Do RAF pilots "waggle their wings?"
Discussion
I was just out on the afternoon walk with my dog and about half way round when I'm in the middle of a field, where we're about a mile from the nearest roads, I heard a noise and looked up to see a Hercules (I think) come over the brow of a hill and drop below the ridge line and fly directly overhead.
It was very low, certainly lower than the usual private helicopters and small planes that fly over, and I could clearly see the pilot in the cockpit.
To see it better I took my cap off and as I did so it really looked like the plane 1st dropped one wing, then the other then the first and continued on it's way.
It didn't alter course at all, all the time it flew dead straight and then had to climb a little for the next ridge.
I can't really believe that a pilot would waggle their wings at me but got to wondering if they would, it did really look like it.
Would they?
(I have to admit as it did I wave my hat back at it.. rather reminiscent of a 10year old in WWII as a spitfire went over)
BTW this all happened in Northamptonshire about 5miles SW of Northampton and not in somewhere like the Welsh hills or Snowdonia.
It was very low, certainly lower than the usual private helicopters and small planes that fly over, and I could clearly see the pilot in the cockpit.
To see it better I took my cap off and as I did so it really looked like the plane 1st dropped one wing, then the other then the first and continued on it's way.
It didn't alter course at all, all the time it flew dead straight and then had to climb a little for the next ridge.
I can't really believe that a pilot would waggle their wings at me but got to wondering if they would, it did really look like it.
Would they?
(I have to admit as it did I wave my hat back at it.. rather reminiscent of a 10year old in WWII as a spitfire went over)
BTW this all happened in Northamptonshire about 5miles SW of Northampton and not in somewhere like the Welsh hills or Snowdonia.
Simpo Two said:
If the pilot was anything like me an apple had just rolled off the co-pilot's seat, out of his reach, and he was trying to get it back...
Its actually quite impressive if a fast jet does it, considering they are moving at say 300-400mph, low level and concentrating on the terrain and you are merely a speck.
Thats why our boys are the best in the world, super sharp eyesight and reactions. I remember watching a HUD video of a near miss bird strike at circa 450+knts after the jet landed. All you saw on the video was a few pin head sized black dots literally for a fraction of a sec, he instantly banked and climbed missing them just and went straight into post bird strike SOPs. Very impressive.
Might of been on some sort of exercise as that is also something that planes do when they have spotted something.
Like for example, I work at sea. If we have to jump ship and a spotter plane comes over and sees us, they waggle the wings to say that we have been seen.
May of been something like that but for training of some sort?
Like for example, I work at sea. If we have to jump ship and a spotter plane comes over and sees us, they waggle the wings to say that we have been seen.
May of been something like that but for training of some sort?
I used to wave at the great unwashed when I was a Helicopter Crewman, we'd quite often surprise a dog-walker if we dropped into a confined area or somesuch, so it was only polite to give them a smile and wave
Of course I never stood out on the step as we came back to base during the school holidays over the crowds of Dads & Sons at the crash gates......
Of course I never stood out on the step as we came back to base during the school holidays over the crowds of Dads & Sons at the crash gates......
Turbodiesel1690 said:
Its nice when these types of thing happen, I got a wave off a loadmaster at the open door of an RAF Puma that was flying parallel to the road and very low years ago when there were still regular eagle patrols in N. Ireland. Made my day that did 
Unlike the time we got lost in a British registered car near Enniskillen, trying to find some caves.Driving up a little road there was a Puma with guys abseiling down into a field, we decided that the cave maybe wasn't worth looking for....
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