Chinook - Good Drive Home

[paddyhasneeds]

Driving home this evening and came up at the tail end of some roadworks so decided to turn around and take the back roads.

A mile later and I'm driving through the countryside around the back of an army barracks when I hear this "woppa woppa woppa" noise which I couldn't quite place.

Next thing I know a fking Chinook looms up from behind the hedge a few metres ahead of me, dips down and flies, very slowly, across the road and off into the distance.

I know some folks see stuff like this every day, and we get quite a few do low flights over where I work, but I've never seen one so low and close up - I'm still fking grinning like a little kid

[Shay HTFC]

I love when stuff like that happens.
I remember once riding my motorbike along the bottom of a valley in Scotland when suddenly a fighter jet screamed past at a low height. Had me grinning for ages!

[perdu]

They must be "out" today unless you live near the M6 in the Midlands.

Missus P and I saw one in the distance at lunch time as we drove out of Sutton Park.

It was apparently following the M6 northwards, judiciously off the centre line of course

It's always fun to see them far away from their regular haunts.

I wonder if following "the line" she was en route to Shawbury perhaps

[YesItsAVW]

I was staying with friends up in the north east, a little further up from Morpeth. Their house backed on to woods, and I was outside having a smoke when a Tornado screamed past on it's wing tip, amazing!

I've been playing golf on a course near Milton Keynes and had a couple of Apaches buzz over.

Lots of Chinooks around Beds/Herts the past week or so. Unmistakeable sound!

Forgot a couple, what I believe to have been a B-17 (It was four engined, a long time ago and I was young!) flew over the house in Luton during summer show season.

Lots of overflies by Hawks etc when driving the A1

[mybrainhurts]

Keep away from Chinooks, they are the work of the devil...they were Not Meant To Be...

[Spantney]

I love it when stuff like this happens. I live near Southend airport so around the airshows I love watching the planes takeoff and land. I remember about 13 or 14 years ago when the Avro Vulcan that now resides at the airport, flew over my house to come in to land. Such an awe inspiring piece of kit

I also remember about 10 years ago going hiking in Snowdonia with my school. When we were climbing one of the mountains a trio of Sepecat Jaguars' did a high speed, low level run through the valley. Still remember how loud they were quite vividly!

[PugwasHDJ80]

Summers evening about 7pm, brand new mx5, roof down, hot and lit by the evening sun, on a deserted country road doing more than i should have been and enjoying myself throughly.

Look right and theres an apache longbow hoppping the hedges, and to my left is another one- can't be more than 30 foot away, and no more than 40-50ft from the ground (they were hopping telegraph wires!).

Up the speed and they helf formation for well over 10 minutes through these country lanes before turnign away at the outskirts of the next town- not before waving (their nose guns) at me.

One of THE most memorable occasions in my life- still makes me happy inside

[JVaughan]

Chinooks always amaze me .. so agile .. Not funny though when your house is on a transit route and they come over about 200 feet at 02:00 in the morning. Our 6 yr old loves sitting in the garden watching them and the Apache's fly over.

Last week we were treated by a pair of Halks (Black) from Boscombe Down) too.

[paddyhasneeds]

PugwasHDJ80 said:

One of THE most memorable occasions in my life- still makes me happy inside

Just be thankful you're around to remember it. In some hotter parts of the world that sound is probably the first and last thing you'd know of the encounter

[D4VE 3LL]

Did anyone see the Typhoon doing a few low level runs over... Dudley of all places, this afternoon?!

[forks]

I live in Odiham, and they regularly fly over my house. I rarely look up now, but if its low I'll make an exception. Usually makes the windows rattle!

[Happy82]

We see at least 5 Chinooks daily as we live in Basingstoke, the first time one of them flew over I thought the washing machine had gone mad

[tuffer]

Edge of Salisbury Plain, daily occurrence over my back garden. Being Ex RAF Regt I never tire of seeing them, best feeling going is being in the back, fully tooled up hoofing down some Bosnian Valley.

[tuffer]

Wocka, Wocka, Wocka

[KieronGSi]

tuffer said:

Wocka, Wocka, Wocka

Bad drills, those rifles should be facing down.

[tuffer]

KieronGSi said:

tuffer said:

Wocka, Wocka, Wocka

Bad drills, those rifles should be facing down.

Nope, I seem to recall being specifically told that was not the case.....hence why all of us are doing it.

[KieronGSi]

tuffer said:

Nope, I seem to recall being specifically told that was not the case.....hence why all of us are doing it.

Fair enough, not the case these days.

[MikeGTi]

KieronGSi said:

tuffer said:

Nope, I seem to recall being specifically told that was not the case.....hence why all of us are doing it.

Fair enough, not the case these days.

Depends on the a/c these days. Some have armoured floors and some can afford to lose and engine or two

[mrnikko]

At Carlisle Airport this week the Dutch Army are having some sort of exercise presumably up in Spadeadam and three Chinooks plus two other helicopters are based at the airport.
Quite an aerial display on Tuesday 20th of landing and taking off with underslung loads of kit. If you travel the A69 Carlisle Newcastle road keep your eyes and ears open

[knight]

Couple of years ago I was driving on the A29 going past Billingshurst in West Sussex. It was dark and I thought I heard a noise over the radio, it was then I noticed a black shape in the nearly black sky heading towards me, then heard the wokka wokka wokka and this Chinnok flew over heading west, guess he was heading home to Odiham after some low level night flying fun