No lights.

Are the RAF allowed to fly at night without any lights on?
I�m only asking because a couple of weeks back a large slow low plane would fly over about 23.30, then about 5-10 minutes later I heard another.
This went on for about 5 days (Monday-Friday).
The next week I managed to get outside and see it flying of up the valley very low.
10 minutes later I heard it again and ran outside and saw it coming back down the valley, it must have been the one plane the week before.
Its been quiet for the last 11 nights but tonight at about 20.10 I heard a very loud noise approaching.
I ran out side to see what looked like a Hercules right above and just in front a big black shape with no lights on at all.
Its silhouette was bigger than the Hercules and seemed to be more like a stealth,
I watched the lights from the Hercules fly up the valley and over the moors, it then looked like it did a couple of circles and then flew of in a NWW direction.

Originally posted by spyke
Are the RAF allowed to fly at night without any lights on?
I�m only asking because a couple of weeks back a large slow low plane would fly over about 23.30, then about 5-10 minutes later I heard another.
This went on for about 5 days (Monday-Friday).
The next week I managed to get outside and see it flying of up the valley very low.
10 minutes later I heard it again and ran outside and saw it coming back down the valley, it must have been the one plane the week before.
Its been quiet for the last 11 nights but tonight at about 20.10 I heard a very loud noise approaching.
I ran out side to see what looked like a Hercules right above and just in front a big black shape with no lights on at all.
Its silhouette was bigger than the Hercules and seemed to be more like a stealth,
I watched the lights from the Hercules fly up the valley and over the moors, it then looked like it did a couple of circles and then flew of in a NWW direction.

yeah they are, night operations. hmm mabye a practice SF drop there isnt a training area near you is there?

We used to get a lot of fighters coming over for the last 30+ years, but Monday is night exercise.
I do live in a low fly area (200 ft my eye) but it�s rare that we get the big aircraft, but when we do they just fly straight over.
There�s no ground training going on but we did get warned at the beginning of the year there might be more activity, this normally means foreign air force or NATO.



[edit on 28-9-2004 by spyke]

Originally posted by spyke
We used to get a lot of fighters coming over for the last 30+ years, but Monday is night exercise.
I do live in a low fly area (200 my eye) but it�s rare that we get the big aircraft, but when we do they just fly straight over.
There�s no ground training going on but we did get warned at the beginning of the year there might be more activity, this normally means foreign air force or NATO.

ah thats probably it.
ah well.

But it is unusual for that type of plane at that time and the things it was doing.
All the other night flights I�ve witnessed have always had at least 1 light on.
What gets me is why would have its lights on and the other had none at all?
The plane with its lights on was right behind the other one.
I�ve seen planes flying above other planes before, like they were trying to hide but never right behind.

SF aircraft sometimes turn their lights off to hide where they are landing. At the base where my Civil Air Patrol is held there is a discreet SEAl training area. When a helicopter lands it moves like its going to another base but at the last minute hits the deck and turns its lights off and lands in a small aerea surrounded by trees. Now for secrecys sake I wont say the base, but ive seen them many times.

every now and then we get the same sort of odd ops happening here in West Yorkshire. Chinoocks landing at the DEAD of night and the RAF play for hours and hours.

Once upon a time a mate told me that the like to drop member of the SF off at random places to see how long it take them to get back to base.