Hello and a question about Chinooks

[andy29]

Hello! I live a few miles south of Salisbury (roughly where the cross is in the middle here: http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=50.93482 ... =0&src=msl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and I've always been into aircraft. I've had my Yupiteru MVT-7100 for years, and I like listening to utilities on shortwave with my brilliant little Degen 1103 too. You look friendly!

I have to admit my main reason for joining was to ask a question about the Chinooks that fly over me. I've been looking for somewhere to ask for a long time. Sometimes they fly over every day, but usually it's once every week or so, and any time of the day. They always fly south-west to north-east (maybe closer to west to east) or the opposite so it looks like it's always the same route. They like to fly low - earlier on today it would have been 'interesting' if the light plane flying from SE to NW had been 20 seconds earlier.

Would anyone have any idea what frequencies they might tend to be using, and/or where they're flying between? I see they come from Odiham so that would tie up with one end of their route if they keep going in a straight line. They tend to be on their own so I guess there wouldn't be much air-to-air. Presumably they'll be flying in uncontrolled airspace over here but would they be talking to, for example, Swanwick military, or would they be completely on their own?

Thanks for anything

[RichC]

278.000 Low Level Common for the routes there and 126.700 , 233.850, 371.825 for Boscombe Radar.

[wave scanner]

Hello Andy29.
I often hear them & occasionally see them routing over or around Worcester, routing Via Brize Norton. very often "Chinook" callsigns pop up on 124.750 AM London flight information service if low level.
It's worth having that in your scanner memory, Just a note not all Vortex callsigns are Chinooks I have seen Puma's in the past with that call sign also.

1 Argus
2 Bomber
3 Castle
4 Cossack
5 Gambit
6 Ginger
7 Hobbit
8 Juggler
9 Kermit
10 Lifter
11 Pegasus
12 Rafair 7339-7355
13 Sardine
14 Starling
15 Tusker
16 Vortex

[RichC]

As said, 278.000 Low Level and Boscombe.
They are (in your area you suggest) flying along the Victors, Uniforms and Tangos and thus will operate local LARS (Boscombe) or mostly 278.000 of which those areas come under (as with the Pewsey Vale).
278.000 is not controlled, it's a courtesy call however the area around Salisbury Plain utilises the Low Level Common (basically north, east and south of Salisbury Plain).
Salisbury Ops used to control the eastern and northern side of the plain but now they have handed it over to Low Level Common for pilots to inform each other of their presence and intentions.
Those flights south of Salisbury, being within the Boscombe MATZ will contact Boscombe for a service as it encompasses the Boscombe DUA/AIAA, Middle Wallop AIAA and Old Sarum airfield nearby.

124.750 will be used when a service is not available from Boscombe (126.700 mainly) or Yeovilton (to the west on 127.350 and 234.300) or Bournemouth (to the south) However Bournemouth is 24hr (119.475).
278.000 is active 24Hrs and is 'VERY' busy with helicopters between ground level and 2000ft in your vicinity around the Salisbury area.

The NVG Routes nearby will also have 278.000 in place and to the north which low level routes (300ft and 500ft) criss cross the plain, airspace is controlled by Salisbury Ops (276.000 and 122.750).

I spend all my free time in your area with helicopters... and a lot of it is spent with Chinooks.

[andy29]

Sorry for taking a while to get back - thank you, that's brilliant I know there is lots of interesting information on the NATS AIS site but I think it's something that's easy to understand... once you understand it. I see there are training areas along the coast to the west of me too.

I haven't picked up anything on the low level common or Salisbury ops yet. I am indeed where I said but could I still be a little far away or should I just have more patience? If it's very busy and 24 hours I would expect to get something - I have a discone up with my TV aerial and I've heard normal aircraft from 100 miles away (admittedly at cruise altitude) so it definitely works.

Rich, what are NVG routes? Night vision? When you say you spend your free time with helicopters, I take it you mean watching on the SPTA?

[RichC]

Andy
I believe you are already on the SPTA forum of which i am Admin... so it's best to ask on there.
NVG Routes are just that what you said, they are 'recce'd during the day for the night time missions which will follow the same route.

But there is a complex of routes/areas available to helo crews in your area which are not on any of the AIS websites or charts you will find available. They won't show frequencies either

[andy29]

Aha, I left the scanner on today and I've been getting something every now and then. Most of it's been either to weak or too fast for me to understand, but at one point I heard somebody say they were 'crossing charlie' if that means anything to you? (Edit: And then I immediately find the airborne waypoints on the SPTA forum, so don't worry. That was a decent distance - I wonder what altitude they were at but I'll never know.)

Now you can't say there's a complex of routes over me without expecting me to ask, are there any maps or other info about them anywhere? I understand if there isn't anything like that publicly available though.

Yes, I have just joined your SPTA forum so in the future I'll take any questions about the area there.

[RichC]

The Low level route over Crossing Charlie is 300ft of which most are except a few which are at 500ft like that over Airmans Cross etc (Stonehenge).

There are maps yes but not available publically.
The routes are for Wallop traffic mainly but the Chinooks will transit south and north of the plain when coming down here and vice versa however they use the northern route via Westbury Chimney more often.
Get your antenna as high as possible, living in Salisbury (or just south) you shouldn't have any problems receiving activity down to 200ft around SPTA and the surrounding area.

[andy29]

Later on I heard a Lynx over Amesbury too... that's about 16 miles away from me, and if they were at 300 or 500ft that I'd say that's pretty good. Since I last posted I've had a couple of chinooks fly over, but neither time I heard anything on the radio. I think I'm quite lucky, I'm bang on the edge of the area that is marked as the plain on maps.