Big increase in military flights

Probably Fairford rather than Brize?

Indeed you are correct; I was watching on a small laptop from 400miles away and my eyes are tired!

Hawk trainer just gone over twice on Manchester Airports flight path, second time with landing gear down. Flew in from Angelsey, did a couple of laps of Manchester, now out half way to Isle of Man.

Interesting where some of the military transporters go. Watched a US transporter land in Ouled Sidi Brahim, Algeria Airbase doesn’t show on the traking website but go to google earth and it shows up as an unnamed airbase, looks new.

I was watching a couple of Puma helicopters earlier flying close to Inverness – they were not showing up on the tracker.

The coastguard helicopter doesn’t either.

Kuco, I work a lot of traffic in and out of lakenheath/mildenhall. I’ve had to look at the Icao airport destination then Google it. I’ve never heard of these places.

Both the C17 and the A400M were active earlier. C17 up in Scotland, the A400M going up the east coast over the Irish Sea.

@fossy – the Hawk will have been out of RAF Valley.

@Kuco, just did some googling and apparently the runway’s being extended and modernised.

http://airportsbase.org/Algeria/all/Boussaada/Ain_Eddis

Some background info…

https://www.air-journal.fr/2011-02-15-l%E2%80%99algerie-met-pres-de-400-millions-d%E2%80%99euros-pour-renover-ses-aeroports-525487.html

translated

http://www.mtp.gov.dz/Aviation_civile_Algerie/index.php/535-2/

translated

the A400M going up the east coast over the Irish Sea.

The A400 was doing some training at Glasgow, it was due to do 4 or 5 approaches I think.

I’ve just heard it on its way home past Troon.

I spent some time watching a pair of V-22 Osprey yesterday, flying around south Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Bill, then around Bovington. They were very close together most of the time, then split up vanishing off the tracker at various times. The looked to be having some fun, getting up to nearly 400kts at 500ft then 160 at 1600ft.
They took of from close to the Royal Marine base at Poole, one had no call-sign, just XXXXX, the other was carrying Knife71, so I’d hazard a guess that at least one was being used by Commandos. There’s also a possibility of a connection to another base at Hereford, there’s been rumours they are obtaining a couple of Osprey because of the operational advantages over Chinook, range, altitude, etc.
Makes you wonder… 😉

Cool

Lollipop Submarine Hunting?

couple of F16s refueling off the yorkshire coast

https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae0151

There’s some sort of exercise taking place just north of the The Wash. Lots of activity.

Raggatip you’re got better-googling skills than me as I didn’t find anything about it.

CounZero there were two Ospreys flying very close together yesterday afternoon but they were the other side of the country around King’s Lynn.

I think I have developed an unhealthy obsession with this site.

They’re onto me; a Eurofighter just flew over and it wasn’t shown!

LBA must have some staff on the last few days as a small number of planes have been in and out. Strangely though, a white unmarked Lear jet sort of thing has taken off both today and yesterday, and as I’ve been out in the garden with little to do, I’ve looked at Flight tracker24 and the plane doesn’t show up. Any ideas? Menwith Hill isn’t too far away (listening station) and I know the yanks there use LBA a lot. Just saying.

Busy night tonight.

There was a Eurofighter Typhoon flying around the Wash today, from Conningsby, I think it might have been trying to do a 3D proof of that knot theory slice problem someone posted about…

That website is great. We get a lot of aircraft flying over and being able to see what they are is great. Ambicopter was out a lot last week practicing night landings at the nearby airfield. Interesting to see that the Red Arrows don’t show up on it though

Heard an unusual aircraft a few minutes ago, looked out of the front window to see a pair of V-22 Ospreys flying over! Opened the web page to check on them, only one is showing, but the other is Knife71! It’s track started at Mildenhall, and it landed at the Royal Marine base at Poole.

@Kuco the area north of the wash is a Managed Danger area. The 323 complex. It’s not unusual to see dozens of fighters on an exercise in that area. The area itself is vast so civil ATC to/from Europe have to take a detour round it…even if the military are not playing in it. Generally there’s no sub hunting in that area…that’s what the West coast of Scotland is used for. A lot of the activity involves Falcon20’s pretending to be targets (usually Cobham/Rushden) which has a load of electronic jamming kit on board.
The MDA has now been moved over the UK east coast to cater for the new F35’s…(most of which don’t paint on that tracker)as they’re a ground attack aircraft as well.

If you follow @RAFBrizeNorton on Twitter, they post about the C17 flights. It’s been in and around the SW a lot for the last few days.

Knife71 went over with its anonymous companion about 35 minutes ago, heading north. I tracked it up over Cirencester towards Birmingham then it turned NE across Cambridgeshire towards Conningsby then suddenly vanished.

It is odd some aircraft will vanish then can appear again.

I’m aware the Wash is used as a bombing range, as we use to joke at work about spraying one of our weed boats orange as it was forever breaking down and sailing it to the Wash.

I’m aware the Wash is used as a bombing range, as we use to joke at work about spraying one of our weed boats orange as it was forever breaking down and sailing it to the Wash.

Many years ago on a family holiday in Scotland, my grandfather was really keen to go to Cape Wrath.
We went to the ferry quay and the boatman said it was cancelled that day as the RAF were using it as a bombing range (that whole area has a lot of military use).

He then added that when the RAF were flying, the safest place to be was the bombing range!

I’d love to see an Osprey in person. Not seen one yet.

Well there we go, two Apache gunships just flew straight over my house !

Count zero, when aircraft fly in formation they have to abide by certain rules. Being within a certain distance of each other and within sight of the flight leader are examples. If that’s the case then only the flight leader has their transponder on, hence why you only see 1 Knife call sign. They are then treated as one aircraft by ATC.

If for any reason the rules for flying in formation cannot be met, it will break up and all aircraft will then switch their transponder on and be assigned an individual transponder code. They will then be treated as individual aircraft.

Formation flights are allowed in controlled airspace but only if there are certain conditions met.

Knife71 went over with its anonymous companion about 35 minutes ago, heading north. I tracked it up over Cirencester towards Birmingham then it turned NE across Cambridgeshire towards Conningsby then suddenly vanished.

Well I was tracking it as it flew up NNW passing to the east of York so I messaged my sister who lives up right near where it was going. She didn’t particularly care one way or the other but she did send me a picture of it as it went over her house. 🙂

A couple of Hercules doing air refueling.

Never heard of this plane before but one heading toward Oxford. Short SC 7 Skyvan

@cobrakai – two more V-22’s went over tonight, flying from Portland Bill, where there’s a military base, and ended up at The Wash. both had transponders showing, one was Knife74, the other was XXXX72.
There been a lot of activity locally tonight down on the Imber Ranges, four Lynx, a Chinook and a C130, as well as the Ospreys.

The two Ospreys passed close to where I live. I could see their lights flashing in the distance out the front window.

The A400M is doing touch and go at Cardiff International Airport at the moment:
https://tar1090.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c5dc

Edit: or is it RAF St Athan?

Seems to be a significant number of American Military transport/fuel aircraft flying over Northern UK (Yorkshire Lancs), at height this morning

A C130’s just done a touch down at Manchester airport, then flew off over my house.

Would never usually notice, but WFH in ‘the shed’ and the lack of any other aircraft, just makes you notice them.

Huge solid contrail still visible in the sky over Northern Cumbria from a C5M Super Galaxy transporter – now heading over Dalbeatie….

she’s a bigun’ do I win a prize or owt?

Noted how the C5M disappeard off the radar as it headed off over the Atlantic…noticed it as very unusual solid contrail in the clear blue sky…anyone else see it?

There have been a lot of RAF transports flying over Sidmouth when radar shows them miles away.
Could swear one of them was an Antonov in grey/white with a blue stripe but no camera so cant confirm.

Just in case you have not seen this

https://www.derryjournal.com/news/politics/dominic-cummings-dublin-airport-jokes-pilot-flying-small-aircraft-testing-his-eye-sight-transatlantic-flight-2866361

Some of the callsigns are generic, love the more inspired ones though.
There’s a Typhoon around at the moment (suspect has taken off from nearby) with JEDI0011 callsign. Hungarian C130 the other day with BARTOK01 as callsign. I’m sure there are others.

I was watching some curious activity just SouthWest of Frankfurt earlier, as many as 8 F16’s up in the air at once. In packs of 2 circling around, some tight- some as if on standby. They were closely following an unspecified aircraft who’s country of origin was ‘Russia’…I’m assuming this is a dogfight exercise and they adapt the identifier for a laugh, either that or there’s some real sabre rattling stuff going on…

Another C5M Super Galaxy inbound, heading over Leeds shortly – a Boeing E3 sentry up, and 2 EuroFighters making shapes off the NorthEast coast – busy day.

Not as good as the V22 Osprey I saw yesterday eve through binoculars, with someone rappelling from the cargo doors from a hover above the hills..impressive stuff

US Super Galaxy currently over North Yorkshire dales, heading over Cumbria now…34000ft but she’s a big bird.