Flightradar 24 and Marine spotting odds and sods.

[Ritch]

Ex "Purple Star" 1995. Our Paras and RM - together - both exercising in North Carolina, at the same time.

One night, I found myself eating with a group of "Civ Sec" folk, in a nice civvi restaurant.

Surprise ONE: someone had ordered the "Fried Onion" starter. It had been chopped every-which-way from the top-down, and when cooked, it opened-up like a HUGE chrysanthemum . . . . It must have been 8" in diameter.

Surprise TWO: the waiter brought out an OK size beef joint, which I thought would do the 5-6 of us, sat around the table. Turns out . . . it was MY "steak" . . . all for myself !!

I have had one or those starters. It was called a Blooming Onion where I had it.

I then had a half rack of ribs that looked like they'd come off a Brontosaurus. I think I was full after two.

 

[Toastie]

Easy! Pull the stick back, houses get smaller. Push the stick forwards, houses get bigger.

Brilliant, it’s all coming back to me now. Sheep lose their feet at 500’ so I’ll shout “Brace, brace!” then.

TBH, I’ve kept pretty much on top of it but I’m now looking at all the admin bollocks. All Ops are concentrated in one terminal at MAN, not the one we operate from normally (natch) and we’ve got a temporary Crew Room and Car Park. There are two briefs for all this and both contradict each other. Then there’s all the COVID a procedures and all the briefs on that are contradictory. Flying the fecking thing is gonna be the easy bit I reckon.

 

[Lindermyer]

Brilliant, it’s all coming back to me now. Sheep lose their feet at 500’ so I’ll shout “Brace, brace!” then.

Dont forget theres big hills out there - sheep on them will only lose their feet at 500ft as they skitter accross the roof

 

[lastwalt]

Someone frightfully important making their way to Stornoway?

 

[beefer]

Brilliant, it’s all coming back to me now. Sheep lose their feet at 500’ so I’ll shout “Brace, brace!” then.

Funny enough the first night goggles I used (a bit like these)

were OK for pre-recced (i.e. in daylight) night landings but not so good for low level transit. Rule of thumb was “if you can see the legs of the sheep you’re a bit too low”

Later models (more like these)

Were fantastic.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Later models (more like these)
View attachment 553862
Were fantastic.

...unless your employer decided that counter weights are unnecessary, then they are, literally, a pain.

 

[beefer]

...unless your employer decided that counter weights are unnecessary, then they are, literally, a pain.

My first counter weight was an Old Holburn tin filled with solder!

 

[CrashTestDummy]

My first counter weight was an Old Holburn tin filled with solder!

Before the 'proper' ones came in the Squippers made some up for us, and we kept the old ones in a drawer 'just in case'. Some wags thought it'd be funny to slip one into my nav bag every few days. It was a couple of weeks before I realised why the bag seemed so heavy!

 

[Ritch]

Someone frightfully important making their way to Stornoway?

View attachment 553805

It's having a fair old run out today. Northolt to Stornoway, down to Bournemouth and now bimbling round near Heathrow.

 

[lastwalt]

It's having a fair old run out today. Northolt to Stornoway, down to Bournemouth and now bimbling round near Heathrow.

He's been picking up emergency supplies of MacLeod's black pudding for distribution around the country.

 

[beefer]

Before the 'proper' ones came in the Squippers made some up for us, and we kept the old ones in a drawer 'just in case'. Some wags thought it'd be funny to slip one into my nav bag every few days. It was a couple of weeks before I realised why the bag seemed so heavy!

Pleased to see standards being upheld.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Pleased to see standards being upheld.

I got my own back. Just before deploying on exercise he left his sleeping bag unattended, so I filled it with those little polystyrene bobbles. He had a habit of flipping the bag open when he arrived at a location, and when he did it his tent was full of the stuff. He couldn't get rid of it all and woke covered in the stuff for days

 

[Yokel]

Does Flightradar 24 ever show aircraft fly to/from ships or oil rigs? It would be interesting to see how much traffic there is in the Channel and North Sea, including Oil and Gas rig supply and the vessels run by Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Does Flightradar 24 ever show aircraft fly to/from ships or oil rigs? It would be interesting to see how much traffic there is in the Channel and North Sea, including Oil and Gas rig supply and the vessels run by Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board.

I wouldn't bother with FR24, use ADSB Exchange or one of the others instead, they show much more, and more interesting, stuff.

 

[Ritch]

Does Flightradar 24 ever show aircraft fly to/from ships or oil rigs? It would be interesting to see how much traffic there is in the Channel and North Sea, including Oil and Gas rig supply and the vessels run by Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board.

You usually do see a fair amount of helicopters ferrying workers to the rigs and back. Most of them are up around Aberdeen.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

You usually do see a fair amount of helicopters ferrying workers to the rigs and back. Most of them are up around Aberdeen.

And a few out of Beccles and Blackpool.

 

[Notachance]

And a few out of Beccles and Blackpool.

Yes the Blackpool ones are double booked, also used to search for ex cockle pickers.

 

[Grim_Squeaker85]

Yes the Blackpool ones are double booked, also used to search for ex cockle pickers.

You mean ex-Cocklepickers now serving as fish feeders?

 

[BARN]

Does Flightradar 24 ever show aircraft fly to/from ships or oil rigs? It would be interesting to see how much traffic there is in the Channel and North Sea, including Oil and Gas rig supply and the vessels run by Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board.

The lighthouse helicopters (G-GLAA &G-GLAB) can be seen transiting round the UK and Ireland but by the time they are down with the ships or at the lights they are too far out and low to be picked up.
I use Flightradar to see when the helicopter is coming to pick me up in Orkney and can usually see it passing Wick if it's high enough but sometimes it doesn't show at all. Waiting at Lamb Holm International for a lift to Shetland just before Christmas there was no sign of it on FR and it was nearly an hour overdue on a half hour hop from Wick, turns out they had to turn back twice due to different doors opening in flight, not what you want to hear as you are strapping in.

Storing at Muckle Flugga, a great place to be.

 

[lastwalt]

Does Flightradar 24 ever show aircraft fly to/from ships or oil rigs? It would be interesting to see how much traffic there is in the Channel and North Sea, including Oil and Gas rig supply and the vessels run by Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board.

Have you ever thought of, you know, looking yourself? It would take less time than asking on here and waiting for an answer.

10:00 this morning. North Sea rush hour