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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 15:40:02 GMT
Maybe of interest to some of you.
I've been tracking our Governments Airbus KC2 Voyager (A330) since 5 hours ago. It's been circling at about 40-60 miles at 25,000 feet off the coast of Cornwall, roughly from Newquay to Penzance escorted by a couple of Typhoon fighters
and a Coast guard helicopter and plane. One of the fighter planes is USAF
I'm guessing Biden is in the plane amongst who knows who else.
Secret talks out of hear shot I'm guessing.
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Post by redshank on Jun 10, 2021 15:45:43 GMT
Maybe of interest to some of you. I've been tracking our Governments Airbus KC2 Voyager (A330) since 5 hours ago. It's been circling at about 40-60 miles at 25,000 feet off the coast of Cornwall, roughly from Newquay to Penzance escorted by a couple of Typhoon fighters and a Coast guard helicopter and plane. One of the fighter planes is USAF I'm guessing Biden is in the plane amongst who knows who else. Secret talks out of hear shot I'm guessing. I read that one of the USAF planes had four helicopters on board whilst Biden was on English soil.
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 16:13:33 GMT
Maybe of interest to some of you. I've been tracking our Governments Airbus KC2 Voyager (A330) since 5 hours ago. It's been circling at about 40-60 miles at 25,000 feet off the coast of Cornwall, roughly from Newquay to Penzance escorted by a couple of Typhoon fighters and a Coast guard helicopter and plane. One of the fighter planes is USAF I'm guessing Biden is in the plane amongst who knows who else. Secret talks out of hear shot I'm guessing. I read that one of the USAF planes had four helicopters on board whilst Biden was on English soil. They hide whats on the ground at military air bases so I don't know. Our governments plane was at Stansted last week, I was wondering what was going on. The KC is heading back now to Brize Norton (probably) with a USAF Globemaster from Washington bringing up the rear.
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Post by redshank on Jun 10, 2021 16:17:20 GMT
I love the forties turbo props Bas,that was how we used to draw them at school.The double wingers face on were easy,I used to draw dog fights with them. Spent many a day at North Weald watching the RAF jets,I think they were Canberas.Not sure of the names though.Love the names of fighter planes and warships.A favourite is HMS Hood which had such a tragic end.
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 16:36:14 GMT
Another thing I saw yesterday was an full size unmanned drone helicopter flying at low level up & down the Strait of Dover.
Other planes or helicopters or drones is usual for there but that's the first time I've seen a full size drone helicopter, I didn't even know we had them.
I've had Chicago O'hare live on the tele all afternoon. This airport is stupendously busy, they've got 7 runways. I don't suppose covid has had such an impact on aviation over there as it has over here
seeing that it's mainly travelling in their own country.
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 16:44:50 GMT
Gov KC has landed back at Brize Norton, others back to their bases. Don't know what happened to the Washington Globemaster, I lost that one.
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 17:11:40 GMT
I love the forties turbo props Bas,that was how we used to draw them at school.The double wingers face on were easy,I used to draw dog fights with them. Spent many a day at North Weald watching the RAF jets,I think they were Canberas.Not sure of the names though.Love the names of fighter planes and warships.A favourite is HMS Hood which had such a tragic end. My first and second holidays abroad was on a turbo prop (they're actually jets y'know). Monarch Airways Bristol Britannia (probably the very one at Duxford Air Museum, which has recently had a respray). I used to live in North Weald in my married life, the house was actually on the airfield grounds. I was in heaven. I was there in the 80's, they did have a Canberra's front bit there.
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Post by brentwoodo on Jun 10, 2021 17:12:22 GMT
I guess the RAF have a couple of fighters patrolling the skies above the G7 conference and the tanker is there to top them up. HMS Tamar is off St Ives along with the new aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and the frigate HMS Northumberland.
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Post by brentwoodo on Jun 10, 2021 17:17:42 GMT
Another thing I saw yesterday was an full size unmanned drone helicopter flying at low level up & down the Strait of Dover. Other planes or helicopters or drones is usual for there but that's the first time I've seen a full size drone helicopter, I didn't even know we had them. I've had Chicago O'hare live on the tele all afternoon. This airport is stupendously busy, they've got 7 runways. I don't suppose covid has had such an impact on aviation over there as it has over here seeing that it's mainly travelling in their own country. Yes, a drone regularly patrols the channel looking for illegal immigrants on boats. There are also coastguard surveillance planes doing the same job. ukdefencejournal.org.uk/uk-border-agency-tasked-drone-patrols-english-channel/
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 17:58:34 GMT
I guess the RAF have a couple of fighters patrolling the skies above the G7 conference and the tanker is there to top them up. HMS Tamar is off St Ives along with the new aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and the frigate HMS Northumberland. I didn't see any tanker although I wasn't watching solidly for the 5 hours. The Globemaster from Washington isn't a fuel tanker. A fuel tanker would have come from more local, probably from Mildenhall. By not landing and circling for 5 hours over the Atlantic must have been like I said, out of hear shot range. I can't think of any other reason for doing that. Just thought, was that the actual G7 meeting, in the air? Just had another thought, am I the only person that didn't know the G7 meeting was to be conducted in the air? I thought Cornwall seemed a bit odd.
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Post by MungO on Jun 10, 2021 18:53:02 GMT
Well this is all very interesting. I've no idea what it means but it sounds very John Le Carre.
BasO. If that is your real name?
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 19:01:30 GMT
So it wasn't the G7 get-together in the government plane over the Atlantic, Boris & Biden were already both in Newquay.
Maybe our government plane (Airbus KC2 Voyager (A330)) was there to use it's radar to detect any threats, although the typhoons have got all that.
I dunno.
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 19:34:58 GMT
Well this is all very interesting. I've no idea what it means but it sounds very John Le Carre. BasO. If that is your real name? Bas OO6 & 3/4's
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Post by brentwoodo on Jun 10, 2021 19:42:24 GMT
Bas, I’m not sure I follow you. The Voyager is a tanker aircraft based on the A330 airliner. One has been painted in a special colour scheme and doubles up as a VIP transport. I have a model of it. I guess you are looking at aircraft movements on flight radar 24 or planefinder? Whenever a couple of fighters are going to be up in the air for a while they send a tanker to fill them up.
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Post by brentwoodo on Jun 10, 2021 19:44:07 GMT
And I know how to post pictures now! 😃
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 19:51:17 GMT
Just had a RAF Airbus A400M go over my house and now an Army Air Corps Apache, both in different directions. It's all happening 2day.
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 20:27:47 GMT
Bas, I’m not sure I follow you. The Voyager is a tanker aircraft based on the A330 airliner. One has been painted in a special colour scheme and doubles up as a VIP transport. I have a model of it. I guess you are looking at aircraft movements on flight radar 24 or planefinder? Whenever a couple of fighters are going to be up in the air for a while they send a tanker to fill them up. Of course, the Voyager is the tanker. I wasn't even thinking it was that that was the tanker. I'm so used to seeing the american tankers from Mildenhall that I forgot that we had them as well. Mystery solved, thanks for that. Was that photo taken 2nite because your an hour in front of me and it's 25.4 in my living room. Cool planes you've got there, they look pretty decent quality too. Have you got others? If you're into planes this might interest you a bit, or maybe it won't. On my settee I've got a first class BA 747 blanket for summer and a BA Concorde blanket for winter (because it's bigger).
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Post by brentwoodo on Jun 10, 2021 20:57:47 GMT
I have loads both military and civil. Guess you must be in the Suffolk area if you mention Mildenhall. I have a weather station so that might be the temperature and not the time.
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Post by BasOfromthatLondon on Jun 10, 2021 21:57:59 GMT
Yeah brilliant, thanks for posting them. That DC-10, have you checked the rear cargo door, they have been known to fall off.
Tupolev. I've been on a few 154's, one was a near miss with a BA Tristar over Kent around 1990, I got on the news. I think I might of mentioned it before.
Were/are you connected to in any way to BCal then BA? I feel like I'm on that programme 'Through the Keyhole'.
I don't live in Suffolk, I just use FR24 a lot. Basildon, hence Bas.
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Post by brentwoodo on Jun 10, 2021 22:42:28 GMT
Yeah brilliant, thanks for posting them. That DC-10, have you checked the rear cargo door, they have been known to fall off. Tupolev. I've been on a few 154's, one was a near miss with a BA Tristar over Kent around 1990, I got on the news. I think I might of mentioned it before. Were/are you connected to in any way to BCal then BA? I feel like I'm on that programme 'Through the Keyhole'. I don't live in Suffolk, I just use FR24 a lot. Basildon, hence Bas. I remember that, a BA Tristar and a Bulgarian Tupolev nearly collided over Lydd in 1988 I think. I don’t work for BA or have any connection with them apart from flying with them when I had a proper job. I even did Concorde as well (look at me) and kept all the goodies they gave me.
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