Is this normal??

[Scorchedgrey]

Ok, first off this might be in the wrong section as I cannot say it is specifically military aviation related.

Anyway.....

I wa at work this evening, minding my own business - when I heard a helicopter overhead. To me it sounded quite low so I thought I have a look around the sky for it. Now bearing in mind it was about 1730hrs so it was dark I was looking base on the noise.

At first I couldn't see it, the cloud was quite low ish so I though that was the reason I couldn't see it. Them I saw it pass over my head, I watched it go across the sky, a dark shape against the lighter cloud.

Now, here's the thing.....I'm positive it was a helicopter, based on the noise, I could clearly see it - it wasn't in cloud - but it didn't have ANY lights what so ever. No flashing anti-collision lights, nothing. It was just a dark shape moving across the sky. I watched it for a good minute or so as it passed overhead and there was no lights.

Is this normal???

Regards

Neil

[Scorchedgrey]

lol that's good - had a stressful day at work and thought I was going mad!!

[kevster]

I once saw some apaches on exercise in Norfolk, 11pm pitch dark, only thing you could see was the green glow in the cockpit, no external lights at all ... really cool, super noisy, but spooky!

Kevster

[blakey]

Its ok for the pilot of said aircraft wearing NVG's but I thought the purpose of anti collision lights was so other aircraft could see them, what difference does it make that the pilot was wearing them ?

[POL]

Generally there'll be a NOTAM up, or it's done in certain bits of airspace, or there's another helicopter nearby with its lights on.

[blakey]

Cheers CAB makes sense when you put it like that

[DanBeeden]

I used to work at Shobdon (and lived on the approach) and we often had RAF Hercs coming in at night for practice approaches. The short runway was good training for working in theatres overseas. Sometimes they would be lit up like Christmas trees - including a row of white lights that ran along the backs of the wings (or at least this is how it looked under the cover of darkness). At other times they would come in without any lights on at all, doing NVG approaches. Sometimes ground support guys would be up at the airfield setting up 'black lights' to delineate the runway but only visible to aircrew wearing special kit. The aircraft were also fitted with black lights themselves for illuminating the runway. Most times they would do a missed approach but somethimes they'd land.

[gyvespa]

I live near Great Yarmouth and used to regularly see Herc's coming in off the sea, day or night 'Feet dry 500 feet' as I once heard on the scanner.
Anyway now and again there would be a pair of them, in the dark, one with lights, one without. That used to confuse the old grey matter a bit until I sussed out what was going on.
I told a friend of mine about it, he didn't believe me for ages until he saw it himself.
Don't know if they were RAF or USMC could have been either, it was dark and no I didn't get the serials :-)

[TankBuster]

Hi,

We quite often get Apaches flying over Colchester at night with no nav lights on.

The Essex police helicopter sometimes flies at night with no nav lights, which can be quite annoying when it's hovering over the town in the early hours hot on the tail of the local scumbags who are up to no good!
I have stood out in the garden many times trying to find the silhouette of the helo's aginst the starry night sky & they are very hard to locate.

I also remember back during the days of the first Gulf War many aircraft from the East Anglian bases flew out across the Thames Estuary at night on their way out to the Middle East without any nav lights on. I remember this occuring on several occasions.


TankBuster