Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: stuart30 on 19 February 2009, 21:09:02
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Took the wife and twins too town this afternoon (mid size market town,reasonably built up area) and out of the blue a military jet (Tornado possibly) came screeching out of no where.
The pilot had the jet banked over near on 90 degrees and lower than ive ever seen before and by god he was going some....actually looked like he was loosing altitude too the degree was half expecting a loud bang and see a jet parked on top of the bus station just round the corner.
At a guess id say he was about 100/150ft possibly less...obviosly very hard too say,but shockingly low,.
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One of the red arrows did the same in Liverpool. Came down the Mersey estuary and then banked very low over the houses near the river. I was working on a roof at the time. I shat myself but the raw power of the engines gave me goose bumps.
You dont appreciate just how fearsome these aircraft are until you get up close and personal.
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most likely a Harrier, they do low fly training cause they have to do that in Afgan to avoid missile locks from RPGs
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99.9% sure wasnt a Harrier....had a full view of it for several seconds as he banked round and came directly past us and as i said so low had a good look.
We have a block of flats not far from me and he was lower than them....now wondering if he had mechanical problems...2 airbases with in a short distance. :-/
Unless it was a yank looking for KFC of course. ;D
STMO god yeah fully agree....real jaw dropping moment....the Top gun comment i made was complelty wasted on the wife. >:( ;D
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Isn't it 500 ft? Saying that, I worked with an ex RAF tech who said they routinely pulled wheat stalks from the aircraft :o - or he was winding me up :-/ ........ Entwood will know! :y
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maybe he was after the ufo`s..... :o :o :o :o
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Exhaust burns on your roof tiles and you've definately got a case to complain.
;D
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Isn't it 500 ft? Saying that, I worked with an ex RAF tech who said they routinely pulled wheat stalks from the aircraft :o - or he was winding me up :-/ ........ Entwood will know! :y
Thought he was going too scratch my bloody roof on the car let alone 500ft. ;D
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I would say that where you are it's more likely to be a F-14 Tomcat going into Lakenheath
He's probably much higher than he looked too... It can be really deceiving :y :y :y
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Isn't it 500 ft? Saying that, I worked with an ex RAF tech who said they routinely pulled wheat stalks from the aircraft :o - or he was winding me up :-/ ........ Entwood will know! :y
Thought he was going too scratch my bloody roof on the car let alone 500ft. ;D
Same as the two that seemed more like 50' up when were driving back from Isle of Skye ...... $h1t us both up! :o
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This is what the rules of the air say, but there are many exceptions, and I'm sure the military are one (Police aircraft are, for example). It gives an idea of what would be reasonable:
(3) The low flying prohibitions are as follows—
(a) Failure of power unit
An aircraft shall not be flown below such height as would enable it to make an emergency landing without causing danger to persons or property on the surface in the event of a power unit failure.
(b) The 500 feet rule
Except with the written permission of the CAA, an aircraft shall not be flown closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle or structure.
(c) The 1,000 feet rule
Except with the written permission of the CAA, an aircraft flying over a congested area of a city town or settlement shall not fly below a height of 1,000 feet above the highest fixed obstacle within a horizontal radius of 600 metres of the aircraft.
(d) The land clear rule
An aircraft flying over a congested area of a city, town or settlement shall not fly below such height as would permit the aircraft to land clear of the congested area in the event of a power unit failure.
(e) Flying over open air assemblies
Except with the written permission of the CAA, an aircraft shall not fly over an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons below the higher of the following heights—
(i) 1,000 feet; or
(ii) such height as would permit the aircraft to land clear of the assembly in the event of a power unit failure.
So, it is basically 500 feet unless it's a built-up area or an assembly of people.
Kevin
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One of the red arrows did the same in Liverpool. Came down the Mersey estuary and then banked very low over the houses near the river. I was nicking lead of a roof at the time. I shat myself but the raw power of the engines gave me goose bumps.
You dont appreciate just how fearsome these aircraft are until you get up close and personal.
Sound about right ;D
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I would say that where you are it's more likely to be a F-14 Tomcat going into Lakenheath
He's probably much higher than he looked too... It can be really deceiving :y :y :y
You know what you could be right....shapes pretty much spot on.
http://www.flyandfight.com/images/f14flyby.jpg
Might have been higher but will be suprised if he was.
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This is what the rules of the air say, but there are many exceptions, and I'm sure the military are one (Police aircraft are, for example). It gives an idea of what would be reasonable:
(3) The low flying prohibitions are as follows—
(a) Failure of power unit
An aircraft shall not be flown below such height as would enable it to make an emergency landing without causing danger to persons or property on the surface in the event of a power unit failure.
(b) The 500 feet rule
Except with the written permission of the CAA, an aircraft shall not be flown closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle or structure.
(c) The 1,000 feet rule
Except with the written permission of the CAA, an aircraft flying over a congested area of a city town or settlement shall not fly below a height of 1,000 feet above the highest fixed obstacle within a horizontal radius of 600 metres of the aircraft.
(d) The land clear rule
An aircraft flying over a congested area of a city, town or settlement shall not fly below such height as would permit the aircraft to land clear of the congested area in the event of a power unit failure.
(e) Flying over open air assemblies
Except with the written permission of the CAA, an aircraft shall not fly over an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons below the higher of the following heights—
(i) 1,000 feet; or
(ii) such height as would permit the aircraft to land clear of the assembly in the event of a power unit failure.
So, it is basically 500 feet unless it's a built-up area or an assembly of people.
Kevin
Id say Huntingdon Town centre is fairly built up..... :)
Put it this way (as i cant say for sure the height not being trained in such matters) its very very rare too see the local Plod chopper this low....even when hovering eating there dunking donuts. :o
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most likely a Harrier, they do low fly training cause they have to do that in Afgan to avoid missile locks from RPGs
Unable to lock onto anything with a rocket propelled grenade.......they are manual targetting with no active seekers......
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the red arrows used to fly over my mums in northolt, was just a loud woosh over the house, and that was real low as well. never needed laxative when they sneaked up on you ;D ;D
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I would say that where you are it's more likely to be a F-14 Tomcat going into Lakenheath
F14s are no longer in active service with the US.
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I would say that where you are it's more likely to be a F-14 Tomcat going into Lakenheath
F14s are no longer in active service with the US.
Link a couple of posts back is a very good liking...not up with jets but looks the same.
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I think the lowest permitted altitude on (RAF) training exercises is 250 feet
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Just wondering if the Blue Angels are back at Waddington with there F18's (USAF)
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the red arrows used to fly over my mums in northolt, was just a loud woosh over the house, and that was real low as well. never needed laxative when they sneaked up on you ;D ;D
yeah but they dont have ""lets nuke the sons of bitchs"" yanks at the controls.
Just see it now.....after blowing the town centre up yank pilots excuse ""Geee sorry ma"am i thought that shopping trolley was an bin laden"s grocerys...."" ;D
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More than likely a Tornado out of Coningsby or Cottesmore, if not a Harrier out of Wittering.
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Just wondering if the Blue Angels are back at Waddington with there F18's (USAF)
Drove past Waddo today and no sign of the Angels, although the Red Arrows were there
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More than likely a Tornado out of Coningsby or Cottesmore, if not a Harrier out of Wittering.
Wasn't a harrier...completely different front end.
Had a pointy beak like a tornado.
Sorry not a plane fan.. ;D
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Id say Huntingdon Town centre is fairly built up..... :)
Er.. Yep. Failure of a "power unit" could have been interesting, then.
If it's the U.S. military we're talking about... :-X Suffice it to say in my very limited experience of flying gliders I have never seen a UK military aircraft come anywhere near me, despite flying from an airfield 2 miles away from RAF Odiham. They spot you and keep out of your way. Not so with our friends from across the pond IME.
Put it this way (as i cant say for sure the height not being trained in such matters) its very very rare too see the local Plod chopper this low....even when hovering eating there dunking donuts. :o
Depends on the donut load, of course. There's only so many Donuts you can lift with 650 shaft horsepower. ;)
Kevin
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Id say Huntingdon Town centre is fairly built up..... :)
Er.. Yep. Failure of a "power unit" could have been interesting, then.
If it's the u (as YOU is too hard to spell for me).S. military we're talking about... :-X Suffice it to say in my very limited experience of flying gliders I have never seen a UK military aircraft come anywhere near me, despite flying from an airfield 2 miles away from RAF Odiham. They spot you and keep out of your way. Not so with our friends from across the pond IME.
Put it this way (as i cant say for sure the height not being trained in such matters) its very very rare too see the local Plod chopper this low....even when hovering eating there dunking donuts. :o
Depends on the donut load, of course. There's only so many Donuts you can lift with 650 shaft horsepower. ;)
Kevin
Thats what i thought intialy...he was in trouble and was making a run for either Brampton (i know its no longer in service) or wyton...Wyton made sense as he was banking round hard in that general direction.
Could just be ""One of those things"" i guess....would love too know for sure though.
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I would say that where you are it's more likely to be a F-14 Tomcat going into Lakenheath
F14s are no longer in active service with the US.
Wasn't aware of that... Saw one in about the same area a little over a year ago (I think), flying VERY low ::) ::) ::)
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Outside of a MATZ (Military Air Trafic Zone) they are limited to a MSD (Minimum Safe Distance) of 250 ft.... ie .. a "bubble" around the aircraft that nothing is allowed to penetrate ... so if at 250 ft over a field and an electricity plyon 200 ft is ahead .. you climb to 450 feet to cross the pylon. Within a MATZ, Range or OLF (Operational Low Flying) training areas then different rules apply.
These are the Minimum heights , local rules, areas can instigate higher restrictions, eg .. around a riding school a local area restriction of 2000 ft may be applied.
It is extremely difficult to estimate the height/speed of an aircraft accurately, as looking at the sky you have nothing to compare it to, it is just a fast moving shape. Small aircraft ALWAYS appear to move faster than a large one, and as your brain doesn't actually "know" the size of fast jet ... you guess, and because its making a lot of noise it must be close .. therefore it must be low ... :)
HTH
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f14s were retired a couple of years ago......check Wikipedia for full info
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most likely a Harrier, they do low fly training cause they have to do that in Afghan to avoid missile locks from RPGs
You cant get a lock-on from RPGs, they are a simple yet crude rocket with an explosive charge which propels molten metal forward on impact. This charge will go through armour (size and thickness dependant) Although simple to use it does require a bit of time to get the aim right and even then it is not very accurate, esp at distance. Flying low and fast means that by the time the rocket is in the shoulder that the aircraft is already out of range.
SAM (surface to air missile) requires a lock on with either a heat or radar signature. Takes a while to get a lock and needs a certain amount of time to travel before it arms. Flying low and fast negates this risk but does not eradicate it.
Fighter jets are restricted to a minimum of 1000' above built up areas and cannot go supersonic unless out at sea or they are very very high up. There may be local exceptions on occasion, if you see one dont complain people pay good money to see such displays. I love hiking in Wales as they come up the valleys and you can look down into the cockpit and have the pilot wave up at you! :D
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More than likely a Tornado out of Coningsby or Cottesmore, if not a Harrier out of Wittering.
Wasn't a harrier...completely different front end.
Had a pointy beak like a tornado.
Sorry not a plane fan.. ;D
Could have been an F-18/Fa-18
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Outside of a MATZ (Military Air Trafic Zone) they are limited to a MSD (Minimum Safe Distance) of 250 ft.... ie .. a "bubble" around the aircraft that nothing is allowed to penetrate ... so if at 250 ft over a field and an electricity plyon 200 ft is ahead .. you climb to 450 feet to cross the pylon. Within a MATZ, Range or OLF (Operational Low Flying) training areas then different rules apply.
These are the Minimum heights , local rules, areas can instigate higher restrictions, eg .. around a riding school a local area restriction of 2000 ft may be applied.
It is extremely difficult to estimate the height/speed of an aircraft accurately, as looking at the sky you have nothing to compare it to, it is just a fast moving shape. Small aircraft ALWAYS appear to move faster than a large one, and as your brain doesn't actually "know" the size of fast jet ... you guess, and because its making a lot of noise it must be close .. therefore it must be low ... :)
HTH
I'll have to dig out my chart (which is several years old) but I think Huntingdon is either in or very near a MATZ :y :y
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If there flying normal VFR, then its 500ft, maybe a bit lower if there on Pre War training but not much lower!!
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If there flying normal VFR, then its 500ft, maybe a bit lower if there on Pre War training but not much lower!!
All low level flying is VFR .. by definition .. as Lowlevel is below 2000 ft
Noddy's guide :
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/AirSafetyandAviation/LowFlying/
and VFR below 3000 ft
Complex guide :
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/64/VFR_Guide_12_08.pdf
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Maybe the pilot was trying to see if he could outdo this Eurofighter jockey:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSXRPH9PVjM[/media]
:o :o :o
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when we were in Scotland the tornado pilots came down so low we could see them giving us the bird ;D ;D
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have to visit my Mum in Cumbria once in a while, hate the place if i have to spend more than a couple of days there. Its beutifull but boring, nowt but sheep and hills.
Anyway, we where walking, as you do up there. Just got 10 feet from the the top of this beginners peak, its about half the average hight the other peaks along the A66 to workington, just by Keswick where the dual carriage way snakes right then left by a lake, anyway, just about to clime on to the top, and i hear engines, jet engines, loud jet engines, so i jumped up to the top to see 2 Tornados belting up the Valley towards us, and they are below the other peaks," in" the valley, and flying exactly the same hight that we are standing at, looking straight at us. And im waving like a nutter as they home in closer, and i realise, i am standing directly in their sites, i can see the green heads up display and the dark visor behind it, they are converging on our position, if they pulled the trigger theyd get me right between the eyes.... at this point i stop waving and put my hands up! They're still coming, i exaggerate my hands up body position,i am surrendering dont shoot, i know they wont shoot but the situation is too good to miss, they are STILL coming, i take the piss and wave them off to the left with desperate exaggerated hand movements. At this point i swear both planes twitch and move, they are laughing, i am sure they are, and then they instantly and in perfect time and position in the air bank hard left at 90 degrees, white streaks off the wing tips showing off a perfect view of the under belly which i could reach out and touch (felt like) and they fack off up the valley with an ALMIGHTY roar while waving their wings side to side as they level out, which i took as an acknowledgment.
Now that IS worth going to the lakes for, totally totally awesome. An experience i will never ever forget.
God bless the Raf.
My Mum dont get it though, all she does is moan about the noise... And i have to say they do put the wind up when they fly over the house, i love it though, gives me goose bumps. :-)
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when we were in Scotland the tornado pilots came down so low we could see them giving us the bird ;D ;D
Yeehaaaaaw Maverick Great Balls of Fire!!! :y ;D ;D ;D
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when we were in Scotland the tornado pilots came down so low we could see them giving us the bird ;D ;D
Yeehaaaaaw Maverick Great Balls of Fire!!! :y ;D ;D ;D
Na i prefer Goose"s last words.....""eje......"" THUD ;D ;D
Why oh why didnt maverick bang gooses mrs after killing him.....bad enough too do ya best mate in but unforgivable too deny the poor little thing a bit of hows ya father.
Id have been on it before the guys body was cold. :y
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when we were in Scotland the tornado pilots came down so low we could see them giving us the bird ;D ;D
Yeehaaaaaw Maverick Great Balls of Fire!!! :y ;D ;D ;D
Na i prefer Goose"s last words.....""eje......"" THUD ;D ;D
Why oh why didnt maverick bang gooses mrs after killing him.....bad enough too do ya best mate in but unforgivable too deny the poor little thing a bit of hows ya father.
Id have been on it before the guys body was cold. :y
My favourite part:
"I'm gonna hit the brakes and he'll fly right by!"
"You're gonna do WHAT!?"
Gets me every time ;D ;D ;D ;D
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when we were in Scotland the tornado pilots came down so low we could see them giving us the bird ;D ;D
Yeehaaaaaw Maverick Great Balls of Fire!!! :y ;D ;D ;D
Na i prefer Goose"s last words.....""eje......"" THUD ;D ;D
Why oh why didnt maverick bang gooses mrs after killing him.....bad enough too do ya best mate in but unforgivable too deny the poor little thing a bit of hows ya father.
Id have been on it before the guys body was cold. :y
My favourite part:
"I'm gonna hit the brakes and he'll fly right by!"
"You're gonna do WHAT!?"
Gets me every time ;D ;D ;D ;D
It's a film you can watch time and time again!!
And that's my favourite line too :y :y ;D ;D
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I lived in a hamlet called Carmichael between Biggar and Lanark in Scotland. We were in a long tight valley with a 45 degree bend at the end . We frequently seen Tornadoes fly through the valley at a height of 500 feet but occassionaly I seen them a LOT lower . I once took a datum of several trees and believe he was between 150 to 200 feet .
Not that frightening as the flight path was away from the houses but certainly some sight to see it dodging and weaving . Respect :y
Much worse was the Chinooks when they did formation low flying at night. Now they were 'kin low :o
The noise was frightening and as they were blacked out you could hear ,feel but not see ........
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I lived in a hamlet called Carmichael between Biggar and Lanark in Scotland. We were in a long tight valley with a 45 degree bend at the end . We frequently seen Tornadoes fly through the valley at a height of 500 feet but occassionaly I seen them a LOT lower . I once took a datum of several trees and believe he was between 150 to 200 feet .
Not that frightening as the flight path was away from the houses but certainly some sight to see it dodging and weaving . Respect :y
Much worse was the Chinooks when they did formation low flying at night. Now they were 'kin low :o
The noise was frightening and as they were blacked out you could hear ,feel but not see ........
I can show you some fantastic chinook footage, sadly not on here. Newent maybe :y
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I lived in a hamlet called Carmichael between Biggar and Lanark in Scotland. We were in a long tight valley with a 45 degree bend at the end . We frequently seen Tornadoes fly through the valley at a height of 500 feet but occassionaly I seen them a LOT lower . I once took a datum of several trees and believe he was between 150 to 200 feet .
Not that frightening as the flight path was away from the houses but certainly some sight to see it dodging and weaving . Respect :y
Much worse was the Chinooks when they did formation low flying at night. Now they were 'kin low :o
The noise was frightening and as they were blacked out you could hear ,feel but not see ........
I can show you some fantastic chinook footage, sadly not on here. Newent maybe :y
Errm... Yep! Bring and share :y :y :y
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I live in former USAF officers MQ's on a base which has been reactivated as an Army base. It is, however, not a "flying" base! But... It's a training ground for other nearby bases and an alternative European runway for the Space Shuttles :y :y :y :y
Anyway... I digress! When we first moved in the whole base was unoccupied save us and one other property. I went outside because of a low flying helicopter to be greeted with an Apache hovering over the neighbours garden! He was that low I could see the rivets and writing on the access flaps :o :o :o He then shot off over the top of me, down the gardens between the bungalows and into a near vertical climb :y :y :y Awesome sight :y :y :y
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I live in former USAF officers MQ's on a base which has been reactivated as an Army base. It is, however, not a "flying" base! But... It's a training ground for other nearby bases and an alternative European runway for the Space Shuttles :y :y :y :y
Anyway... I digress! When we first moved in the whole base was unoccupied save us and one other property. I went outside because of a low flying helicopter to be greeted with an Apache hovering over the neighbours garden! He was that low I could see the rivets and writing on the access flaps :o :o :o He then shot off over the top of me, down the gardens between the bungalows and into a near vertical climb :y :y :y Awesome sight :y :y :y
Just wait till you see it unleash it payload..break me! ;) ;D ;D
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I live in former USAF officers MQ's on a base which has been reactivated as an Army base. It is, however, not a "flying" base! But... It's a training ground for other nearby bases and an alternative European runway for the Space Shuttles :y :y :y :y
Anyway... I digress! When we first moved in the whole base was unoccupied save us and one other property. I went outside because of a low flying helicopter to be greeted with an Apache hovering over the neighbours garden! He was that low I could see the rivets and writing on the access flaps :o :o :o He then shot off over the top of me, down the gardens between the bungalows and into a near vertical climb :y :y :y Awesome sight :y :y :y
Just wait till you see it unleash it payload..break me! ;) ;D ;D
I released mine when it turned and pointed at me ::) ::) :o :o :D :D :D
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when we were in Scotland the tornado pilots came down so low we could see them giving us the bird ;D ;D
Yeehaaaaaw Maverick Great Balls of Fire!!! :y ;D ;D ;D
Na i prefer Goose"s last words.....""eje......"" THUD ;D ;D
Why oh why didnt maverick bang gooses mrs after killing him.....bad enough too do ya best mate in but unforgivable too deny the poor little thing a bit of hows ya father.
Id have been on it before the guys body was cold. :y
My favourite part:
"I'm gonna hit the brakes and he'll fly right by!"
"You're gonna do WHAT!?"
Gets me every time ;D ;D ;D ;D
I'd like to have seen a sequel featuring them vs the RAF or FAA - that would have been funny - especially if it was NAS801
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I love watching the vids our lads and lasses put on youtube of the lowflying aircraft..... ;D ;D
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was he this low
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02-9_Pzmm_8
or maybe even lower
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvDDDKnNhuE
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Just some useless trivia but some of the Dambuster film was made at RAF upwood...300yrds from the house i grew up in. :)
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when we were in Scotland the tornado pilots came down so low we could see them giving us the bird ;D ;D
Yeehaaaaaw Maverick Great Balls of Fire!!! :y ;D ;D ;D
Na i prefer Goose"s last words.....""eje......"" THUD ;D ;D
Why oh why didnt maverick bang gooses mrs after killing him.....bad enough too do ya best mate in but unforgivable too deny the poor little thing a bit of hows ya father.
Id have been on it before the guys body was cold. :y
My favourite part:
"I'm gonna hit the brakes and he'll fly right by!"
"You're gonna do WHAT!?"
Gets me every time ;D ;D ;D ;D
My favourite part:
The Kwaka GPZ 900 :D :D oh happy days ,but truthfully i like the begining of film when it's in morning on flightdeck ,used to make the hairs on back off neck stand up
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Here's one for Lizzie
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf3UtmHLKUU&feature=related[/media]
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Aaah - the sound of a Merlin :y
F&*^ing Briliiant :y :y
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Here's one for Lizzie
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf3UtmHLKUU&feature=related[/media]
Glorious sound Phil - LZ will like that :y
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when we were in Scotland the tornado pilots came down so low we could see them giving us the bird ;D ;D
Yeehaaaaaw Maverick Great Balls of Fire!!! :y ;D ;D ;D
the pilot mustn't have been as good as Maverick because he wasn't inverted,
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Yeehaaaaaw Maverick Great Balls of Fire!!! :y ;D ;D ;D
the pilot mustn't have been as good as Maverick because he wasn't inverted, [/quote]
Mmmm. Carburettor fed piston engine about 20 feet off the ground. :o Not surprised he didn't fancy inverted. ;)
Kevin
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was he this low
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02-9_Pzmm_8
or maybe even lower
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvDDDKnNhuE
The first one is on a training area we use in Canada. Oh happy memories! ;D ;D ;D