Planes over Lerwick this morning

[Jordan]

Did anyone else see two mystery planes flighing low over Lerwick this morning around 8.45am? They were both white and bigger than the standard Loganair planes. One was heading south, the other north, both flying fairly low and they crossed each other at quite a close distance. My curtain twitching intrigue would like to know more...?

[low_approach]

dat will be da scatsta jet dat headed up nort, den had t divert to sumburgh !!

[Pooks]

Scatsta 146's perhaps? They are bigger than a Saab and white. I know they were training last week sometime so it is a possibility that the same was going on this morning.

 

Either that or it's the CIA offloading a bunch of terrorists.

[jjm23]

Yup Indeed it was the Flightline BAe146!

 

It diverted into Sumburgh after trying at Scatsta.

 

[Jordan]

How boring. I was hoping it might me something secretive. Ach well

[deardron]

How boring. I was hoping it might me something secretive. Ach well

Two Russian bombers flew near that area recently...

[Pooks]

[mod]This thread was getting a little untidy and off topic so I have merged the off topic posts with the existing Shetland's Airports thread.[/mod]

[JAStewart]

One time I saw a fighter jet, definetly a fighter jet fly over me at Twageos while walking my Aunties dog.

 

It definetly happened, the dog barked before it happened and it joost whooshed really low over me. I didn't know what the hell was going on, It was post-9/11 so I had the whole scared thing going on.

 

Maybe someone else can shed light on this? A military-shaped plane flying over Twageos in the last 6 years?

[Njugle]

Tornados from RAF Leuchers come up this way occasionally, i've been aware of several over the past 6-10 years, not sure if it's still tornadoes at Leuchers but same applies. It seemed to be an occasional jaunt to fly to Saxavord and back, perhaps practising intercepts, perhaps actual intercepts. Interestingly there was some military jet(s) came north a couple of months ago which was ,very approximately, around the same time that those Russian fighters were reported entering either ours or Norwegian airspace, i forget which, perhaps both.

 

The RAF train extensively throughout the highlands, the whole of the highland region is an exclusion zone to civil aircraft without permission from the RAF (excluding the east coast and western isles) and given that fact it is surprising that they don't come here training more often, SVT being a potential target and given that we are only a few minutes away at 600knots+ (top speed 1400mph!)

 

check them out on Wiki, turns out part of their design spec is to work over the North Sea:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Tornado_F3

HTH

[Seaflech]

There used to be a lot more military activity around the isles, the main reason they aren't seen so often these days is that most of what's left of the RAF is out in the Gulf.

Not to nit-pick but it's more likely to be the GR4 'mud movers' from Lossiemouth seen low level around the Isles, probably doing simulated strikes on ships or some random land targets. The fighter version is rarely up this way, unless to scope out some nosey Russian comrades in their Bears.

It is an interesting point that there is absolutely no military cover at all for Europe's largest oil terminal. Do you think some boffins in Whitehall have contingencies should the unthinkable happen in the terrorist age we live in?!

The Highlands of Scotland aren't an exclusion zone to civil aircraft at all, there is nothing stopping anybody flying through as it is Class G (open airspace). The RAF like to think they rule the skies but they have to stick to the same rules as the rest of us mere human beings!

[Njugle]

I'd counter that with a direct anecdote to the contrary about being refused entry to the military fly zone, pending 24 hours notice, but as it turned out the refusal was ignored and the flight went ahead without it with no ill consequences, so perhaps it's just a paperwork exercise. It's on the aviation maps anyway.

[Seaflech]

so perhaps it's just a paperwork exercise. It's on the aviation maps anyway.

 

Ah the RAF love their paperwork! You're quite right it is clearly marked on aviation maps as a restricted area, not a prohibited area. The highland one is active from 3pm til 11pm monday to thursday, but 9 times out of 10 if you call up the range you can get a clearance. The 10th time there is nobody there so just blunder through anyway. Unfortunately a more common problem is the jet jockey's scooting into clearly marked civil airways, causing passengers to grip the seat in front of them as avoiding action is taken.

[Njugle]

I could tell a tale of exactly that scenario too! It resulted in a report from the civilian craft after a disgraceful nearmiss fly-by at high altitude.

 

Your entirely correct in the distinction between restricted and prohibited, i should have been more attentive in my terminology.

[Talpa]

Sort of related... last Friday over Hay's Dock travelling towards and then over Bressay, a bright white object very high up in the sky. Too small and wrong shape to be a plane or helicopter. Slow moving. Infact it was moving about the speed of a hot air balloon but was too high up and small to be one. Again, too high up to be to be one of these paragliding/ motoring contraptions. It seemed unmanned...

 

I was drinking coffee, nothing stronger (!) and there were other folk who saw it and no-one had a clue what it was. Any explanations (rational or otherwise?)

[Marooned in Maywick]

If the sky was dark enough you might have been seeing a satellite moseying across.