Low Flying Jets

Location : North East Spotter Watch Member : NO

Can somebody tell me the best place to go to see low flying jets in the North
East. Have driven to Otterburn Mill on a number of occasions and seen nothing ! Thanks

Location : North East Spotter Watch Member : No

ginger wrote:: Can somebody tell me the best place to go to see low flying jets in the North
East. Have driven to Otterburn Mill on a number of occasions and seen nothing ! Thanks

Keep an eye on NOTAMs to give a clue which days give you a good chance and in what area
Check out the Northumberland National Park website for monthly timetables of Otterburn firing days as it also notes whether aircraft might be involved
Check out the MOD website for monthly timetables of Low Flying Area (LFA) activity but doesn't give the whole story as Spadeadam & Otterburn can have more activity than the timetable implies
Keep an eye on this forum
Get hold of an airband scanner and listen in to some of the air to air or ground to air frequencies, although it can be difficult to tell where some of the activity is

and if any of the clues imply that there may be low lying then, depending on where the activity is going to be, head for Bamburgh / Alnmouth area for coastal flights into the area (not an easy area for photos), the east edge of the Otterburn range just north of Elsdon (good large parking area beside the road at the top of the hill which overlooks the east edge of the range and with views down to the Coquet valley), or head for Spadeadam at Wiley Sike.
It's always a gamble, plus the weather, plus sod's law, etc. - Spadeadam is probably the most reliable but for those of us fortunate to live in the north, the beautiful scenery and the peace and quiet of most of the above areas can make even a bad day worthwhile!! If only we had an active airfield too!

Subject: Otterburn 2009-06-16, 05:10

Exercise Pashtun Sabre is taking place this month. Taken from the MOD website

15/6/09 - 26/6/09 Exercise PASHTUN SABRE
LFAs 12,17 and Otterburn Training Area.
Exercise PASHTUN SABRE is a small-scale helicopter exercise that provides pre-deployment training for 11 Light Brigade. This is a Joint Fires exercise involving attack and support helicopters, fast-jets and artillery. The live-fire phase of the exercise will take place on the Otterburn Training Area, and there will be Close Air Support training in the Appleby Valley and Northumberland. Most flying will take place during the day, but there will be a small amount of night flying on the 18th and 23rd June.

Hope that helps

Cheers

Location : Yorkshire Spotter Watch Member : No

catkins wrote:: head for Bamburgh / Alnmouth area for coastal flights into the area

Plenty of Tornado activity last week and, oddly enough, a JP!

Subject: Re: Low Flying Jets 2009-06-16, 12:32

Drive to the North West.

Location : North East Spotter Watch Member : NO

Thankyou for your replys. Went to Otterburn Mill on Monday 15th June and spent 2hours sitting in the car eating sandwiches and watching one of the biggest thunder storms I have ever seen ! Never mind, saw Easyjet taking off from Newcastle on the way back so wasn't a complete waste of time !