Low flying

[JDNSW]

Just had a plane fly up the valley next to the house, about level with the house, probably about 150ft above ground level. Could only see navigation lights, sounded like a four engine turboprop, so I presume it was a Hercules - we often see them doing this, but it is the first time I have seen one doing it flying into a thunderstorm. It is just starting to rain, with a very impressive sound and light show.

John

[aew849]

Hopefully they were flying away from the thunderhead....thunderstorms and aircraft don't mix all that well.

aew849

[pawl]

Hmmm, a bit risky only 150 AGL with the possibility of encountering windshear.:eek:

[Bundalene]

Just had a plane fly up the valley next to the house, about level with the house, probably about 150ft above ground level. Could only see navigation lights, sounded like a four engine turboprop, so I presume it was a Hercules - we often see them doing this, but it is the first time I have seen one doing it flying into a thunderstorm. It is just starting to rain, with a very impressive sound and light show.

John

A few times when we have been up at our block, not too far from you John, there have been planes coming in really low along the Talbragar River - only in daylight hours though.

Let us know how much rain you get out there, if you wouldn't mind. We could do with a bit here at Horsley, looks dark and overcast, but so far ...zilch moisture.

[rick130]

Used to do it often in the valley we used to live in too, although not into a storm !
Mostly low and slow, but one Herc came in low and very fast one day, did a hard bank to starboard and popped up over the 1000m ridge just to the east. It was pretty impressive.
It just doesn't happen here closer to town :( except for a Caribou one day doing the scenic route of our valley. I think he was trying to find his way out :D

A few years back the exit out of one of the paddocks on the FIL's old place was on a ridge line, and as I jumped out of the farm ute to open the gate a Hawk from Williamtown went right over the top of me only about 200' up and flat out :eek:

Over twenty years ago A few mates and I were staying at a friends place at Bundarra when a pair of F111's buzzed the farm. One flew past the front of the house and the other behind, banking hard over the old airstrip so you could see into the cockpit and see the pilot and Nav sitting side by side :cool:

[JDNSW]

Hopefully they were flying away from the thunderhead....thunderstorms and aircraft don't mix all that well.

aew849

That is what I thought! They were flying roughly across the front of the storm.

John

[Rangier Rover]

Same bloody aircraft went through here:mad: Have just weaned some calves and they went through two fences:mad: I don't mind low air craft but not welcome near our stock yards and horses:(

[JDNSW]

Same bloody aircraft went through here:mad: Have just weaned some calves and they went through two fences:mad: I don't mind low air craft but not welcome near our stock yards and horses:(

While we were building our house one came right over the caravan at about 0100. After unplastering herself off the ceiling my wife spent the next morning on the phone and eventually found someone in the RAAF who accepted complaints about this sort of thing. We have never had one fly directly over the house since then - and that was over fifteen years ago.

John

[rick130]

Where we used to live on the far western outskirts of Sydney we had several balloons land in the paddocks, right in the middle of horses :(
SWMBO wasn't too impressed, rang the company and told them off and they said they would never land again, but they came back.....

They put two expensive young ones through a fence and down the road.
All the pilot could say was "it's ok, we have insurance .."

He doesn't know how close he came to death that day, and it wasn't from flying. An angry woman is a scary sight :lol2:
All the occupants of the basket them proceeded to climb over all the fences :rolleyes:

[Bushie]

An angry woman is a scary sight :lol2:


Absolutely, my wife exploded last night, at our dropkick next door neighbour, never seen her go off like that before - not a pretty sight :twisted:


Martyn

[Randylandy]

Up until recently my job was to fly along between 60ft and 100ft doing Geomagnetic surveying. Great fun but tried to avoid livestock and houses as much as possible.

[JDNSW]

Up until recently my job was to fly along between 60ft and 100ft doing Geomagnetic surveying. Great fun but tried to avoid livestock and houses as much as possible.

Yes, but I'll bet it was not in a heavy transport aircraft, and that you avoided IMC and NVFR like the plague!

John

[Davo]

Years ago, when I was living in the country in Canada, in the middle of the day I was given a start when a small plane flew right over the house. What got me is that they had glided over and then hit full throttle - that's what surprised me.

When they did it again I was ready, outside with the binoculars. I couldn't believe what they were doing. They were using our neighbour's field for forced-landing practice, but it wasn't a smart choice as at the end of the field there was a large barn, an empty house, our house, and vineyards all around which, due to them being constructed of thousands of metal stakes, probably don't make good places to land should the throttle not work when you expect it to. And all this in a crosswind, which I could see by the way they drifted as the engine idled.

I made a complaint, complete with details.

The next day a patronising woman who called herself an "investigator" called up and explained to me as if I had a single-digit IQ what the flyers had been doing and how it wasn't a concern. I was more than happy to explain that I had done exactly the same thing during my flight training and listed the above points as to why this situation wasn't too clever. She didn't say much else.

The plane came back the next day and circled far above, no doubt trying to work out which house has complained. Then it never came back.

My biggest regret is that I didn't have simulated anit-aircraft.

[Bigbjorn]

Same bloody aircraft went through here:mad: Have just weaned some calves and they went through two fences:mad: I don't mind low air craft but not welcome near our stock yards and horses:(

If you contact some of the motor cycle clubs it is quite possible that they could sell you a Flugzeugabwehrkanon or three.

[Rangier Rover]

If you contact some of the motor cycle clubs it is quite possible that they could sell you a Flugzeugabwehrkanon or three.
I like the idea. :DI wonder how the 120 would handle a Flugzeugabwehrkanon mounted on the tray:twisted:.

[Bigbjorn]

I like the idea. :DI wonder how the 120 would handle a Flugzeugabwehrkanon mounted on the tray:twisted:.

Could probably pull a four x 20mm mount on a trailer with electric & hydraulic feed from the LR, which also carries the ammunition belts/drums.

[303gunner]

I can understand where you're coming from regarding stock, but all I have is a cat that gets frightened by butterflies, so I reckon there's nothing cooler than low flying military aircraft!!:arms:

I've been driving across the convict bridge on Mt Victoria pass and seen four spinning props on a Herc coming UP at me from Hartley Valley. After pulling over and looking for the Herc on the other side, it was now well down in the Kanimbla Valley on the other side after "Popping" over the ridge. WOOT! Who needs rollercoasters when you have a job like that.

Another time, probably in the lead up to the Olympics, or the Pope, or APEC, whatever, the SAS were practicising night Counter-Terrorism tactics by flying darkened Blackhawks (no Nav lights) in to attack the Lithgow Small Arms Factory, with smoke, flashbangs and :ninja:'s rapelling down ropes. The town had been warned in the paper the week prior that during the following week there may be "Goings-on" at the Factory and to not be alarmed. The minute that helicopters were heard over the valley, everyone scrambled in their cars for a vantage point over the Factory for the show. If any of the Blackhawks (there were at least 4) had collided and come down, there would have been a lot of townsfolk there to catch them. But they were pros and were in and on the ground without any hiccups in seconds, even before many had arrived to watch!:mad: Thank goodness for Night Vision Goggles and Infra Red.

COOL!

[Bigbjorn]

A mate used to farm in the Premer-Tambar Springs area when the Blue Orchids were flying Mirages out of Newcastle. He told me he would be plowing a very large paddcok, 2000 acres, in a heat and boredom induced semi-coma and "the bloody RAAF" would, by Murphy's Law, always seem to pick that time to do some supersonic low flying exercises. The aircraft would be gone by the time the sound passed over him and he would nearly spring backwards out of the seat in fright. I asked him if he thought of sending his laundry to the adjutant at Williamstown with a stern letter.

[Rangier Rover]

A mate used to farm in the Premer-Tambar Springs area when the Blue Orchids were flying Mirages out of Newcastle. He told me he would be plowing a very large paddcok, 2000 acres, in a heat and boredom induced semi-coma and "the bloody RAAF" would, by Murphy's Law, always seem to pick that time to do some supersonic low flying exercises. The aircraft would be gone by the time the sound passed over him and he would nearly spring backwards out of the seat in fright. I asked him if he thought of sending his laundry to the adjutant at Williamstown with a stern letter.

Not far from here.

should try riding a young horse when that happens:eek: BANG....Next thing you know the horse is gone and your **** up on the deck:o

[JDNSW]

Many years ago I was flying my Auster from Archerfield to Glen Innes on a bright, sunny morning. I was south of Beaudesert, at about 1000AGL, and caught a glimpse of something out of my right eye going under me - looked left and saw the tail end of two Sabres proceeding towards the coast well below me, and doing probably 300kts.

Similarly, flying about twenty-five years ago from Broome to Pt Augusta at 9500ft, traffic passed to me was two F-18s descending from FL180 (18,000ft) to 250AGL travelling at 500kts en route Salisbury to Woomera. Never did see them.

And last night had another Hercules, but this was before dark - did a 45 degree turn over the house about 300ft above terrain, apparently dodging the CB this time.

John

[Bundalene]

Thirty years ago when I worked at (the now non-existent) Castlereagh Dragway in Western Sydney, the Hercules and Carabu aircraft would fly in really low over the drag strip on their decent to Richmond RAAF Base.
The sound would sort of bounce off the neaby Blue Mountains and it was almost as noisy as a Top Fuel Dragster!!!

Still, it was quite a sight.

Mrs B

[Rangier Rover]

Many years ago I was flying my Auster from Archerfield to Glen Innes on a bright, sunny morning. I was south of Beaudesert, at about 1000AGL, and caught a glimpse of something out of my right eye going under me - looked left and saw the tail end of two Sabres proceeding towards the coast well below me, and doing probably 300kts.

Similarly, flying about twenty-five years ago from Broome to Pt Augusta at 9500ft, traffic passed to me was two F-18s descending from FL180 (18,000ft) to 250AGL travelling at 500kts en route Salisbury to Woomera. Never did see them.

And last night had another Hercules, but this was before dark - did a 45 degree turn over the house about 300ft above terrain, apparently dodging the CB this time.

John You had an Auster. What was it like looking down in a head wind and seeing trucks gaining going over hills:p
I still think they were a great aircraft in their day. There is a yellow one up the road from here in good shape. When the engine was rebuilt had a main bearing torn out of the crank case and they were still flying it:eek:.

We have had agricultural air craft including helicopters here look down and see a low flying jet looking up at them:eek:

Now putting up a wind monitor tower 70 meters tall so they better be very carefull here at night:D
I'll give it a few years and some clown will get tangled up in it. Hopefully not a private plane in bad weather:(


Tony.

[JDNSW]

You had an Auster. What was it like looking down in a head wind and seeing trucks gaining going over hills:p.......
The one I had was a J-5F - clipped wing aerobatic, but speeds pretty similar to a 172. Not really a four seater - 211lbs aft of the front seats, about enough for one passenger back there by the time you take into account the two gallons of oil behind the back seat. And the high back front seats with full harness made getting into the back a bit of an exercise. One interesting point was that like the early Cherokees it had a crank on the roof for trim - but it worked the opposite way. And at the time I was current on both.

The Gipsy Major was quite a good engine - the first light aircraft engine to exceed 1000hrs between overhauls. However, combination of no rubber mounts and in line not opposed meant it was rough compared to typical more modern engines. Also, the permissible oil consumption was from 1 quart to 1 gallon per hour - any less or more you started worrying. I remember reading an account of a ferry flight of a Drover with three Gipsy Majors from, I think, New Caledonia, to Queensland - major concern for the ferry flight was fitting extra oil tanks to extend the range!

John