Is it possible to know when millitary aircraft are coming?

[william.martin]

During the summer holiday I am taking a weekends break to the Mach loop (or there abouts) and plan on spending a full day just watching the planes however; how do I know if there is anything coming as a 2 hour drive then a 1 hour walk is a bit much just to look at a sheep.
For 9 years I had a caravan at the end of Llandbedar runway where usually all aircraft traversing the Mach loop take off and land, but I never noticed any patterns when aircraft came.

To give this thread a wider purpose, I have titled it as it says so it can be for knowing when millitary aircraft flights in general are.

 

[Lost property]

During the summer holiday I am taking a weekends break to the Mach loop (or there abouts) and plan on spending a full day just watching the planes however; how do I know if there is anything coming as a 2 hour drive then a 1 hour walk is a bit much just to look at a sheep.
For 9 years I had a caravan at the end of Llandbedar runway where usually all aircraft traversing the Mach loop take off and land, but I never noticed any patterns when aircraft came.

To give this thread a wider purpose, I have titled it as it says so it can be for knowing when millitary aircraft flights in general are.

Well the bad news is....if you are planning on going at the weekend, you will get a nice view...of the locality as various Air Forces, including the RAF, generally don't operate at weekends at least in the low level / training capacity...

And I would politely dispute the use of Llanbedr as a former take off / landing airfield...other than for types based there . There is no reason for any aircraft transiting the Mach Loop to do so.

If you get bored, I recommend TR Roberts cafe / coffee shop in Dolgellau ...lemon drizzle cake to die for !....and as " quirky " as they come. Probably closed on Sunday however.

 

[Ken X]

Traditionally there is the sounding of sirens, followed by the local AA operatives getting twitchy.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[nlogax]

Stuff I've learned today; the RAF actually publish a timetable for low flying.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operational-low-flying-training-timetable

Timetables for operational low flying (OLF) training by RAF fast jets and Hercules aircraft. These timetables cover 3 tactical training areas (TTA) only. These are:

• LFA 7(T): central Wales
• LFA 14(T): northern Scotland
• LFA 20(T): the borders of southern Scotland and northern England

When the TTA is not in use, there may be other flying activity in the area. The MOD is unable to provide a timetable for all low flying activity as the information can very quickly become outdated due to weather conditions and training requirements.

 

[ainsworth74]

Traditionally there is the sounding of sirens, followed by the local AA operatives getting twitchy.

I'm not sure what roadside recovery has to do with air defence activities? Or have the budget cuts to the RAF become so severe that they have had to outsource Typhoon maintenance?

Stuff I've learned today; the RAF actually publish a timetable for low flying.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operational-low-flying-training-timetable

It's good to see that they factor in a proper lunch break in those flying schedules

 

[Spamcan81]

During the summer holiday I am taking a weekends break to the Mach loop (or there abouts) and plan on spending a full day just watching the planes however; how do I know if there is anything coming as a 2 hour drive then a 1 hour walk is a bit much just to look at a sheep.
For 9 years I had a caravan at the end of Llandbedar runway where usually all aircraft traversing the Mach loop take off and land, but I never noticed any patterns when aircraft came.

To give this thread a wider purpose, I have titled it as it says so it can be for knowing when millitary aircraft flights in general are.

The biggest users of the Mach Loop are USAF aircraft out of Mildenhall and Lakenheath. RAF fighters are noticeable by there almost complete absence from the are these days but you will see RAF trainers out of Valley, transport aircraft and helicopters. There is no guarantee as to what will turn up and when. It is very much a "turn up and wait" type of thing. Don't go and weekends though as the military don't do training flights at weekends.

 

[Ken X]

Stuff I've learned today; the RAF actually publish a timetable for low flying.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operational-low-flying-training-timetable

Looks like a strictly Monday to Friday operation these days. I see you can subscribe to receive updates so that might be useful.

 

[nlogax]

It's good to see that they factor in a proper lunch break in those flying schedules

Presumably they like to pull up their Typhoons in a lay-by to scoff some sarnies before commencing the afternoon shift

 

[william.martin]

And I would politely dispute the use of Llanbedr as a former take off / landing airfield...other than for types based there . There is no reason for any aircraft transiting the Mach Loop to do so.

Probably should of said that Propeller driven aircraft takeoff/ land there.

 

[TPO]

To the OP:

Sign up with NATS to get NOTAMs then look out for temporary flying areas and danger areas being activated. Tends to suggest an exercise and so plenty of activity in the air.

TPO

 

[william.martin]

To the OP:

Sign up with NATS to get NOTAMs then look out for temporary flying areas and danger areas being activated. Tends to suggest an exercise and so plenty of activity in the air.

TPO

Thanks for the advice, I will have to have a look into that as it will be very helpful to know what it is going on when you look up and see a trio of typhoons racing quite low across the sky (I actually saw that the once when I was standing in the grounds of Sandringham palace.)

I have now in fact booked a holiday to the Barmouth region of Wales for Whit week only to find out about an hour after booking when I remembered to check and there was nothing coming that week.

 

[Mojo]

The Plane Finder app shows a lot more flights, including some RAF & Navy Planes and helicopters that aren’t visible on Flightradar.

 

[Irascible]

The Plane Finder app shows a lot more flights, including some RAF & Navy Planes and helicopters that aren’t visible on Flightradar.

I'd also suggest adsbexchange, which I end up using frequently to work out what that passing irritant was ( usually some sort of Vans ) and unfortunately less often to find out what that really amazing passing thing was...

 

[kegdr]

Stuff I've learned today; the RAF actually publish a timetable for low flying.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operational-low-flying-training-timetable

Unfortunately not quite that simple. These timetables apply only to Tactical Training Areas (TTAs), which are three relatively small parts of the very large UK Low Flying System. The Mach Loop is not within a TTA.

TTAs are marked with a (T) suffix on this map