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BBMF Spitfire currently buzzing around Belper area in Derbyshire, I expect the rest of BBMF will be due at Blackpool Air Show.
Edit: Lancaster PA474 currently crossing Cheshire
Anyone in Liverpool looks like the Lanc is about to fly down the mersey. 5 mins or so.
Ah, maybe not. It's doing M6 north.
There's a couple b52s back at Fairford to keep an eye out for. I've not seen them on the tracker yet
There's currently an Israeli C-130 Hercules crossing Southern Scotland.
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=738a92
Two of the B52s left Fairford about 6.30 this morning - quite a sound to get woken up by. They don't usually pop up on ADS-B
By the sounds of it, 1 or 2 more are leaving now (10ish)
The BUFF’s are doing a ‘show the colours’ flight over parts of Europe:
- Skopje, North Macedonia 2:35-2:45 p.m.
- Tirana, Albania 2:50- 3:00 p.m.
- Coast of Montenegro 3:05-3:15 p.m.
- Dubrovnik, Croatia 3:10-3:20 p.m.
Only one is showing up on ADS-B, it’s just left Bosnia-Hertzegovina’s airspace heading roughly NNW, callsign SPLTR24.
There are four at Fairford at the moment:
- 60-0023
- 60-0005
- 60-0034
- 60-0026
60-0034, ‘Wise Guy’, is one of only two that have been removed from the Boneyard and brought back into service, the other is 60-0007, ‘Ghost Rider’
Just had a C130 over Salford out of Brize.
This is the nose art for 60-0005, one of the two over Hungary at the moment…
Incidentally, does anyone know anything about an aircraft like a C-130 with *eight* engines? We were driving back from Thetford last Friday and something the size of a C-130 flew over us, pretty much silently (although we had the car windows closed), coming in to land at Mildenhall I assume.
I didn't get a lot of chance to look at it, although was surprised I hadn't heard it, but it had the standard two engines per wing, with what looked like an extra two slightly smaller engines per wing as well, possibly mounted above the wing.
Could have been a MC-130 Commando? USAF have a special forces air wing there.
Look like this: [url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48890117456_a216f55d3d_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48890117456_a216f55d3d_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Lockheed MC-130J Commando ll, 11-5731, 67th Special Operations Squadron, 352nd Special Operations Wing RAF Mildenhall, D75_6451 by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/122876669@N03/ ]George Land[/url], on Flickr
C130 with wing tanks most likely. Plenty flying around the UK from the USAF.
Incidentally, does anyone know anything about an aircraft like a C-130 with *eight* engines?
Reminded me of the story (possibly apocryphal / internet myth) that crops up sometimes with B52's when a fighter pilot in his single-engine F16 requested a priority approach and landing due to his engine running rough.
ATC advised him that he was second in line behind a B52 approaching with one engine out to which the fighter pilot replied:
"ah, the dreaded 7-engine approach..."
Re whatever you saw, I'd guess at MC-130 as well, they do look weird:
[img] 
[/img]
The Donna Nook range area must be loud at the moment - this boy's doing circuits at 300kts around 1500ft altitude
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43caed
B52 coming back in to land now
Thanks @relapsed_mandalorian et al, that looks like the badger. I'm impressed by how quiet it was, maybe practicing some sort of glide landing...
Could be, I guess. But some of the loops were longish and straight and low, as if lining up on a target. Wouldn't you do g-loc training at altitude to give you a bit of time to come round if blacked out?
(I am not a fast jet pilot, obviously)
I’m impressed by how quiet it was, maybe practicing some sort of glide landing…
The latest iteration of the C-130 uses eight-bladed props, which are significantly quieter than the old four-blade ones. I think there are still some old C-130’s about, possibly flying with smaller countries transport wings, but I’m pretty sure that all of the ones the RAF fly are now the current model, as are USAF planes.
Anyone else running their own ads-b tracker ?
Coupled a Raspberry Pi with a £25 receiver and am using a biscuit tin as an antenna backplate.
Just 67mm tall and currently sitting in the roof of the shed, it can pick up aircraft from far south of Glasgow, across the Clyde and to Fort William.
Next: a 200m aerial in the garden .... 🙂
My feed: https://www.adsbexchange.com/api/feeders/?feed=72q3sc1EY-XS
My MLAT feeder name is: HMP_Cornton 😉
That's pretty cool SC. Another thing in the list to do when I have the time/money.
@StirlingCrispin that's superb. If I lived anywhere other than near(ish) the middle of London I'd love to do that. I suspect the area around here is pretty well-covered...
@Pierre - there are benefits to running your own tracker (geek kudos, ad-free map on ads-b exchange etc)
Coverage in London is good but there's room for more:
https://map.adsbexchange.com/mlat-map/#
Oh to live in the middle of nowhere....
2 lots of red arrows tracking. I know they've had mechanical issues, hopefully all is okay and the second one is just testing before heading to join the others
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c456
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c440
Big day out for the BMBF Lancaster today:
Anyone have any ideas on the significance of the route? During the flight it was doing loops around:
-Brinklow
-Ilmington
-Broadway
-Wells
-Glastonbury
-Bovey Tracey
-Verwood
-Uffington White Horse
-Wallingford
-Hazlemere
-Bletchley
2 lots of red arrows tracking. I know they’ve had mechanical issues, hopefully all is okay and the second one is just testing before heading to join the others
They aborted the display at the Rhyl Airshow yesterday, Red 6 hit a seagull and smashed the canopy. Broke formation and returned to the airfield with Red 7 as wingman. The remaining 5 just circled around for a bit to ensure the airfield was clear for the recovery, then they too headed back.
The BBMF display which opened the Sunday flying was very good, several low passes by the Lancaster which was nice to see.
News report of the birdstrike:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-62712450
I like the quote from the BBC report above
"Happy to report the jet landed safely and the pilot is unhurt."
Suspect the seagull was rather less so 🤔
Something a bit different just flew over- a Bücker Bü131
Edit: make that TWO Bücker Bü131
Seems the B52 was at Bournemouth today. Anyone know if it'll head that way tomorrow??
Just WTF is this over Edinburgh?!
Cant find the links for it right now but its a ground beacon of some sort used for tests.
Red Arrow?
It's a calibration transponder. A giveaway is the reported altitude, they're often silly high or in negative altitude so they don't get mistaken for anything.
If you look at the Squawk: 7777 = Non-discrete code used by fixed test transponders (RABMs) to check correctness of radar stations (BITE).
More codes here. You can see 7777 in the US means something else entirely.
I forgot to look as adsb earlier on, but apparently there were a couple of Typhoons circling north of London all day.
What I did see was one of the a320 tankers which was doing racetrack patterns just south of the wash for much of the pm.
Fighter jets busy the past couple of days. Always 3-5 on flightradar over the UK.
Even more on adsbexhange: This one is not on FlightRadar: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c4ab
Have a Typhoon over the house a couple of times the last few days. They use MLAT - which require multiple receivers to pick up.
Flightradar won't take MLAT data - so that may be why they miss aircraft
A military Airbus A-400M is currently lapping Newcastle.
Before that it was lapping Edinburgh airport (3 approaches) having flown up from Brize Norton.
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c5e3
In other news I treated myself to a new antenna and SDR-R receiver. Currently picking up aircraft over Sheffield!
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?feed=1FFKCa6EmbI9
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/
Airbus A400m been doing some very strange things over the Isle of Wight for hours today.
Any clues as to why.
That's the same plane as was lapping Edinburgh / Newcastle last week.
No idea what it's doing - other than accumulating flying hours.
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c5e3
Looks like it has got bored now.
It looks to belong to the test squadron (it was the one used for the first drop of paratroopers) so guess it was up to something more than just racking up hours.
Looks like a air refuelling pattern but pretty sure the RAF have decided against using the A400s in that mode.
C17 and a C130 due over London at 11am for the Lord Mayor's Show.
They're circling RAF Fairford at the moment
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c6b8
Edit: just been joined by an A400 as well
Heard and sort of saw one (appearing in gap in the low cloud momentarily) of those, think the 130 over Waltham Cross. Was quite low.
Apache going for a sight seeing trip down the river: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c27c