heavy turbo prop
 

Just popping out to the car today and saw a magnificent billowing white contrail with four discrete elements, a rarer sight in todays T7 A330 dominated world. Intrigued by the unusual routing , SW-NE sort of track (Sampton to Brookmans Park ?) and having the binos to hand I looked closer and saw it was a 4 engine TP just as the heavy droning sound set in. All while underneath and I think Antonov not Herc but was making a decent rate of nots and as i said elaving a spectacular trail against a brilliant blue sky.
i thought these veterans were being phased out of European skies , anyone know what it was and what route it was , as i said the SW -NE intrigued me.
Tks PB

There's still a large number of AN-12s operating in Europe.

Mosty of the UK's chemi-trail fleet are still old turboprops due to shocking under-investment by successive governments...

PDR

The only Antonov that has showed up on Mode S today was a Polish AF An-28, which is a much smaller twin, so it wouldn't have been that.

Without wishing to cast aspersions on your aircraft recognition, there were several C-130s around including a USN MC-130J and a RSAF C-130H, both of which have light-coloured undersides ... :O

84007 svf813 Lockheed C-130-H was another C130 Today near FAB (EGLF) 1545 GMT

http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/...psvbbigs5t.png

and SVF812 84004 about an hour earlier

May I proffer an A400M?

It does have a very distinctive drone when it passes over.

Believe I heard this this afternoon 4.30pm ish at a guess? I am to west of Southampton north of Bournemouth. I thought 'Antonov' but cloudy at time so couldn't see it. Haven't heard an A400M at high altitude yet, they tend to be low round here in the Bournemouth circuit.

Neither the Swedish C-130 nor the A400M fit the OP's description of "all white underneath".

Heard one near Woking about the right time but it didn't sound like a C130; much heavier, much deeper sound.
Couldn't see it due cloud.

Many Thanks to all.

Well no need to cast aspersions over my recognition skills, I have to admit my intial thought because of the chunky looking fuselage profile was herc but the noise and the rounded looking horizontal stabilisers made me think Antonov.

However as I live about 4 miles north of EGLF and saw it overhead at 1545 it has to be the Swedish AF C130 especially because looking at a picture of one in all white colour scheme it looked the part and it had painted on black stripes behind each engine which showed up clearly as it passed overhead. Also where ever it had come from it was on an appropriate route/heading to take it back home to Sweden.

Thanks again to all and it was a first for me to see one of these despite living in Sweden for a couple of years.
PB

Strictly speaking, the Swedish Hercs are light grey overall, but it was a sunny day so we'll let you off. :O

Incidentally a more detailed look at the Mode S log would suggest that SVF812 and SVF813 were less than 10 minutes apart, both at FL250 and presumably following the same route.

take this the right way Dave Reid because it is meant in an entirely complementary manner but there are very few posts I have made where you haven't been able to add a polite correction or some useful interesting additional info.

indeed what drew me to the subject of yesterdays post was the sheer brilliance of the white contrails against the blue sky and the fact that they were billowing out behind like steam engine smoke , a lovely sight. Probably the very cold atmosphere and the fact they were at FL250 not FL350 meant I was just getting a much better view of whats the norm but another 10000 feet up

Anyone know where they were coming from or did I miss that
PB

I do my best. :O

Yet more examination of the Mode S log reveals that both a/c (with the same mission callsigns as yesterday and about 25 minutes apart) were in UK airspace on 10th April, presumably outbound.

It may be coincidence, but those dates are consistent with this: Green Flag: enhancing mobility partnerships

Edit: Just found confirmation: https://www.facebook.com/LittleRockA...humbnail_video

Also on the 26th saw a formation of 3 Hercs and 3 Osprey heading west bound towards BCN. The combined drone of 18 turbo props did send some vibration through the house!

Its interestign to think that had the world not progressed beyond the turbo prop with the development of big fan jets just how much vibration noise we would suffer in locations like mine where I am pretty much underneath east west and north south airways.

i wouldnt mind as I love the turbo props distinctive drone but others.......
Again Dave R thanks for the info, if they were in Nevada probably routed back via Bermuda and or Azores and that would account for the track up from the SW quite nicely too.

I lived in Bermuda for a number of years and as well as being home to a squadron of P3s it had a couple of spooky USN C130s which i think maintained VLF radio contact with submerged boomer subs so the sound of four Allison TPs was a common one. Also a lot of C130s staged through there en route from the Lockheed facility in Georgia back to their homes with European and mid east airforces , just about every AF worth the name has Hercs except of course for the old Soviet bloc so there was often something interesting to see in transit since Kindley Field was very much a staging post for Atlantic ferries of all types.