In my role as amateur air marshall

[lizwilliams]

An open note to the RAF: chaps, I've no objection to you flying whopping great Chinooks over my property first thing in the morning,jolly good show, carry on and all that, but if I can see, e.g, the soles of your boots? Bit low.

Unless Al Quaida are hiding in the pond again. God, that's such a bore.

Comments

[jaylake.livejournal.com]

I recommend a potato gun. My hairdresser builds them.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

You're on!

There was a regrettable case in Spain concerning some old bloke out walking his dog, who objected to a copter roaring overhead and threw a rock at it. He must have had bloody strong arms because the rock went down some vital bit of the craft and brought the helicopter down. No one was killed but he was apparently sued by an irate Spanish air force.

I have no idea if this is really true.

[mt-yvr.livejournal.com]

But think if it IS...

"We survived the Gulf, but were brought down by a rock..."

I mean, talk about a bit of news you don't want around sales time.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

Exactly. David and Goliath, anyone?

[spytfire.livejournal.com]

Too true! I wonder if the Spanish Air Force won it's case against the man.

I was training for a horse show when I was much younger, and still in New Orleans. Not one, but three F 15's did a fly-by of our arena. They were low enough that I could see the logo on the lead pilot's helmet.

Mom was training me that day...I think we both stopped what we were doing, and stared. The horse was amazingly calm through all of the racket. I had the Top Gun theme playing in my head for days after the event.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed your horse stayed so calm!

[spytfire.livejournal.com]

So was I! The planes didn't startle me, and I suspect since I wasn't startled, she stayed calm.

[kefiraahava.livejournal.com]

Sympathies. Grew up with this sort of thing. When I was a kid, the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels would practice over the housing development every year in preparation for their airshows at the local base. In retrospect, they were probably flying much lower than they were supposed to be flying over a suburban housing development because everyone came out to wave and point and they liked doing a pre-show show for the impromptu audience.*wry grin*

The worst was idling at the intersection by the Naval R&D center's runways minding your own business and waiting for the light to change, looking up as the sky grew dark, and being able to count the rivets on the underside of a C-130 or a P-3 as it came in over the intersection--and your car--to land. You just had to cross your fingers that they didn't inadvertently put down the landing gear on, say, your roof.

But I always liked the way an old A-10 manual of my father's put it: "You can only TIE the low-altitude record."

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

>But I always liked the way an old A-10 manual of my father's put it: "You can only TIE the low-altitude record."


LOL! I've mentioned my test pilot friend before - we used to get regularly buzzed on the archaeological site....

I think the equivalent of the Blue Angels are the Red Arrows - like you, we used to get them flying in formation over the house in Gloucester. One year, I went down to the Brighton seafront to discover a big display - they hadn't been to B'ton for years, ever since one of them had to ditch the plane in the sea. But he missed the pier, so that was OK.

Point of order

[cleopand.livejournal.com]

Sources close to home (12 houses up the road) suggest it might be Fleet Air Arm actually!