To ask you if helicopters are watching you??

[Sassenach85]

Has anyone noticed helicopters in their area? We have them now day and night - some so low it scared the pets and kids. Some black some yellow some grey. Is this just my area? We all feel unnerved by it a bit

Yes. They're looking for gatherings in gardens and parks. There's also the air ambulance.

As part of military support to the NHS throughout the UK during the Coronavirus pandemic, Merlin helicopters from Culdrose will act as flying ambulances say the Royal Navy.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk/royal-navy-helicopters-to-be-used-as-air-ambulances

@Sassenach85 did you see my last post? It’s a company training medical helicopter pilots

Yes thanks for that

Are they doing normal tasks and all above board or anybody feel there’s more to it?

If there was 'more to it' then you wouldn't be seeing the planes show up on Flight Radar 24, or indeed any other app. Even on the ones which show the police and military flights you only see the flights which they are happy for you to see. Put it this way, the general public are likely to be reassured by seeing that training flights are going on and it's not unusual to see these if you have Freedar. What you won't see are the other military flights.

I have observed sensitive military flights departing and arriving in the past and not one of them would have been seen on any flight tracker available to the public for obvious reasons.

I flashed my boobs to them. Hope it cheered them up.

On certain days there are .We are not far from an RAF base but lot of people have noticed a lot more activity on certains days .

On certain days there are .We are not far from an RAF base but lot of people have noticed a lot more activity on certains days .

Not sure of the point you're addressing...

In my experience given the military don't tend to fly to a fixed schedule, then coronvirus or not activity at airfields is going to vary from day to day.

We live under flightpath to North Sea oil rigs... if anything, I reckon there are fewer than usual helicopters passing by lately.

Perhaps redirected for other uses lljkk

Perhaps redirected for other uses lljkk

I think so. Training to shoot down coronavirus parasites from airspace with tiny, tiny lasers.

Or could be simply that with reducing demand the number of core riggers has reduced.

I love a good conspiracy theory. I love a poor one even more.

Absolutely avalanche! I think they’re onto me .... haven’t seen any today they must be tracking my thoughts and have tried to throw me off the scent

To be fair this whole thing feels like a bad movie so a daft storyline fits well!

Anyway, thanks to everyone who replied and for all of the sensible info.

Back to Paw patrol, making bottles for baby and hoovering for the millionth time

Happy hoovering...or...hovering?

As per pp we also had chinooks over cheshire yesterday,

Thank you, Oldraver and SuperficialSuzie for the link to freedar. I spent ages this afternoon on it. I picked up the air ambulance (fixed wing) from Orkney to Aberdeen airport, and almost felt like clapping when it landed. I followed some of the military flights - one doing several touch-and-go at Brize Norton.

Thanks also to the PP who pointed out the various reasons why some aircraft are still flying.

(Every so often, I think I can hear a helicopter or low-flying plane, but it's just the guy up the road free-riding down the road on his skateboard. Something I hadn't heard before, because he wouldn't have been able to do it before given the normal traffic.)

I had a laugh at myself this morning, oh! Helicopter approaching, where’s my phone? I bet it’s a big black one! ..... opens window like inspector gadget - it’s the bin men....

Sounds like there were loads out there late this evening.

I've noticed helicopters flying towards our local hospital so I'm assuming taking covid patients. Maybe helicopters are just checking there aren't any crowds that need dispersing.

We haven't had loads but over the sunny weekends I saw a couple of police looking ones, we are on the edge of a national trust beauty spot.

North west england here and tbh i can't recall the last time i saw one, usually spot a few a day but haven't seen any recently

South East coast here - i noticed border force officers in local harbour, we wouldn't be prime for refugees or smuggling but still.

Connection? Not sure - lots of helicopters, locals suggesting we on flight path for air ambulance

OP I wonder if you are near me. Helicopters over several times a day. Police helicopter yesterday during the day, really really low. Helicopter over us when I went to bed last night around 12. Not sure if it's all police helicopters but it's definitely starting to get concerning. We are under a flight path for an airport usually but it's not the same patterns of aircraft behaviour at all.

Sounds similar yeah, we are very used to busy flight paths and all sorts of aircrafts but this is deffo a new experience!

@Sassenach85 I'm somewhere that starts with a D, in a larger place that starts with a D if that makes sense

In case you haven't guessed that thumping sound you hear is me banging my head against the wall...so I'm going to have one last try at explaining this and then I'm going to give up on medical grounds.

There's a national crisis going on.

It's a medical one.

Helicopters (military/Civil/HEMS/Police) are very very useful for rapidly transporting stuff/people.

They are being used a lot more than in previously in the UK to transport people/supplies etc because a lot more people/supplies need moving rapidly..

Yes, no doubt they may well be being used by the police to help dissuade groups of people gathering when the current regs mean they are not meant to.

TBH I'd personally find it quite disturbing if these machines were not being used more frequently than we have previously seen in the UK,

TBH I'd find it odd if they weren't perhaps being based at places where they are not normally based

TBH I'd also find it odd if there weren't operating in places and at times, such as overnight over built up areas, perhaps something that people there haven' t been used to..

Yes, of course it's a new experience for many, but it doesn't mean "we" " you" or anybody is suddenly being singled out for extra personal special attention by eyes in the sky , or that "they" suddenly have time to fly around spying on individuals who are going about their lawful business...