Viewing 32 posts - 1 through 32 (of 32 total)
  • Low flying Hercules
  • boxelder
    Full Member

    Two of them, so low the wing cast shadows across the lawn. They went up the valley, then banked left to fly over Crummock and Buttermere, disappearing behind the low hills between. Great viewing.

    toppers3933
    Free Member

    Every few months I get one fly over the shop. So low you don’t hear it coming or leaving.

    mdavids
    Free Member

    A few years ago on a holiday in the Highlands we’d parked up at a viewing spot over-looking Loch Quoich ready to take a couple of snaps when I caught something moving out the corner of my eye.

    hercules

    Video doesn’t really do it justice but it was a fantastic sight, came swooping in over the top of mountains then flew down the loch.

    donald
    Free Member

    [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W161wBS3XWw[/video]

    beaker
    Full Member

    Better outside of it than inside!

    renton
    Free Member

    When I was out in Iraq a few years back one of the special hercs out there was so low he had to pull up to clear the perimeter fence at Basra airfield.

    crush83
    Free Member

    Yep had some mates on one of them today, one of them filled 4 sick bags lol. I didn’t get to go this time 🙁

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    This flew over my head a couple of years back by Ribblehead. Didn’t hear it until it was virtually on top of me. The turbulence and smell of aviation fuel was fantastic. I’m not sure how low it was but it climbed to start making that turn!

    racefaceec90
    Full Member

    have nothing to say but the first plane i ever had a flight in (i was 10 at the time) was a hercules. they had the cargo bay door open (with a net to stop anyone falling out).

    we could also go into the cockpit and watch the pilot flying the plane.

    great day 8)

    andyl
    Free Member

    Had a view like this as one of them was circling the mendips a couple of years ago on the run up to the fairford airshow. Wondered if they were targetting mountain bikers or deer 😀

    monkeysfeet
    Free Member

    I spoent 8 hours in a Herc several years ago flying to Goose Bay in Labrador. A most unpleasant experience!

    hora
    Free Member

    LIKE.

    The best time to see anything military low flying is midweek summertime in Derwent/Peaks

    hairyscary
    Full Member

    I spoent 8 hours in a Herc several years ago flying to Goose Bay in Labrador. A most unpleasant experience!

    Aye, I know the feeling.
    Lossiemouth to The Azores. The Azores to Bangor. Bangor to Nellis AFB (Las Vegas). Trailing the Tornados out to Red Flag.
    At least I wasn’t going to Goose Bay!

    A tactical landing into Basra in a Hercules was quite an experience.

    binners
    Full Member

    The sight of one of those things getting hurled around through a lakes valley is a joy to behold.

    I’ve had the dubious pleasure of being on the flight deck of one of the things, doing bump runs at RAF Lytham. When they wound the engines up to full tilt, the noise and vibration was incredible, and the only thought in my head was ‘theres no effing way this thing is going to get off the ground!”

    It did though. In what felt like about 100 yards. 😯

    mt
    Free Member

    Had one fly past while I was on Goat Crag Borrowdale. It was below me, one of the crew in the cockpit waved as they went past.

    lemonysam
    Free Member

    Growing up, we lived on what I assume was a flightpath for Spadeadam so some days we’d get herc after herc after herc coming over so low that if we were out the back having a kickabout we’d play a game of trying to kick the ball up to hit the plane. Obviously they were much higher than we could kick a ball but we were fairly stupid children.

    nixie
    Full Member

    Had a view like this as one of them was circling the mendips a couple of years ago on the run up to the fairford airshow. Wondered if they were targetting mountain bikers or deer

    I don’t think that is a Herc (although based on one). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AC-130

    crush83
    Free Member

    Nixie, it is a Hercules, it’s an AC130 used by the yanks, retro fitted with something like a 30mm minigun, 50mm cannon and a 75mm howitzer!

    fergal
    Free Member

    Interdiction- puff the magic dragon or something.

    renton
    Free Member

    ^^^^^Love from above. That is a spectre gun ship.

    My first flight in a herc was into Basra doing a tactical landing, I nearly shat myself !!

    nixie
    Full Member

    Nixie, it is a Hercules, it’s an AC130 used by the yanks, retro fitted with something like a 30mm minigun, 50mm cannon and a 75mm howitzer!

    I know that 🙂 but <pedantic mode on> it has a different designation (AC130 instead of C130 and different friendly name(s)) so is not a Hercules.

    stevied
    Free Member

    Not seen them for a long time but would quite often be cycling above Tornado’s and Harrier’s doing low level stuff around the Malvern’s (maybe they’ve been taken out of service)
    My parent’s house was on a route for Hercules/Apache/Chinook’s and we’d get, almost daily, fly-by’s at very low altitude.
    Gotta love a low-level fly-by 🙂

    andyl
    Free Member

    I know that but <pedantic mode on> it has a different designation (AC130 instead of C130 and different friendly name(s)) so is not a Hercules.

    That would be why I googled AC-130 to get the image and it’s classed as a variant 😛

    and to correct the latter post it’s a 105mm Howitzer 😈

    monkeysfeet
    Free Member

    Aye, I know the feeling.
    Lossiemouth to The Azores. The Azores to Bangor. Bangor to Nellis AFB (Las Vegas). Trailing the Tornados out to Red Flag.
    At least I wasn’t going to Goose Bay!

    A tactical landing into Basra in a Hercules was quite an experience.

    Never experienced a tactical landing, but saw a few. You could tell the folk who had flown in a herc before, as they put their hoods up during landing to prevent getting soaked from the condensation thawing!
    Goose Bay was amazing, we were there Sep-Oct. -18 at night, but we could eat in the tri-services mess with the Yanks. Best food I have ever eaten.

    hammyuk
    Free Member

    Amazingly capable airframe but by god are the the hellest thing to be in the back off unless you are running out the door…
    several times over 12hrs with a LR wheel 6″ away from your knees and a Loadmaster that won’t let you move 👿
    Or the one who kicked me in the back as I was fast asleep on the tilt of a 110 – 3 mths after I returned from a not insignificant set of injuries. I didnt get to punch him – my Flgt Sarg did it 😆

    cobrakai
    Full Member

    Did an emergency landing in stravanger in one back in 2002. Not too bad as the RAF put us up in the raddisson sas for the night while a replacement flew out the next day. After 3 months on exercise I wouldnt like to see the room service bill the RAF had to pay.

    marcus7
    Free Member

    Pretty sure an A400M flew over me today ! It appeared to be taking off from broughton and was VERY low indeed!!!

    DavidB
    Free Member

    My Dad was a Herc pilot based at Lyneham, he flew Snoopy at the end of his career (for those in the know). And also landed on the runway at Port Stanley after the Vulcans did a poor job of wrecking it. His career lowlight was flying Jim Davidson to the Falklands which was made into a film and video. They filmed Dad doing inflight refuelling about 15 times, he missed once. They used that specific cut. He was furious

    I’m working at (Ex) RAF Lyneham at the moment – it’s now a Solar Farm/training College.

    There’s usually a couple of them a day do a low fly-by

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    I love the Hercules regularly seen in my childhood and youth in and out of the local bases along with what I think is my very favourite combat aircraft (from an interested civilian’s perspective) the A-10. Odd looking but such a distinctive aircraft and from what I have read over the years a quite special and unique one too.

    Teetosugars
    Free Member

    Hateful things.
    No one flys club class in a Herc.
    Always happy to jump out of ’em mind..

    seadog101
    Full Member

    We lived on the North escarpment of Salisbury plain when I was a kid. The Herc’s would low level dropping things out of the back training over RAF Keevil. Then bank directly at our house, and seem to leave it as late as possible before gaining altitude to fly off over the Plain.

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