[Closed] Chinooks over London today

Didn't ya hear, Harry's gone rogue...

Probably protecting mike Pompeo from rogue Huawei apparatus

Fairly normal, work in Vauxhall and chinooks and whatever the more attack focused helicopter is going over happens pretty much every week. Read somewhere, maybe STW, they follow the Thames as it’s a nice easy marker

That’ll probably be it then Kilo.
Wonder where they’re heading?

I live near RAF Odiham, we have wuca-wucas flying over the house regularly and the occasional Apache gunship. Having met a few RAF heli pilots, seems that navigation by road-atlas was quite common on earlier Chinook models in low visibility where the navigation system wasn't quite up to scratch - see road, drop down to read the signs and off they went

I was driving towards Bristol tonight in the dark and saw two aircraft flying close together. I could only see their flashing lights but thought it very odd that they were flying close in the evening.

Noticeable today (at approx 3pm and again at 6pm) there was a pair of Chinooks passing over Westminster, at the earlier time they were followed by a pair of heli-gunships. No idea what they were but looked purposeful.

It will be boxes and boxes of the new 50p ready for the Westminster street party.
Only Chinooks could manage that weight of dispair.

2 gunships (? - not Chinooks, anyway, not Apaches either, I don't think) heading west at 3:20, 2 Chinooks heading East flying much closer together, pairs crossed above the Tate. ish

I'd heard someone had found a possible benefit of Brexit, so it was being rushed back under heavy guard to be verified, before it vanished into thin air 😉

They are normally around when visiting big wigs are around.

I work just back from London Bridge (near to Fishmongers Hall) and we often hear them.

You get a good view if you're in (on?) the roof garden.

Yeah, see them quite a lot from my office new Blackfriars bridge. Apparently they also land here occasionally
https://www.hac.org.uk/home

They were following the M3 motorway (as they often seem to do), then disappeared off into the distance over Amazingstoke at about 3.30 when I was travelling south this afternoon.

I heard they were flying all our lovely British sterling back from Europe.

Transiting through the heli-lane, there's a few exercises on at the moment so could be that. AH from Wattisham transiting south to Salisbury Plain area will go through lanes and vice versa.

And no, they don't mooch about just because 'someone is town'.

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See them over New Malden quite a lot. I've been told they are transporting troops into central London, but not sure if they ever land there.

Get choppers of all types flying over where I work, which is in Westbury, on the very edge of Salisbury Plain, there’s been some Wildcats around, a Merlin, a Chinook went over yesterday at high speed and very low, 200-250’ or so, and AH-64’s are not uncommon.

You guys should ride Thetford between 4 and 6pm during the summer. Loads of military activity on a nightly basis. Fast jets, whirlybirds and all sorts of US Air Force stuff.
OK the trails aren’t great, but the sights and sounds are.

Maybe it’s a PR thing? Justifying the defence budget and make the populous feel safe at the same time. Win win.

A bit like the USAF bases on the Norfolk/Suffolk border who play airborne war above the rural East Anglian idyll with their extremely loud engines, just to remind us of our special relationship and how lucky we are to have them here. I’d prefer them to **** off and practise their dog fights over the North Sea.

I’ve been told they are transporting troops into central London,

I suspect it’s more likely troops would be moved by heliBedford (heliM.A.N.?) unless it was all kicking off.

Had many a trip in Helibedford 🙂

Loved flying in Chinooks even had a emercency landing in one!! the blast from the engines as you ran out certainly kept you on your toes!

Used to see them and the blackhawk down choppers flying down thames and bearing towards and beyond the Palace. Used to think they were flying VIPs between the military and commercial airports. Probably nonsense!

I thought the Chinook you see pretty regularly going down the Thames was the PM off to an airfield in Kent ??

There's a fleet of helicopters that do VIP shuttles. But they quite often drive, easier to manage for protection details.

Anyhoo, out of all the rotary aircraft i've worked and travelled on the Chinook wouldn't be my first choice for a relaxing commute.

Read somewhere, maybe STW, they follow the Thames as it’s a nice easy marker

I live a 9 iron from the river and this certainly seems to be the case. My father used to tell a story about flights in Germany where the key navigation tool was a road atlas.

They have to follow the river, the whole of London is controlled airspace, dropping out of heli-lanes requires flightplans and prior approval. One of the slates is posted above, lots of rules governing it.

The river Severn is used as a flight corridor too, can see the BZZ flights on flightradar usually peel off it between Bridgnorth and Ironbridge heading North East to exercises over the North Sea

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They do a drill where they land in one of the parks in Brixton at night too which is exciting if you happen to be passing. Apparently practicing getting casualties from a terror incident to St Georges if the roads are blocked.

They quite often hover near London Bridge, with the 'back door' open, bet the views are awesome!

root-n-5th

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See them over New Malden quite a lot. I’ve been told they are transporting troops into central London, but not sure if they ever land there.

THat's right, they use the Yodel approach to transport and just get close then drop them all over the fence