Mystery Helicopter.
- Andy B
- Location: dover
- Registered: 10 Nov 2012
- Posts: 1,818
2 December 2013 18:40254427Did anyone see the Helicopter this morning from around 9.30 till 11.00am?It was dark coloured with no visible markings,bigger than what the Police use.I watched it from the Whinless downs flying the same route several times,flying over past St Radigunds Abbey then banking sharply and coming back across the Whinless downs to hover at a tilted angle over Elms Vale rd area,then it went across to the Drop Redoubt and back to hover over the boys grammer,always repeating the same moves.All very mysterious,anyone see it? - Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,883
2 December 2013 18:47254428Yes it came over us in the Frith Road area then went inland a bit turned and came back towards the town, it looked like a military one but not sure.-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
2 December 2013 18:51254429see it over aycliffe earlier today,it looked army. - 2 December 2013 18:51254430i heard one rumbling away about 10 - 10. 30 am when i was out the back replenishing the bird feeder, could not see anything so i assume it must have been over elms vale way.
- 3 December 2013 09:58254463The helicopter was a Merlin, the replacement for the Seaking, odds on that it was on exercise.Phil Wyborn - Brown at www.wybornphotography.co.uk
- Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,883
3 December 2013 10:25254469Thanks Phil, my daughter was watching with me and we joked the pilot was taking his friends on a sightseeing airborne tour of Dover.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
------------------------------------------------------------------- - 3 December 2013 11:39254471Based at Manston took over from the sea king for rescue duties.
- 3 December 2013 11:59254473Shall miss the old Sea Kings when they go. Good news that the SAR base is coming back to Manston from Wattisham which is a considerable extra distance to fly to the Dover Strait. Bristow are going to be using Agusta Westland 189s when the new SAR base opens in 2015 according to this link:
"A NEW hi-tech helicopter Search and Rescue (SAR) base is to be built at Manston Airport. The news was announced by the Department of Transport after it awarded a £1.6 billion, ten-year contract to US company Bristow to run the operation, replacing the RAF from April 2015. Two AgustaWestland choppers will be based at Manston Airport from April 2015. Search and rescue choppers were controversially axed from Manston in 1990 and moved to Wattisham, Suffolk. However, the Wattisham base is going to close under the new contract and come back to Thanet. Bristow, based in Houston, USA, will replace RAF and Royal Navy Sea King helicopters with Sikorsky S-92s and AgustaWestland 189s. Two Westland choppers will be based at Manston and will cover one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world."
http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/New-search-rescue-base-Manston-Airport/story-18522409-detail/story.html#axzz2mPZWzSmg
http://www.agustawestland.com/content/aw189-uk - Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
3 December 2013 15:27254488some good news at last.