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Originally Posted by WHBM
Dozing somewhat at 3am this Sunday morning,
Continuing this insomniac trend, this time with my laptop chancing to be bedside, 3am last night there was a (very) distant overhead jet sound, a quick look showed it was actually a Turkish 787, TK183, routing Istanbul to Havana, Cuba, passing directly overhead at 38,000 feet and heading due west. That's even more surprising that its sound penetrates a house in London. Writing this at 10.30 in the morning, I see it is still not there yet, being currently off Florida. Another one that left some minutes before, Istanbul to Miami, which you would have thought would be on the same route, has taken quite a different track well to the north, passing over Germany and Scotland, but they have finally nearly converged.
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Old 1st Mar 2023, 14:03
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Originally Posted by CHINOOKER
Tomorrow, (weds 01), there should be 2x Indian a/f C-17’s and an IL-78, (tanker version of IL-76) routing into Waddington. IL-78 should be dragging 5x Mirage 2000’s into Waddington…..these should all route up from the south!
ADSB shows the Indian IL-78 to be currently abeam Napoli, so perhaps an approx 1730UTC arrival into Waddington?
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Old 1st Mar 2023, 15:22
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IL-78 just approaching Troyes, two B-52s making stately progress down the Western side of the UK after today's mission. Same way same day, one over Devon, the other the Lakes!
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Old 2nd Mar 2023, 11:22
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Old friends...

Nice to see Flight's old Seneca G-BACB trundle overhead a few minutes ago. If memory serves, I first saw it at the Greenham Common International Air Tattoo in 1976! Rarely saw it otherwise...

Also, Arrows G-FULL yesterday and G-DMCS earlier, both registrations I recall from 40 plus years ago.
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Old 2nd Mar 2023, 15:52
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Originally Posted by treadigraph
Also, Arrows G-FULL.
Ah, an old (in multiple senses) friend ...
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Old 3rd Mar 2023, 08:46
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Belgian F-16 hurtling north across the Channel towards Seaford and thereafter me... flight seems to have emanated from down near Albacete... Will I hear it if it holds its course?

A few miles east the other side of Biggin - passing over Wisbech and descending, looks like heading into Waddington or wherever Coronet Wotsit is being hosted.

Last edited by treadigraph; 3rd Mar 2023 at 09:02.
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Old 3rd Mar 2023, 18:33
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The Indian AF IL78 and the 2 C17's flew over London on their way back to India today and to say they took an eccentric route from Waddington would be an understatement. Friendly ELINT between friends ?? ;-)
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Old 3rd Mar 2023, 21:11
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I'm visiting my son in Comox BC and I saw my first RCAF CC-295 Kingfisher (CASA C-295) today, flying downwind in the Comox circuit.



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Old 6th Mar 2023, 08:35
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Pair of B-52s cracking NE over Cornwall/Devon border. Assume they'll do the same as last week and turn north up towards Scotland and Norway.

Out of interest, they always seem to fly missions at 27/28000'. Just wondered why, are they most efficient at that altitude or staying out of the way of commercial traffic? I did note one out of Barksdale last year which was up at 50000' (so it said), looked like it might have been an air test
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Old 6th Mar 2023, 12:28
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Incidentally, whilst reviewing the DHC-8 interception on Saturday, I noticed a Wideroe DHC-8 inbound Heathrow from Bergen - interesting curvy route down over Scotland and the west Midlands, followed by a couple of orbits between Woking and Farnborough, before joining the base leg for 27L. Not sure if the orbits were due to the shenanigans with the wayward aircraft or just because it wouldn't fit in with the usual holds at either Bovingdon or Epsom.
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Old 7th Mar 2023, 08:11
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A crystal clear day a few things about, but not a sniff of a trail to be seen.
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Old 12th Mar 2023, 11:44
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Guernsey registered Alouette blatting around to the west of me, sadly not close enough to see! Currently over Richmond Park, perhaps going sight seeing along the Thames...
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Old 13th Mar 2023, 15:57
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Interesting holding patterns around Heathrow around 6am or so this morning, usual places just somewhat agley... wind? Couple of go arounds in the mix and just had an Air India 787 transit overhead from Gatters to Heathrow, see he spent a while in the Biggin hold around 11am before diverting to Gatwick. Edit: see all the holds were busy then, assume fuel rather than wind a bit out of limits?

Edit: interesting - civvy Lynx heading vaguely this way, just passing Guildford. Think it belongs to the guy who has a Sea King... Looks like he landed somewhere just south of Dorking...

Last edited by treadigraph; 13th Mar 2023 at 16:27.
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Old 13th Mar 2023, 22:31
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FR24 currently shows a NASA WB57 out of Eilson AFB and heading north beyond Prudhoe Bay at 54,900ft. What an awesome old bird!
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Old 15th Mar 2023, 20:41
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AN-26 UR-CQZ droning away over me heading south.
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