Seen Over Your House Today

[NARSES2]

The sky's going to be BLACK with hot air balloons around here tomorrow and over the weekend. It's the annual Bristol Balloon Festival and they're expecting it to be the largest ever. Let's hope the winds are southwesterlies as they'll be coming this way. 

BBC lunchtime news had a piece on the solar powered balloon, interesting 

I went down for this a few years ago. Very colourfull 

[kerick]

Driving north on the expressway to the north side of Chicago I had a civilian old Sikorski fly slow and low right over me. As I was driving I couldn't get the phone camera out in time. It was painted white and orange. My coworker suggested it was a u haul rental chopper.

[jcf]

Ok, a Sikorsky what? S-58, S-61, S-76???

[Logan Hartke]

Honestly, his description is enough for me to take a good guess as to what he saw:



S-58T

Midwest Helicopter Airways - Helicopter Heavy Lift Service

They're kind of a Chicago staple.

As I understand it, it's how most large AC units on Chicago skyscrapers have gotten to where they are in the past 40 years.



Cheers,

Logan

[Captain Canada]

Very cool. Would love to see that in action !

[kerick]

I think you nailed it Logan! Thanks

[JayBee]

Ref the A-4s of a few posts back, this photo of one of them has just appeared on the PIK movements web site.

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/egpkpik/N166EM.jpg

[Captain Canada]

Now that is gorgeous.....makes me want to build one. Right now ! lol

[kitnut617]

Well Voyager ZZ331 turned up today and parked right where I was working today (apron 9), it disgorged another batch of troops for Suffield

[NARSES2]

Well Voyager ZZ331 turned up today and parked right where I was working today (apron 9), it disgorged another batch of troops for Suffield

Have we any troops left in the UK ? 

[kitnut617]

Well Voyager ZZ331 turned up today and parked right where I was working today (apron 9), it disgorged another batch of troops for Suffield

Have we any troops left in the UK ?  

They do a rotation Chris, plane load comes, plane load goes back the next day ---  over the last three/four weeks they must have rotated about 2000 troops (that's 2000 came here and 2000 went home)

[Captain Canada]

Cool. That would be neat to see Robert. They should bring the same lot over in January so you can see their facial expressions as the exit the aeroplane 

[kitnut617]

Cool. That would be neat to see Robert. They should bring the same lot over in January so you can see their facial expressions as the exit the aeroplane 

LMFAO

[NARSES2]

Well Voyager ZZ331 turned up today and parked right where I was working today (apron 9), it disgorged another batch of troops for Suffield

Have we any troops left in the UK ?  

They do a rotation Chris, plane load comes, plane load goes back the next day ---  over the last three/four weeks they must have rotated about 2000 troops (that's 2000 came here and 2000 went home)

We landed at Calgary when I did my tour of the Rockies/Alaska cruise years back and there were some squaddies on the flight. If I remember correctly they had their own customs/immigration/point of entry area ?

[kitnut617]

Well Voyager ZZ331 turned up today and parked right where I was working today (apron 9), it disgorged another batch of troops for Suffield

Have we any troops left in the UK ?  

They do a rotation Chris, plane load comes, plane load goes back the next day ---  over the last three/four weeks they must have rotated about 2000 troops (that's 2000 came here and 2000 went home)

We landed at Calgary when I did my tour of the Rockies/Alaska cruise years back and there were some squaddies on the flight. If I remember correctly they had their own customs/immigration/point of entry area ?

Yes, they were taken to a separate part of Canada Customs. But now there's an RAF Liaison Officer who works with the CBSA and everything is done out on apron 9 through the CBSA office there (it's the main cargo apron). The whole passenger load was processed in under 1/2 hr (that's from getting off the plane and then on their way to Suffield). 'Course, it helps that the RAF have got their own airliners now, or charter some (Airbus A340's come to mind here)