Helicopters Again
I'm feeling a bit lazy recently - I seem to have been allowing everyone else to write my content for me - but sometimes things are just so interesting I need to pop them in. Today, for example, I'm handing a mystery over to "K" who experienced strange happenings in Greenwich Park on Sunday night...
He writes:
"Last night (July 27th) I went to bed just before midnight and after initially falling asleep was awakened at about 1:30 am (this morning 28th) by the noise of a low flying helicopter over Greenwich Park, with a searchlight on, which is where it stayed until sometime after 4am.
I rang the park and they knew nothing about it. They referred me to the Met Police.
I rang the Metropolitan Police and they knew nothing about it. They referred me to Greenwich Police.
I rang Greenwich Police who were initially hugely reluctant to give any information at all, but who did ring back to say that a helicopter had been up from 03:19- 03:27.
This does not match with my observation.
1)Was anyone else kept awake by this invasive noise for an excessive amount of time?
I know the emergency services have a job to do and frankly I don’t mind paying the price of the odd broken night for the good it does in the general scheme of things. But I do think almost 3 hours of hovering about is excessive and unnecessary in the extreme at this hour of the night.
Trying to determine just who it was up there was not easy.
Did you know there is no one place, agency or body that regulates or accounts for all helicopter flights over London? (Two different police forces and the Greenwich Park office ALL told me that when I asked)
And unlike airplanes, apparently they don’t each have to file a flight plan either. (Again I enquired of this of all three of the above agencies) Or if they do, none of the three agencies that I contacted knew anything about it or how to find out.
Can anyone out there in Phantom Land lend any more credible information????"
The Phantom is curious. I'm mildly surprised that they don't have to file flight plans - I have a pal who's a helicopter pilot and he had to leave our place early on Saturday evening so he could compile a flight plan for Sunday morning - though of course he's civilian. It was also necessary as helicopters fly at the same height as the airship just now and we don't want any accidental pops.
If it was the MOD (and we get a lot of them) I doubt they'd cough up a plan even if it were required and the police - well, aren't they the ones who'd have to compile such reports?
I certainly didn't hear any such helicopter activity - but I'm too far away from the park to have really noticed it. Did anyone else hear anything?
What I AM hearing at the moment is the practicing for the Red Bull Air Race. Might see if I can get over there at some point to watch, since I missed out on the free ticket bunfight...
He writes:
"Last night (July 27th) I went to bed just before midnight and after initially falling asleep was awakened at about 1:30 am (this morning 28th) by the noise of a low flying helicopter over Greenwich Park, with a searchlight on, which is where it stayed until sometime after 4am.
I rang the park and they knew nothing about it. They referred me to the Met Police.
I rang the Metropolitan Police and they knew nothing about it. They referred me to Greenwich Police.
I rang Greenwich Police who were initially hugely reluctant to give any information at all, but who did ring back to say that a helicopter had been up from 03:19- 03:27.
This does not match with my observation.
1)Was anyone else kept awake by this invasive noise for an excessive amount of time?
I know the emergency services have a job to do and frankly I don’t mind paying the price of the odd broken night for the good it does in the general scheme of things. But I do think almost 3 hours of hovering about is excessive and unnecessary in the extreme at this hour of the night.
Trying to determine just who it was up there was not easy.
Did you know there is no one place, agency or body that regulates or accounts for all helicopter flights over London? (Two different police forces and the Greenwich Park office ALL told me that when I asked)
And unlike airplanes, apparently they don’t each have to file a flight plan either. (Again I enquired of this of all three of the above agencies) Or if they do, none of the three agencies that I contacted knew anything about it or how to find out.
Can anyone out there in Phantom Land lend any more credible information????"
The Phantom is curious. I'm mildly surprised that they don't have to file flight plans - I have a pal who's a helicopter pilot and he had to leave our place early on Saturday evening so he could compile a flight plan for Sunday morning - though of course he's civilian. It was also necessary as helicopters fly at the same height as the airship just now and we don't want any accidental pops.
If it was the MOD (and we get a lot of them) I doubt they'd cough up a plan even if it were required and the police - well, aren't they the ones who'd have to compile such reports?
I certainly didn't hear any such helicopter activity - but I'm too far away from the park to have really noticed it. Did anyone else hear anything?
What I AM hearing at the moment is the practicing for the Red Bull Air Race. Might see if I can get over there at some point to watch, since I missed out on the free ticket bunfight...
Labels: News
posted by The Greenwich Phantom at
08:40
16 Comments:
Yup, I definately heard that pesky helicopter the other night, it was very hot and sweaty chez Benedict the other night and had most of our windows open, only to be woken by the buzzing, close the windows....too hot....open them...ohh... I was up and down all night!
If you didnt get any tickets for the air race another option is to watch from outside the Anchor and Hope pub in Charlton. You get a great view and you can also have a drink with friends whilst watching. My friends did that last year and said the view was great as the planes come as far as the Barrier.
I don't quite understand The Red Bull thing but last year I went to the O2 and watched the practice on Friday morning which cost nothing and you had a great view of the pilots buzzing around the course. They were doing some spectacular passes which I doubt they could do in the race and put on a great show for those who were watching.
The practice days were around 11:00 Thursday and Friday last year so if you've got an hour or so it's worth the visit.
From my 28th Floor office window I have a glorious head on view of the Air Race - they're setting out the inflatable bollards today and practice is for an hour on Thursday and Friday when they close the airport for a while.
Not only do I get a better-than-the-grandstand seat but the added excitement of the planes flying straight at me before banking up overhead then circling over Greenwich for the next race.
Only problem is the weekend when they fly over the house all day making an absolute racket when, inevitably, I will be nursing a hangover.
Oh, and the message went out that "the office is not a viewing tower" so looks like I'll be barred from any "weekend work" no matter how well I disguise a 6 pack of beer as a slightly chubby briefcase...
Where are these practising planes then? I still haven't heard anything and I'm under the holding area.
Went up to the O2 yesterday to see the preparations......Oh, and just to let you all know, I got 2 free tickets for Race day from the Tombola. So it is possible.
Anyway, my shutter finger is twitching already and I have now got my 8GB memory card, good for about 2000 pics......I hope you'll all be ready for the spectacular shots I'll be getting......I wish, LOL
I hope it's not too hot though as there is no cover in the Standing only area. And you're not allowed to take chairs, umberellas or soft drinks!!! Sounds like someone is trying to make the most of the Concessions Licences.
More news to follow after Sunday
I didn't hear any helicopter, which is strange as we normally get every single noise being so close to the park. However, there was a spectacularly loud fight on Trafalgar Road in Friday night, bloody chavs.
We got tickets to the Air Race last year, and to be honest, it was quite boring. After you've seen a plane do a loop once, you've seen it a thousand times... Even the 14 year old in our party was up for leaving after an hour.
Practice last year was around lunchtime on the Thursday and Friday beforehand (yes alright my previous statements were based on last year's preparations.
Oh yes; I'm told that the white tent that has appeared over that old piece of ship they use as a dry dock (by the sugar factory) is used as a depot/storage area for the race but I haven't been down to look yet.
I live on the south side of the Heath on the Lewisham side and we had a chopper with searchlight hovering for 30mins or so what felt about 10 foot above our roof at approx 3.15am. Having been burgled in the not-so-distant past I don't mind the odd disturbace if it means they actually catch the buggers tho.
Look, is as simple as dis innit ... you wanna complain 'bout the noise en all dat, man, but I mean how else da man from ECILOP gonna get the tv footage for all dem Sky realitee cops on cameras progz yoo seez on da telly.
Get reeel!!
You can get a pretty good view of the Air Race from Greenwich Sailing Club too - they did a BBQ last year. There's a view of all except the start/finish line, and a very good view of the 270 degree 9G bank they pull through the 4 pylons at the end of the course. Whether it won't be completely packed from early on is another question, however!
Incidentally, I have some Sunday resident tickets, but can only make Saturday - anyone want swapsies?
Not only did the helicopter keep me awake for an hour or so but the dustcarts woke me up before 6am racing round the empty streets.
To be fair, is there a GOOD time for dustcarts to come round? If they're around during the day, they hold up traffic and if they come in the evening, that's another hot day for stuff like organics to cook in the sun.
It's particularly noisy at the moment because of having to have windows open, but I take it as a hazard of modern-day living...
Surely this must have been a stealth survey from the Olympic authority, plotting how to dig up the park for the Olympic horse-riding...
I live on the high street, so I can't afford to have my windows opened at night. It's always noisy plus the thin walls between me and my neighbours plus i'ma light sleeper... traffic wakes me up everyday, especially dustcars.
Hi
I am not sure if it is just me, but over the last month it seems Greenwich has turned into the helicopter place of choice. From my counting ther have been over 15 copters over the last month all hovering quite low of greenwich. I was just wondering if it is just me or are other people noticing it as well.
I also noticed a lot of helicopters lately. I find the helicopter noise in (East) Greenwich rather disturbing and I would be curious to know what the explanation is...
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