Racetrack Contrails and "Bizzare" Planes off the Yorkshire Coast

I was thinking Sea Vixen due to the Thunderbird2 look with middle part empty and the loud noise - she has got a bit of a voice at full chat and comes complete with the "blue note" resonance to boot.

 
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The Thunderbird manoeuvre is called the "Calypso Pass". Why?... I don't know.

( I spent 3 years flying with the "Virtual Thunderbirds" online aerobatic team, one of the reasons you shouldn't think that pilots having flight simulator set ups in their homes is suspicious, I wasn't the only airline pilot in the team either!)
 
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I just watch the Red Arrows doing a multi-ship version while eating my lunch a few hours ago...one of these days I'll get to the job site early enough to use my bugger camera....
 
The sky above East Yorkshire was busy last night. It started at about 10, it wasn't till 11 that it started to be irritating so I went on flight tracker and there was nothing showing. They finally flew off just after 11.30. There was a few posts on Facebook from other locals who were also distubed.
I have just played back the whole time frame and there was no civilian planes, how do I find out about the military planes?
 
The sky above East Yorkshire was busy last night. It started at about 10, it wasn't till 11 that it started to be irritating so I went on flight tracker and there was nothing showing. They finally flew off just after 11.30. There was a few posts on Facebook from other locals who were also distubed.
I have just played back the whole time frame and there was no civilian planes, how do I find out about the military planes?

There is this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operational-low-flying-training-timetable

https://www.gov.uk/military-low-flying

https://www.gov.uk/low-flying-in-your-area

But a lot of these areas are decided on the day of the exercise. I would encourage you to complain if it is a problem as the crews can just as easily go somewhere else or at a different flight level (once deconflicted). Im not in work this week but can check week starting 02 June if you like...?
 
There is this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operational-low-flying-training-timetable

https://www.gov.uk/military-low-flying

https://www.gov.uk/low-flying-in-your-area

But a lot of these areas are decided on the day of the exercise. I would encourage you to complain if it is a problem as the crews can just as easily go somewhere else or at a different flight level (once deconflicted). Im not in work this week but can check week starting 02 June if you like...?

Thanks for that. Just got off the phone to a lovely lady who is starting an investigation.
Nothing on the low flying time table so maybe a bit of naughty training going on?
I had no idea you could complain about the military! We have a population of less than 10,000 so technically it's a perfect place!
Love the links btw I do like to be proactive and find things out for myself, it stays in my head longer as my brain worked harder to earn the information!
 
Seems it's not the first time. From 2012 http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/mystery-hum-Hull-just-jet-plane/story-16625260-detail/story.html


Louisa Sewell said: "I'm right at the back of Orchard Park. You see a lot of planes and helicopters but they're never around longer then an hour. Last night the noise was from about 7.30 to just before midnight. It was really loud and house kept shaking. Not only that, at about 11.30am I was walking past Shaw Park and what looked like a massive cargo plane came out of the clouds really low. All the kids in the park were frightened and amazed."
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A wild guess but are you near an RAF base that scrambles interceptors?


Laura-Christina Stead said: "There were fighter jets going over North Hull at around 11pm last night - the rumbling sound is the mach that last ages before the plane passes over. I live on 21st and see them go over all the time, both at night and during the daylight hours. We're under a few direct flight paths. I don't think they were any louder than they normally are to be honest. I have heard them louder during the early evening."
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Thanks for that. Just got off the phone to a lovely lady who is starting an investigation.
Nothing on the low flying time table so maybe a bit of naughty training going on?
I had no idea you could complain about the military! We have a population of less than 10,000 so technically it's a perfect place!
Love the links btw I do like to be proactive and find things out for myself, it stays in my head longer as my brain worked harder to earn the information!


Low level usually means lower that 1000', and yours does not seem to fit that bill, so unlikely (though not impossible) to be on the timetable - i sent it to you as a source of contacts to complain. I just had a txt from a Pilot and he said he was just north of Grimsby over the last few days.

Even experienced crews have boxes to tick: Refuelling - Refuelling pairs - Refuelling pairs night - Strafe cold - Strafe hot - WSO checks - Pilot'Pilot checks and no-one is exempt. Due to my hearing nothing unusual it sounds pretty routine to me, and they won't know it is annoying until someone complains. It's in no-ones interest to be irritating so they will probably go somewhere else.
 
Seems it's not the first time. From 2012 http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/mystery-hum-Hull-just-jet-plane/story-16625260-detail/story.html

A wild guess but are you near an RAF base that scrambles interceptors?
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Nearly, RAF Scampton is a training base so I think that's why. I hadn't heard anything about Jets in Hull (Orchard Park) I think that may have made the news as a one off. It is a very populated area.

Low level usually means lower that 1000', and yours does not seem to fit that bill, so unlikely (though not impossible) to be on the timetable - i sent it to you as a source of contacts to complain. I just had a txt from a Pilot and he said he was just north of Grimsby over the last few days.

Even experienced crews have boxes to tick: Refuelling - Refuelling pairs - Refuelling pairs night - Strafe cold - Strafe hot - WSO checks - Pilot'Pilot checks and no-one is exempt. Due to my hearing nothing unusual it sounds pretty routine to me, and they won't know it is annoying until someone complains. It's in no-ones interest to be irritating so they will probably go somewhere else.

In the day time it is a sound that you get used to hearing every so often. Till 11.30pm is just plain rude, unless the Russians needed moving on?
There has been a significant increase in activity in the last few weeks so hopefully a friendly reminder people live here, will as you say move them elsewhere.
 
When I g
Nearly, RAF Scampton is a training base so I think that's why. I hadn't heard anything about Jets in Hull (Orchard Park) I think that may have made the news as a one off. It is a very populated area.



In the day time it is a sound that you get used to hearing every so often. Till 11.30pm is just plain rude, unless the Russians needed moving on?
There has been a significant increase in activity in the last few weeks so hopefully a friendly reminder people live here, will as you say move them elsewhere.
When I get back to work Ill see if am airspace notification or NOTAM has been issued, and if not I'll raise it as an concern, but if it is an Air Defence thing (Aircraft intercept, or even training for one) there might be little that can be done. I imagine though that the Typhoon Force will have the same concerns as us (Tornado Force), that keeping the public onside is important.

2330 is rude though, I agree....
 
RAF Scampton, isn't that home of the Reds? They'll be very active this time of year going to and from different airshows and constantly practicising in between.

Till 11.30pm is just plain rude, unless the Russians needed moving on?

Yes, we have had to send up Typhoons recently to "greet" the bears approaching our airspace. They will take-off utilising full military power and keep throttles wide open for some time under scramble conditions without apologies, night or day. I expect more of the same for a while yet, what with tensions in Ukraine etc.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...AF-Typhoons-scrambled-to-Russian-bombers.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/108...intercept-Russian-helicopter-over-Baltic.html
 
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The Reds have been here in CY for the past month but maybe heading back soon. Hope I catch a break and catch a few shots of of them unlike the previous years...
 
The sky above East Yorkshire was busy last night. It started at about 10, it wasn't till 11 that it started to be irritating so I went on flight tracker and there was nothing showing. They finally flew off just after 11.30. There was a few posts on Facebook from other locals who were also distubed.
I have just played back the whole time frame and there was no civilian planes, how do I find out about the military planes?

Welcome to the forum.

The activity that you are noting is likely to be the USAF F-15s operating out of RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk. They are noted for their early morning and late night flying at this time of year.

On the 14th May some 14 F-15E Strike Eagles were out and about after taking off between 0730 and 0800.

From Fighter Control forum.

14 May 2014

Was there today from 8.30, unfortunately 14 f15E got airborne around 7-30 to 8am got them recovering at approx 10am.
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http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=97568

On the 21st May the F-15s were night flying up to midnight.


The 48th Fighter Wing will conduct night training missions from RAF Lakenheath, May 19 - 22, 2014.

Nighttime flying operations are required to maintain aircrew proficiency and ensure our pilots remain ready to meet future challenges.

Due to summer daylight hours and airspace restrictions, 48th FW aircraft will be taking off and landing later than normal, with some aircraft arriving back at the installation around midnight on the scheduled dates.

For low-flying aircraft and aircraft related noise concerns, please contact the RAF Lakenheath Command Post at 01638 524 800.
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https://www.facebook.com/RAFLakenheath?fref=nf

Fighter Control forum link for monitoring the F-15 night flying.

http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=97921

As you can see the forum to visit is Fighter Control. You will have to register to gain access to all the content.

http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/index.php

Plane Plotter is a good source to track some of those military flights. You'll see lots of references to Plane Plotter on Fighter Control forum. The F-15s during the night flying period were appearing on Plane Plotter.
 
Not impressed got my letter from M.O.D 20140524_101218.jpg

Just seen your post Teej thanks for the info and number I will ring them direct. The planes were def sounded below 10,000 feet. We had some during the day yesterday heard but not seen.
 
A formation of two (or more?) Hawk T1A aircraft were seen on FR24 off the North Sea coast northeast of Grimsby around 2:30 PM BST (13:30 UTC):
Screen shot 2015-04-15 at 14.36.30.png
Is this the same airframe that Red Arrows use?
 
A formation of two (or more?) Hawk T1A aircraft were seen on FR24 off the North Sea coast northeast of Grimsby around 2:30 PM BST (13:30 UTC):
Screen shot 2015-04-15 at 14.36.30.png
Is this the same airframe that Red Arrows use?
Yes, although they are based at RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire.

Looking at that FR24 track, it seems to originate from Marne Barracks, near Catterick. I thought that runway was no longer in use?
 
It may originate from RAF Leeming, home of No. 100 Squadron that operates Hawk. In this case these were not Red Arrows.

Yes, that is much more likely (although there were rumours of exotic and secret engines being tested at Marne last year!) https://alchemyandaccident.wordpress.com/tag/marne-barracks/

Later on Saturday night, at around 10pm, people across Britain reported hearing loud bangs which experts have claimed could have been caused by a jet engine, fuelling some theories that they could have come from a top secret fighter plane.
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(On a vaguely related note, FR24 tracked a Polish Air Force turboprop trainer, an Orlik - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL-130_Orlik - a few days ago, which I could see in the distance at 41,000ft, leaving a contrail. According to what I can find on Wikipedia etc, the service ceiling is some 9,000ft lower than that. Odd...)
 
(On a vaguely related note, FR24 tracked a Polish Air Force turboprop trainer, an Orlik - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL-130_Orlik - a few days ago, which I could see in the distance at 41,000ft, leaving a contrail. According to what I can find on Wikipedia etc, the service ceiling is some 9,000ft lower than that. Odd...)
Orlik is a slavic word for "eaglet'. Are you sure it was a Polish plane and not a disguised Russian bomber?:eek:
 
Orlik is a slavic word for "eaglet'. Are you sure it was a Polish plane and not a disguised Russian bomber?:eek:

I took a very distant photo of it (which I think I deleted as it was blurry) and I must say it looked more jet-like than pictures of the Orlik I found. Now there's a conspiracy for you! :)


Edit: here is the FR24 screenshot. Ignore the picture on this one, obviously.

image.jpg

Ostensibly 038 is this plane: http://www.planespotters.net/Aviation_Photos/photo.show?id=561903

 
Do you remember the date and time?
That screenshot was taken on April 6 at 7:03pm (BST). Past the one-week FR24 cut-off, unfortunately.

I remember it turned to the south somewhere around Wiltshire and headed out into the Channel, but I didn't follow it past that. The reason I noticed it is it looked like it was going to head almost straight over my location, but it changed course before reaching me.

Edit: just noticed the speed. If that's accurate then there's no way it was an Orlik, which has a top speed of 550km/h, or about 340mph. Odd!
 
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That screenshot was taken on April 6 at 7:03pm (BST). Past the one-week FR24 cut-off, unfortunately.

I remember it turned to the south somewhere around Wiltshire and headed out into the Channel, but I didn't follow it past that. The reason I noticed it is it looked like it was going to head almost straight over my location, but it changed course before reaching me.

Edit: just noticed the speed. If that's accurate then there's no way it was an Orlik, which has a top speed of 550km/h, or about 340mph. Odd!

That's a pity. My guess is that it could be one of the planes used by the Government of Poland after the crash of their Air Force One five years ago.
Since May 2010 The Government of Poland used (civilian aircraft) two Embraer ERJ-175LR (ERJ-170-200LR) leased from LOT Polish Airlines to carry out official/state flights.
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They could be practicing scrambling times as there was a big hoo har last night in Hull when two fighter jets flew over really low to intercept the Russians again. Although they came from Scotland rather than a local base. Missed out on the action here.
 
They could be practicing scrambling times as there was a big hoo har last night in Hull when two fighter jets flew over really low to intercept the Russians again. Although they came from Scotland rather than a local base. Missed out on the action here.

The Hawks have no involvement in the UK Quick Reaction Alert. The Typhoons that you saw over Hull were nothing to do with the Quick Reaction Alert or the intercept of the Russian Tu-95MS Bear Hs. The Tu-95s were long gone and on their way home at that time. The two Typhoons over Hull were unarmed and from RAF Coninsgby on a training sortie. One of the call signs was Razor 42 which is a standard squadron call sign and not a Quick Reaction Alert call sign.

See following Photostream for images of the Typhoons over Hull.









I managed to record a short sequence from the High Frequency Russian bomber comms from yesterday. The Male voice is one of the Tu-95s Bears. The Female voice is the ground control back in Russia. They were having great difficulty with the voice comms yesterday probably down to the other radio noise near to the frequency.



HF Voice comms being poor the radio operators on the Tu-95s were using a lot of Morse Code to pass their messages. The Russian military still use a lot of Morse Code.





Link to image of radio operators station on a Tu-95MS Bear H. Note the Morse Key in the corner.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Russia---Air/Tupolev-Tu-95MS/1524019/L/
 
I managed to record a short sequence from the High Frequency Russian bomber comms from yesterday. The Male voice is one of the Tu-95s Bears. The Female voice is the ground control back in Russia. They were having great difficulty with the voice comms yesterday probably down to the other radio noise near to the frequency.
I concur. I couldn't make out what the Male voice said. The Female voice apparently couldn't do it too and just repeated the same call several times before switching to Morse Code.
 
I concur. I couldn't make out what the Male voice said. The Female voice apparently couldn't do it too and just repeated the same call several times before switching to Morse Code.

A Russian speaker transcribed it for me. The Male voice was aircraft call 84232 calling ground control call sign Nabor. The Female ground controller (Nabor) was calling aircraft 84231 and 84232. The Morse Code at the end was off frequency and not related. It and the teleprinter was just bleeding through due to the Upper Side Band setting. The Spring Morse frequencies are 8029 KHz (Ground) and 8170 KHz (Air).

An excellent HF radio receiver is the following in The Netherlands. Hundreds of people can listen at the same time on multiple frequencies.

http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/
 
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