Buzzed By A Hercules

[Sparkles62]

Walking along the beach this morning we could see a plane in the distance, coming in accross the water,
As it got closer it swooped down really low, we had an amazing view as a Hercules flew over us.
Mr S waved and it tipped its wings and flew off, swooping down really low over the airport, we were convinced it was going to land, but it didn't,
Ten minutes later it was followed by two jets,
five minutes after that a small plane we were not able to identify,
We thought that maybe they were off to an air show, but couldn't find anything on google.
Whatever it was, Mr S was delighted.

[Peaspeculiars]

brilliant - lovely when they do that - did the pilot wave back?

[shoota]

It was specially for you Sparks.

[whirlyhurly]

Great, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines.

[tonyav]

Great stuff Sparkles, I saw an Hercules Saturday teatime not flying low though. Pretty big ain't they.

[Sparkles62]

It was an incredible sight tony, so big and so low.
We are only half a mile away from Caernarfon Airport and we see all sorts of things coming and going, but this has got to be the best this summer up to now.

[tonyav]

Excellent, Sparkles. I'd love to see one flying low level.

[Ken4155]

Despite being absolutely terrified of heights, i once sat on the open tail gate of an RAF Hercules en route to Aldergrove Airport - mid 70s. Fastened to the aircraft by a nylon strap, myself and the airman who facilitated this event had a smoke and a natter. My fear of heights had been temporarily overcome by my nicotine craving:-)

[tonyav]

Amazing how a fag can calm the nerves isn't it Ken ;-)

[Ken4155]

True, Tonyav, though i hasten to add that the tail gate was down only to the point of being level to the plane. I don't think i'd have had the gonads to sit there had the airman lowered it to it's capacity.

[tonyav]

Certainly an unforgettable experience experience, Ken. Sounds great to me.

[Sparkles62]

I bet that was an incredible experience Ken.
I have been up in a Chipmunk as a co-pilot twice, I was terrified as we went up, and wanted to go up again as soon as we landed.

[Eve]

Sounds fantastic! I have a bit of a thing for military aircraft.

I did some training in a Bulldog many years ago, loved doing aerobatics! One of my highlights was staying on a Tornado base, absolutely in my element :)

[Clanad]

Here, in the U.S., there are certain, selected, State National Guard units (they're just like the real armed forces but are made up of local volunteers who do everything the full time soldiers do) that fly the C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Often, the National Gurad units are among the first called up in any kind of emergecny) fly the C-130 Hercules. These selected units have been authorized by the civilian Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to spray chemical on areas experiencing mosquito infestations and some times cankerworms as well (they can destroy whole forests). They begin the day previous by flying very low over the area (including cities, golf courses, etc.) and using the GPS to mark any obstructions. They finish up the following night, since the mosquitos are more active then, by spraying the routes that were marked electronically the day previous. They're at an altitude of below 200 feet above the surface. Surprisingly, considering the engines each produce 4,000 horse power, they're reasonably quiet.

The work is normally done by small, civilian airplanes, but the C-130's have to come out to remote locations to apply the spray to Army and Air Force bases anyway, so they're doing it as a civic service... greatly appreciated, of course...

[Sparkles62]

Now you mention it Clanad, it was really quiet for such a big plane, even when it was right over us,
a lot of the smaller planes that are in and out of the airport daily are very noisy.

[Hopkirk]

I reckon it had been nicked by joyriders, and the other planes were trying to catch up.

[shoota]

Somebody handed a note to the pilot....

[Sparkles62]

Lol @ shoota. X
If it was, it was nicked by a very able pilot, and he gave us an excellent show as he passed by. X

[viv38]

Blimey, I envy you Sparkles, that sounds absolutely great. What a thrill when it tipped its wings at you.