C-130 very low

Boynielaad

Boynielaad

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Andy
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No photos (didn't have my camera with me and was too slow to get my phone.

Walking along the River Dee near Chester (between Eccleston and Aldford) we were directly overflown by a Hercules barely 50 ft above the top of the trees.

What a buzz.

Rather suspect, though, he ought not to have been that low.

My daughters nearly messed their pants!!
 
50' eh? The wingspan of a hawk T2 is 32' (thats with acquis and LAUs for the purists!). My point is that a large ac like a Hercules would appear lower than it actually was due to its size. This would be exacerbated by your obvious surprise at seeing the ac in the first place. If you are concerned then do the correct thing and lodge a propper low flying complaint via the Low Flying Booking Cell rather than making allegations of illegal low flying in the unregulated court of public opinion.
 
Cheesy said:
50' eh? The wingspan of a hawk T2 is 32' (thats with acquis and LAUs for the purists!). My point is that a large ac like a Hercules would appear lower than it actually was due to its size. This would be exacerbated by your obvious surprise at seeing the ac in the first place. If you are concerned then do the correct thing and lodge a propper low flying complaint via the Low Flying Booking Cell rather than making allegations of illegal low flying in the unregulated court of public opinion.
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I love seeing the low flying we get over my house, we had a Chinook over the other day that I'm sure another 10 feet lower it would have trimmed my hedges for me, that was brilliant to see :clap:
 
The description was "barely 50 ft above the top of the trees" so probably 100ft+ above the ground. Taking into account low flying planes always look much lower than they really are I'd still say that is much lower than it should be ;)

that will teach you not to always have your camera out and ready :lol:

I got all excited about some low level shots, the disappointment
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Just to please Matt, here is a low flying herc...

Hercules ZH885, Bwlch Exit by tobyjm, on Flickr
 
brman said:
The description was "barely 50 ft above the top of the trees" so probably 100ft+ above the ground. Taking into account low flying planes always look much lower than they really are I'd still say that is much lower than it should be ;)
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Just so that you are all aware, crews are authorized to an MSD - a minimum separation distance. Fixed wing ac are routinely cleared to 250' MSD, and exceptionally to 100' MSD when trained to do so and when in the relevant 'Tango'. Helicopters (not my area of expertise) can be authentic down to 10' (I think). My point is twofold:

1, MSD implies a bubble around the ac, '50 above the top of the trees' means this bubble has been infringed and is therefore an issue.

2, The correct way to report an alleged breech of the UK Low Flying Rules is not on a public forum.

I expect the original poster is not a low flying NIMBY, but actually something of a fan of low flying ac, this raises further points that might be considered by a similar 'fan' before posting:

1, It is exceptionally difficult to judge the height of an ac above the ground. I struggle and I would consider myself an expert at judging 250'. It is fair to say that you are not experts so don't try. I had someone in the lakes file against me. They considered themselves experts (they occasionally frequented the M6 pass at Tebay to view the jets so, 'knew what they were talking about') and stated that I must be below 200'. My HUD video confirmed that I was at 406' at the time of the incident!

2, If you are a 'fan' and want some kudos by posting a 'I saw a really neat ..... ' thread, then just have an awareness of the rules and your potential audience. Journos will pounce on a hint of impropriety, and there are more than enough we-hate-the-military on this forum and others.

This may sound like a storm in a tea-cup, but I'm sure we all remember how much trouble a well natured GR4 Nav with a sign got in when a well natured spotter posted his picture on a well natured forum. All I ask is that you think.

Cheesy
 
Boynielaad said:
No photos (didn't have my camera with me and was too slow to get my phone.

Walking along the River Dee near Chester (between Eccleston and Aldford) we were directly overflown by a Hercules barely 50 ft above the top of the trees.

What a buzz.

Rather suspect, though, he ought not to have been that low.

My daughters nearly messed their pants!!
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If that was early afternoon and it was flying south, we had one low over Belvide yesterday, heading towards Cosford.

When I say low it wasn't like I could check the pilots eye colour :D
 
brman said:
A C17 in the loop would indeed be a sight. I am not convinced they would do it though :(
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I'll ask them when I'm in work next whether it would be possible/feasible/safe. Obviously I couldn't let you know until after the fact or else the crews would be in trouble for having given advance notice of the event. :)

As a C-17 wingspan is only 40feet more than a Herc.....
 
Cheesy, I understand your concern, particularly if you have been on the wrong end of a misinformed complaint.

However I don't think anyone needs to take the original post as a complaint or even evidence that a complaint is necessary. I completely agreed about the difficultly in judging distance and height - on my first visit to the loop I would have guessed some F15s came within 100 feet of us whereas the evidence (ie. size of aircraft in the photos) would put them at more like 300m+
On that basis this is no more than idle chit chat, nothing like posting a pic of an aircraft doing something wrong.
 
RubyX4 said:
I'll ask them when I'm in work next whether it would be possible/feasible/safe. Obviously I couldn't let you know until after the fact or else the crews would be in trouble for having given advance notice of the event. :)

As a C-17 wingspan is only 40feet more than a Herc.....
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A hint that it might even be attempted at some unspecified time would still excite a few ;)
 
RubyX4 said:
I'll ask them when I'm in work next whether it would be possible/feasible/safe. Obviously I couldn't let you know until after the fact or else the crews would be in trouble for having given advance notice of the event. :)

As a C-17 wingspan is only 40feet more than a Herc.....
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That would be worth the 150+ miles each way :woot:
 
Martyn... said:
If that was early afternoon and it was flying south, we had one low over Belvide yesterday, heading towards Cosford.

When I say low it wasn't like I could check the pilots eye colour :D
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Martyn, it was indeed early afternoon - around 2.30pm. Probably flying SE or SSE (I guess from the Valley direction)

Cheesy, sorry you took offence. I never intended my sharing this to be a complaint, rather I wanted to share my excitement. Rather than be grumpy about it I had the most terrific shiver down my spine as it flew over.
 
I know that area quite well and there are some very very tall trees along the river around there, some are a good 80ft tall, so an estimated 50 ft above those and your getting higher. Unfamiliarity with the real life size of a 130 and the 50ft estimation can easily be 100ft +

I wish I'd have seen it, nothing special ever over flies there when I go there.
 
I get to see loads of different stuff flying over my work. Including hercs, tornados, sea kings, chinooks plus others.

Helicopters landing quite often too.

I work at a military base with no airfield ( that's all I'm saying)

We do get some very low passes from the aircraft which I think is great to see.

Best one was a tornado who seemed to be going rather quick because the noise was just awesome.

Big up the military pilots. Keep up your good work. ;)
 
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