Light twin over SW London 25May
 

A light twin (Seneca?) was flying a somewhat random track low over Surbiton/Kingston this afternoon (c14:25Z); a rather unusual occurrence! Anyone any idea what it was doing?

The fuel bill is paid by taxes.....

To do what? I would have expected my taxes to be funding something a little more up to date!

Not unusual at all.

Well I have to say I don't recall a PA34 buzzing around these parts at 1000ft or so many times before!

Construction related aerial photography. I regularly get an email from the photographer concerned to say he will be in action over London on a particular day, any projects we'd like captured; got one earlier this week. If you look closely you'll see the rear door is absent. He always uses a Seneca.

Presumably this one, often to be seen doorless and in action yesterday:

http://www.airport-data.com/images/a...578/578782.jpg

Aerial Photography / Flight Charters - Stapleford Flight Centre

That's the beastie. They do joy rides over London with it as well I believe, presumably with the door in place! Think they have two or three.

Thanks Treaders, that was indeed the aircraft I saw; she seems to be quite a venerable old lady! And the mission explains some of the more 'interesting' manoeuvres over Kingston...

But Wonderbus: I don't understand why ? It seems to be a normal commercial operation.

My mistake, I was confusing it with another aircraft that does surveillance bits and pieces for the police, usually overhead London.

Used to be a Seneca doing the 'Flying Eye' bit for various radio stations sussing out traffic jams etc years ago, so it's nothing new.

OK thanks Wonderbus for clarifying. I think I know the one you mean; it's a bit greyer and usually about 9000 feet higher!
And I well remember the "flying eye", but that was eons ago...

And which from time to time gets captured on Heathrow's WebTrak system:

http://www.avgen.com/Surveillance%20...%20WebTrak.jpg

In fact G-FLYI which was the 1972 Seneca Cabair operated for the twice daily Capital Radio broadcasts from Elstree is still flying. Biggin based I believe and seen around Kent and the SE coast quite regularly. G-FLII, the GA7 used later was deregistered a few years ago. Happy days.

G-FLYI is indeed at Biggin these days. Recall Bryan Wolfe doing the spotting way back and I believe Spencer Flack did the flying on occasion.

Anyone know why/when it stopped? Economics, traffic (increasing LCY ops must have had some effect?), or simply overtaken by the march of technology?

No doubt due to cameras on every corner, thousands of unpaid 'correspondents' texting/phoning/tweeting incidents and accidents in near real time. Wasn't there some bloke called Russ(el) ? flying or commentating from the Capital Radio steed back then ?

As an aside there was a pretty noisy twin doing many circuits over the capital a few days ago at the higher altitude mentioned earlier, notable in the respect that it was very obvious compared to it's Bembridge brethren. It looked like a PA31 and that would make it one of those that fills in, as it were.

For some sort of "event" years ago Capital allowed the SVFR Director at Heathrow to talk "on-air" for a minute during the traffic session. I rang my wife and told her to listen and she warned our sons. The SVFR Director's contribution was something like: "Hi Nic and Roly. I just beat your Dad at snooker!!" Mad days....

I believe competitor radio LBC had a helicopter for a short while, operated from Stapleford (the Capital aircraft came, I seem to recall, from Elstree).

Bryan Wolfe, for all that he seems to have come from an acting/entertaining background, certainly seemed to know his stuff about aviation, some of it came out on the radio programme, and he was also a choice for commentator at a few weekend airshows I recall. Either he was a closet aviation buff or very well briefed.

I also recall Bryan Wolfe having just taken part in some charity race which ended up flying from Singapore to Heathrow, the next day he referred to others taking BA or QF, but he said he had won by flying SQ and having some "good friends" in ATC looking out for the flight, and giving them a straight in - but not the others :).

Regarding light aircraft over London, there was a Cessna 172 operating out of Blackbushe doing multiple loops between LCY and Central London at about 1900 today (Sat 28/5), above the Heathrow inbounds, climbing slowly under full power (so it sounded from the ground) at about 9,000 feet. Was there a skydiving drop somewhere around Hyde Park ? Is a single OK for that ? (Land Clear Rule ? Yeah, engine failure, stick it in the Thames).

As far as I remember, the LBC helicopter was an Alan Mann A109 operating out of Fairoaks with Mastermind winner Fred Housego doing the 'spotting' and talking.

I can't find any report of a Central London skydive yesterday, and the flight profile of the aircraft involved (G-BNYA) doesn't really fit that mission - it was airborne for around two and a half hours, including about 35 minutes at FL90 then another hour at low level meandering back to Blackbushe or perhaps to its base at Popham.

Nor can I find any photos of the aircraft in question with its door removed for skydiving (it's very tricky, though not impossible, to jump from a C172 with the door in place for obvious reasons).