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2 Apache Helicopters.


jimdiesel
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Lunch time today, there is a load noise outside. Look out of my kitchen window and there are 2 Apache Gunships hovering over the river behind my house. Increadibly sinister looking machines. After about 20 seconds they set off again, so I didnt get chance to grab my camera.

Not something you see everday nr Selby.

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I know the noise of a Chinook all to well. The River Ouse is about 75 meters from our back garden. And during the floods of 2000 we had Chinooks hovering outside our bedroom window (sandbagging the river bank) for 3 days solid. The whole house would shake. It was an amazing display of airmanship to witness though.

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I know the noise of a Chinook all to well. The River Ouse is about 75 meters from our back garden. And during the floods of 2000 we had Chinooks hovering outside our bedroom window (sandbagging the river bank) for 3 days solid. The whole house would shake. It was an amazing display of airmanship to witness though.

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Any chance of pics?

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I'm an ex-squaddie so naturally most of my mates are, or were squaddies as well.... my best mate is a chopper pilot, and he's considering converting to the Apache.

I've got some photos and vids of him flying down the thames (cockpit view) in his Gazelle. Even that looks pretty cool and complicated enough!!

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I got buzzed by a Tornado GR-IV (I think) as I was approaching Hadrians Wall today. Bloody thing came down through the valley then up over the hill and banked hard left just after it had flown in front of me.

It looked about 100ft off the ground whilst of course it'd have been higher than that. Wings forward, he then straightened up, back went the wings and whooooosh, off he went back down the valley - all in a matter of about 20 seconds.

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I have only ever seen these machines once and that was when I was in Marietta Georgia. There is an air base there where they train pilots and the noise those Apaches make is glorious, Have only ever seen Chinook helicopters in the UK.

There is one Chinook that circles around here all of the time, as we are quite close to the Army place in Aldershot. Very distinctive and I love watching it poodle about the place.

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Yeah, seen 4 Apache's last Sunday, they are based at RAF Disforth. I believe they have a new training base there,

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Yup, sort of. Dishforth hosts the AAC (Army Air Corp) which has Lynx and Gazelle choppers and the new Apache AH Mark I (known to the rest of the world as the Apache Longbow WAH-64D).

Apache's are going into 3 regiments with a total of 48 of the beasts ordered. The Dishforth contingent is 9 Regiment and it will eventually house 2 attack squadrons with each having 8 Apaches (and a support squadron of 8 x Lynx).

The Squadron designations are 656, 664 and 672.

Another 6 Squadron's will be based at Wattisham and the Training squadron will be at Middle Wallop.

All of these are due to be fully operation by the summer of 2007. Dishforth Squadrons are already formed though - so they're out there boys....watch out for dark shadows looming!

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Yep, sure is (and they should be there now because they were due to 'form' this year).

Looks like I was wrong about the GR-IV that buzzed me too. They're based at RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Marham - one of which seems a bit too far north and the other way too far south to have been playing silly buggers around Hadrians Wall.

It's much more probably that it was an older Tornado F3 because they're based at RAF Leuchars in Fife and RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire - so as both of these are much closer to the area my guess would be it was from Fife.

Whether it was an F3 or a GR-IV, one thing for sure is I'd have loved to have been in his seat and experience flying through that stunning scenery at the heights he was at. It must have been breathtaking.

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Yep, sure is (and they should be there now because they were due to 'form' this year).

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Nice one 169144-ok.gif

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RAF Marham

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Ah, I know that one, quite near here. Not as close as Coltishall [home to Jaguars], but I guess once that base closes fully, it`ll leave Marham as the closest base to here. And you`re right; I don't think they go that far north too often. I`ve heard of them going to Wales or over the North Sea several times, but never up there.

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Whether it was an F3 or a GR-IV, one thing for sure is I'd have loved to have been in his seat and experience flying through that stunning scenery at the heights he was at. It must have been breathtaking.

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I`d have thought so, yeah. Something I`d love to experience.

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Something else is a lot more scary...and that's the fact that another 8 countries have Apache AH-64D's.

Taiwan has just taken delivery of 35 of them.... sekret.gif

Other owners include Israel (about 40), Egpyt (20-ish), the Netherland (dunno how many), Singapore, Kuwait and the UAE....(and I'm not sure I'd trust all of those with them!).

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Well if thier based in North Yorkshire now lets hope there not fitted with VASCAR.

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Nah, but they do have TADS and PNVS, both of which are rather more accurate and one of which is a lot more dangerous!

Have a look on the site below. The guy is a bit of a flying but but the information is a lot easier to read and understand than most other sites of this type.

Pick a fight with an Apache? Ermm, nah, give me a ticket please officer....

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