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Author Topic: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!  (Read 2605 times)

RST

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Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« on: April 17, 2020, 05:46:15 am »

So I'm not good at sleeping, last few nights I'm on my regular insomnia phase...

I was standing on doorstep of my place in Culloden, Inverness this morning at 02:40hrs having a cig and heard a very strange aircraft pass overhead at reasonably low altitude and really quite loud.  Not a typical commercial jet or turboprop and definitely not a helicopter by any means.  It obviously wasn't on approach to Dalcross because I would have heard it land, and I live pretty much on the approach path so I'm used to having aircraft overhead.  Checked internet because it was so weird and no flights showing on internet radar. 20mins later back out for another cig and I reckon I heard military jets taking off on full burn from Lossiemouth a way out in the distance.  Where I am we can just about hear Lossiemouth on a quiet day but with all this nonsense going on and no other noise on a flat area I am 100% sure jets were taking off from there some 30miles away -the noise is absolutely unmistakable.

Very strange -did we just get buzzed by the Russians again?  I tried to submit an observation to HIAL air traffic control but their published E-Mail address is bunk.  Tried to report to other authorities but seems there is no input for an observer.  Tried BBC website also but no input to submit a story.  I tried local police also but no way to report this.  There must be a way to report this weird stuff??  I'm guessing in the next week or so the BBC will say we have been buzzed by the Russians again and 2 jets scrambled to escort it out  -it was a very weird experience listening to it as is passed overhead, then heard jets taking off way off in distance afterwards!

Rich
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Tug Fanatic

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2020, 07:24:54 am »

It was unlikely to be Russian testing air defences.

Most of the air traffic web sites exclude anything military for their free versions.

Radar surveillance is the basis of air defence and they pick up unidentified aircraft way out over the North Sea and aircraft are despatched to escort them.

If they entered UK air space without authorisation it would not be treated lightly.

There are aircraft that sound very strange because of their configuration (think Piaggio P180 as an example).

Of course it might be a UFO or an escapee from Area 51 Skunk Works.  :-)) :} O0
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raflaunches

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2020, 08:33:29 am »

Probably either Typhoon crews practicing night time exercises or the new P8 Poseidon sub hunter trial landing at Lossie as it’s currently operating from Kinloss until the squadron buildings have been finished at Lossie.
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Nick B

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tonyH

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2020, 09:59:14 am »

Strangest soundwise for me in Suffolk is the V22 Osprey when we get them over here. They had them in Lossiemouth but do they still?
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RST

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2020, 11:13:37 pm »

Ha yes, you're right.  And with everything totally quiet at the moment everything sounds a bit different anyway.  Not that Im paranoid or anything LoL.
I've not heard or seen a commercial aircraft for weeks.  Just very occasional military choppers.  The quicker we get back to some form of adjusted normality the better.
Rich
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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #5 on: April 24, 2020, 06:26:31 am »

We have the whirlybirds out at night at the moment. Apache & Chinook at very low level and both easily identified by sound when they are still miles away. Stealthy they are not!

An Apache squadron at an US airshow were selling one of the best logo T shirts that I have seen. "If you see an Apache don't run. Why die tired?"

Strangely even though we live fairly near the Ospreys UK base we have never seen one near our home. I agree once heard easily identified.
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warspite

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #6 on: April 24, 2020, 08:20:36 am »

Apparently Manchester airport is letting the RAF use the runway for training, C130's etc, and other than a military chopper similar in look to a puma, but more of a modern design flew over yesterday afternoon, not seen any chinooks, heard them though.
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RST

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Inverness airport back flying
« Reply #7 on: April 24, 2020, 08:36:32 am »

I heard the loganair flight take off about an hour or so ago from Dalcross. Sounds like the airport is back up and running again to some extent now, whatever reduced I see guess.
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RST

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2020, 04:23:00 am »

Fascinated by this.  Outside for a cig last few mins and something like a commercial jet landed at dalcross.  Nothing on radar again or any business this time of night.  It's all a conspiracy I think.
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Tug Fanatic

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2020, 09:12:07 am »

Around here military aircraft sometime squawk & sometimes don't.

Generally the bigger transport stuff does for all nations.

UK fast jets do unless they are doing something interesting when they seem to turn it off.

US fast jets don't.

UK Helicopters generally do but again can go dark.

US Ospreys generally do but I suspect don't in some circumstances and I am not sure about US helicopters as I don't generally see them.

Which tracker are you using as some show more military stuff than others? The best free one for military that I have found is this:
https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/

As an aside I have seen/heard US Hercules at night coming off Mildenhall with no squawk & no lights - which means Ospreys probably do as well as I guess that I am talking Special Forces exercises.
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Tug Fanatic

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2020, 10:20:46 am »

I should add that to the above post that they either squawk, or don't, on any flight tracker that I have access to. If anybody can see US fast jets, for example, I would be interested to know what (hopefully free) software you are using.
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raflaunches

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2020, 11:00:15 am »

To be honest it’s the easiest thing in the world on military aircraft to turn off the TCAS transmitter as it’s a simple switch in the cockpit. Tornado crews would turn theirs off before they entered any enemy airspace and then turn it back on when they returned.
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Nick B

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Tug Fanatic

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2020, 11:04:17 am »

So I guess that it makes sense that if they are practising for a bombing run, or anything else that for real would need to turn it off, they practice turning it off as part of the exercise.
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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #13 on: May 02, 2020, 05:56:15 pm »


I was standing on doorstep of my place in Culloden, Inverness this morning at 02:40hrs having a cig and heard a very strange aircraft pass overhead at reasonably low altitude and really quite loud.  Not a typical commercial jet or turboprop and definitely not a helicopter by any means.....

Rich

 Has anybody seen my new Chili Borscht powered Drone?
  I was flying it up near the Moray Firth this morning, split my beer over the controller and the stupid this flew off....
  Easily recognizable, makes a loud farting sound when flying and has a big red cross on it, a bit like this:



Large bowl of Kasha & bliny's on safe return.

 
 
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sabre

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #14 on: May 03, 2020, 02:17:12 pm »

It flew past my shed a few minutes ago heading after a Poseidon but he got a sneaky pic of my latest creation.
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Andy M

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #16 on: May 05, 2020, 01:52:12 pm »

A week or two before the lockdown we had 2 v22 ospreys fly up the valley we live in,  north of glasgow. Loud and pretty distinctive. I know its probably not what you are describing but it was first time I have seen them flying here. We also hear large helis moving about when there is cloud cover, they never have any lights on.
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tonyH

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #17 on: May 21, 2020, 03:12:00 pm »

Just going back to the odd sound bit, we had a pair (?) of spitfires over about half an hour ago, flying low in close formation. The sound didn't come across as totally "merliny" so does the griffon sound a lot coarser because one, or both, had a throat infection?
Tony
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raflaunches

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #18 on: May 21, 2020, 03:16:06 pm »

Merlins Purr
Griffons growl


Probably two griffon engine spitfires by the sound of it.
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Nick B

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Dave_S.

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #19 on: May 21, 2020, 04:05:56 pm »

I sat in the back garden yesterday evening chatting with my neighbour sitting in his garden while we both enjoyed a beer and a free airshow, all heavy transport stuff out of nearby Brize Norton. Repeated circuits by A 400, Hercules and C-17. My neighbour is ex Canadian airforce and loves them coming over.


Sadly, we usually miss most of the interesting stuff that goes into Fairford as they take a different route, presumably to avoid getting in the way of the Brize traffic. Had B2s, & B52s fly over in recent months, people a few miles away have had U2s flying over, but they avoid our village.
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tonyH

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #20 on: May 21, 2020, 04:27:15 pm »

Thanks Nick :-)) I think there may have been one of each but they weren't locals. Cheers, Tony.
PS I've still got those torpedo books ready for Mayhem 2021!
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raflaunches

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Re: Suspicious flights overhead tonight!
« Reply #21 on: May 21, 2020, 05:03:38 pm »

Thanks Nick :-)) I think there may have been one of each but they weren't locals. Cheers, Tony.
PS I've still got those torpedo books ready for Mayhem 2021!





No problem Tony, and thanks about the books!
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Nick B

Help! The penguins have stolen my sanity, and my hot water bottle!

Illegitimi non carborundum!
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