Partenavia I-VICC flights over Manchester
 

Anybody know the reason for all the P-68B flights over Manchester, I take it this is some form of surveillance going on here .

Best guess for HS2 or for improvements at junction 19 M6...

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....11da3f02e0.jpg

Nice view of the belly camera port.
'aeronike.com', specialists in aerial mapping

Amazing how many different nationalities are involved in the mapping and other survey work over the UK - apart from our home based fleets, I've noted Danish, French, Dutch, Swiss, German, American and now Italian registered aircraft...

Survey ≠ surveillance.

You want an Islander for the latter. :O

I thought 'they' had privatised the round and round stuff in the last 2 years ?

I'm more impressed that the survey flights are operating today as it's a bit breezy to say the least! Those gusts must play havoc with the calibration of the grid patterns required.

Shhhhh! Don't tell everybody! (It's noisier than the Cess.... aarrgghhhhhhhh..........

Some years ago I could hear a constant faint helicopter drone - unlike the usual Met Police EC135 or 145 orbiting round the scene of the crime, no rise and fall in the engine noise or obvious rotor slap. I went outside and could get no sense of its direction, looked up and could see a small dot. Bins identified it as a blue and yellow (ie PAS) Squirrel hovering at 10000' or more somewhere over South Croydon. It was there for quite some time, never seen a Met helicopter do anything similar except briefly at low level. Always wondered what he was doing...

Weather looks calmer in the NW, certainly no Partenavias round London today.

It's been out and about for the last 5 days or so, slowly moving its pattern North East. Presumably doing aerial mapping for the likes of Google Earth etc?

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....47b0f5a31d.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....9b443975c6.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....7a0fed64ad.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....3dccf8a31c.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....29a1b653a7.jpg

Thanks guys for the replies, thought it might be some kind of mapping or surveillance I wasn’t sure, seems to be about the only aircraft flying around here at the moment with current situation.

Yes, but still done in part by Islanders from Northolt, albeit now civilian-registered.

Thought I heard the faint but familiar dulcet tones of a pair of IO-360s - yep, G-RVRX is taking snaps over south London again!

Gorgeous day out, quite enjoyed my trip to Tesco even tho it was a bit chilly without a coat at 8am. El Al 787 en route JFK left a beautiful trail across the sky.

I-VICC now back surveying to the NE of Manchester Airport now on a line NW to SE. Started at around 11.00am and is still going. Can't be anything to doing with the M6,

Have you paid for your TV licence ???

German Cessna 340 busy doing runs across northern London this morning.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....7894bc5660.jpg

Got a Dutch PA-31 PH-PNX doing north/south runs at 7000' over me and I can see a Ravenair P-68 busy doing n/s runs at 2000' over the isle of Dogs... ain't they photo'd every square inch of London yet?