Chinooks in the North West, whats going on?

[B1G GK]

This year has seen a fair few sightings of Chinooks in the North West, variuos sightings south Manchester side, I saw 1 the other week Warrington way and 2 today while on the M65 between Walton and Darwen,
Anybody shed some light onto why were suddenly getting these becoming more common sightings ooop ere in the North?

[Rouleur]

My brother saw one land in the countryside near Alderley Edge last week, we've no idea at all what it could have been doing there.

[anonymous-user]

More hours made available, stuff like that, allowing longer sorties which means going further afield.
Someone's probably found some tricky little HLS to get in to, or an out-of-area field's been offered, which is now the latest "must do" site.

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 22 June 21:50

[Sifly]

I've seen them many times this year over Warrington, usually in pairs. They appear to be using the north/south low level corridor between Manchester and Liverpool airport control zones. Its a narrow corridor (airway) which allows light aircraft & helicopters to transit the area without getting involved with all the commercial air traffic in the area. The corridor has a max altitude of 1250 feet, so anything using it appears fairly low!!

[Oakey]

One over Blackpool a day or two ago coming from the directino of Weeton Barracks.

[Russ35]

Oakey said:

One over Blackpool a day or two ago coming from the directino of Weeton Barracks.

Saw that myself. Also one coming in over the sea heading towards the airport last week.

There have been a few others over the last couple of weeks. Don't think they have been landing at the airport.

[Mojocvh]

Chinny[s] heading North over Perthshire @ 00:30 "now", fly safe etc....

Mo.

[mattviatura]

Rouleur said:

My brother saw one land in the countryside near Alderley Edge

Whereabouts? That's most bizarre.

[Rouleur]

mattviatura said:

Whereabouts? That's most bizarre.

IIRC he was heading along the bypass from the AE end and it landed in the fields between him and the Edge; he couldn't say with any more accuracy. As you say, bizarre!

[mattviatura]

Not sure if you mean the new bypass bit or the older bit from near the Merlin to Wilmslow but either way it's very odd. Could he have been in trouble? There's nothing there.

Sorry just reread your post - think you do mean the new bit.

Edited by mattviatura on Thursday 23 June 09:34

[willfinch36]

I have seen a few going over Ipswich

[anonymous-user]

mattviatura said:

Rouleur said:

My brother saw one land in the countryside near Alderley Edge

Whereabouts? That's most bizarre.

Why is it bizarre? Odiham has the use of field sites all over the UK for training purposes, where the aircraft will appear to just arrive, come to a low hover or land-on, then continue on its happy way, seemingly without anything actually happening. It's called nav training.
Why does PH assume every military aircraft has to be on some kind of super-secret Jack Bauer mission

[mattviatura]

Because there's a bleeding great big airport just down the road, and a BAe facility with a flying school a couple of miles in the other direction. The towns of Alderley Edge and Wilmslow are about a mile apart with attendant large residential areas. Oh and the West Coast Mainline shadows the bypass.

It's an unusual place for a large military aircraft to land and as far as I can see the OP wasn't suggesting anything he was asking what might be happening. Chinooks are a rarity here and I think the question was fair enough.

Edited by mattviatura on Thursday 23 June 09:59

[anonymous-user]

mattviatura said:

Because there's a bleeding great big airport just down the road, and a BAe facility with a flying school a couple of miles in the other direction. The towns of Alderley Edge and Wilmslow are about a mile apart with attendant large residential areas. Oh and the West Coast Mainline shadows the bypass.

Yes? And? It's really nothing unusual. Airports? It's not unusual to cross Heathrow, residential areas are (subject to complaints) not an issue. Have a Google for Armoury House. Chinnys go in there on to the sports pitches.
Be honest though, there is a PH tendancy to assume something's up everytime something green flies overhead....with the classic "I heard a police car go past, then an Apache flew overhead. What's going on?"

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 23 June 16:29

[disco1]

I've seen quite a few flying (and hercs) over the Cardiff/Barry coast line, thought it was odd at the time but the again MOD St Athan is only down the road where the Para's and SFSG are based. Also seen a few 'plain' eurocopter things coming out from that direction, SAS?

[mattviatura]

Crossflow Kid said:

It's really nothing unusual.

Yes it is, but that's okay you know the area better than me.

I'm not getting involved in a ridiculous internet argument and certainly not making any wild suggestions as to what the aircraft was doing but trust me for a Chinook to land in Alderley Edge is outside the realm of what would normally be considered "usual".

Unless of course you have a different definition of the word.

[anonymous-user]

mattviatura said:

I'm not getting involved in a ridiculous internet argument and certainly not making any wild suggestions as to what the aircraft was doing but trust me for a Chinook to land in Alderley Edge is outside the realm of what would normally be considered "usual".

I think you mean it's outside the realm of what you would normally consider "usual".
Based on the reply to B1G GK's original sighting, why is one then appearing in Alderley Edge "most bizarre"? Out of the ordinary perhaps, but bizarre?
I really don't get it.

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 23 June 16:28

[mattviatura]

Bloody hell.

Would anybody else who

a) Knows the bypass in question and regularly sees Chinooks there or

b) Is in the army and frequently lands near Alderley

Care to prove me wrong?

I will of course apologise if I'm proved incorrect and I'm just failing to notice great big twin rotor helicopters thundering around.

[anonymous-user]

mattviatura said:

b) Is in the army and frequently lands near Alderley

Have the Army got Chinooks now then?
Anyway, bloody hell and all that, thought you weren't getting in to an argument?
You said it was bizarre, I pointed out that it isn't really all that.
Why you getting all uppity?

[mattviatura]

Soldiers are sometimes transported in Chinooks.

And because I've had a bad day and I want to.

Edited by mattviatura on Thursday 23 June 17:44