Odd a/c behaviour over Alton yesterday afternoon
Odd a/c behaviour over Alton yesterday afternoon
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c7xlg

Original Poster:

928 posts

261 months

Thursday 12th June 2014
quotequote all
About 17:30 yesterday.. over alton.

A 727 or MD80 (twin rear engine, high tail). White fusealage mainly with red bits on the tail.

It was at fairly low level 3k'? Flaps down, slow but with quite a bit of throttle on. It went over and then turned around, came back over and then disappeared off Farnborough way. It appeared to have some sort of metal bar mounted over the tail. The bar ran across the aircraft, about half the lenght of the tail plane. Could be for spraying something?

My guess is it was something to do with practice for the airshow...

Eric Mc

125,606 posts

294 months

Thursday 12th June 2014
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Out of Lasham?

Bisonhead

1,598 posts

218 months

Thursday 12th June 2014
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I saw that too over my house (Wyck). Didnt sound very civillian (more turbojets than turbofans) and was definitely out of LAsham...I saw it land there!

Didnt see the strip of metal...maybe test equipment of some sort?

onyx39

11,349 posts

179 months

Thursday 12th June 2014
quotequote all
was this:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57000246@N05/1418581...

Its an Oil Spill Response aircraft ( as evidenced by the reg: G-OSRA) and I suspect that the unusual bar on the back is actually some sort of boom for dispensing detergent to disperse (spilt) oil.

Edited by onyx39 on Thursday 12th June 12:08

StephenP

1,918 posts

239 months

Thursday 12th June 2014
quotequote all
Found this via Google, showing the booms on the airframe (before it was repainted).

I guess the 727 is best suited because of the high rear mounting of the engines allowing the dispersant to be unaffected by the jetwash?




c7xlg

Original Poster:

928 posts

261 months

Thursday 12th June 2014
quotequote all
oil dispersal a/c sounds about right.

In fact this is it:
http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&am...

Mojocvh

16,837 posts

291 months

Thursday 12th June 2014
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What a freaking awesome aircraft for a freaking awesome "job"!

hidetheelephants

35,704 posts

222 months

Thursday 12th June 2014
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Rather an expensive to run airframe for spraying stuff from.

Eric Mc

125,606 posts

294 months

Friday 13th June 2014
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Bisonhead said:
I saw that too over my house (Wyck). Didnt sound very civillian (more turbojets than turbofans) and was definitely out of LAsham...I saw it land there!

Didnt see the strip of metal...maybe test equipment of some sort?
The 727 is powered by the low bypass TURBOFAN Pratt and Whitney JT8D.

People seem to think that if a jet engine is narrow and loud it must be a pure turbojet.

Although early versions of the first jetliners DID indeed have pure turbojets, by the early 1960s, the first turbofan engines were entering service. These early turbofans were very different in look and sound compared to the later generation of high bypass turbofans that were are more familiar with today.

Front line military jet aircraft still use very, very noisy turbofans - aircraft such as the F-15, Tornado, Typhoon etc are all turbofan powered.


hammo19

7,666 posts

225 months

Saturday 14th June 2014
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Yep flew over our house last week at 3,000 feet. Picked it up from Flight Radar 24.

mrloudly

2,815 posts

264 months