Getting low flying stopped

[onthehoof]

Last Tuesday we had 12 cattle break out of a field and it took us 3 days to get them back. More by luck than anything we got them back without anybody being hurt as they crossed a main road twice, the only damage being neighbours crops.
I wasn’t around when they broke out but my son said that a Chinook came over the farm about the time they broke out so low you could almost reach up and touch it.
Now I don’t want to start trying to prove that it was the helicopter that caused it or getting solicitors involved but can I request that the MOD cease low flying over our farm as it is happening more and more.

 

[beefandsleep]

I have similar happen this year on land adjacent to an army training ground. On one occasion while checking WWIII broke out nearby and the cattle bolted from one end of the field to the other and smashed through the fence into the neighbours. They got out twice after that and I suspect a similar scenario. One time they crossed the main road onto arable ground and were so wound up we couldn’t do a thing with them, wrecked fences in the village then completely disappeared, 29 cattle. We gave up searching late evening and went back to repair fences in the morning and start looking again to find them back in their field which was a long way from where they were last seen.

 

[carpenter1]

I would be interested to know. About 4 months a go air ambulance landed in one field fine. But there were bullocks in that field, others where empty. I saw the crew come out the gate and leave it open to the road. I asked them nicely if there was another person coming as they left the gate open. 'No we can do what we want' I said if they get out there would be more than one accidnt to deal with. I got to the gate just in time, they where going mad running the perimeter, the bloke with the helicopter was sorry.

 

[farmerfred86]

The short answer is yes... But get them onside. They are happy to help and they genuinely don't want to pee people off. I think I saw the chinook you were referring to and it was very low but remember they can legally operate at 250ft!
Speak to someone at RAF Odiham and explain the situation and ask to be put on there new mapping system as an "avoid".

 

[Dry Rot]

Been there and got the T shirt. I live almost next to an MOD Weapons Training area and used to have a low level bombing run right over the house!

It is the unscheduled low level flights that upset animals. I had stalkers here wanting to buy a pony for deer extraction. A jet came over really really low and they all ducked. The ponies did not even stop grazing!

I always complain when that happens as a matter of course because if they don't know, they can't put it right.

At my last address, I phoned up the local RAF base and asked if a kite went into the air intake of an aircraft, would it cause any damage? Long silence.
RAF: "How big are these kites?".
Me: "Well, we have one that wil lift a man". Another long silence.
RAF: "I think we'd better send someone up to have a chat with you".
Me: "Well, that's a problem, because I am out most days flying my kites". Long silence.
A blissful three weeks of silence until the penny dropped.

Another time, I explained that my letters of complaint were being ignore so I was going to post a note. That would be on 10 acres with a knapsack sprayer and as weedkiller is expensive the words would be very short. I added that it should be visible from Outer Space so would probably get through to the right person!

Strangely, after that they change the flight path. But the commanding officer also changed, so maybe they got one with a brain? There can be no valid reason why a flight path cannot be moved a couple of hundred yards.

Lots of similar stories in the Highlands. They reward our patience by having the Red Arrows put on a display -- so more bloody jets! But all in all, they do liven things up and provide a bit of entertainment!

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Had issues here, negotiated to 500 ft which seems to help.

Mention duty of care and pass the buck, tell them u have cctv to film cattle rush, they will adjust as best they can but they do need to practise somewhere...

 

[joe soapy]

Ha, uncle got tipped off his horse on the moor. got home and complained to the camp boss.
they sent a couple of officers round with scotch, Transport had to be arranged to return 2 very unwell officers

 

[yellow belly]

A few years ago a military chinook low flying caused the death of a horse woman in north lincs
Chinooks should be banned from low flying near any livestock and horses
They should plan roots to avoid livestock and horses bridle ways are marked on maps so it should be possible to avoid them

 

[Dry Rot]

A few years ago a military chinook low flying caused the death of a horse woman in north lincs
Chinooks should be banned from low flying near any livestock and horses
They should plan roots to avoid livestock and horses bridle ways are marked on maps so it should be possible to avoid them

Some have grazing on the ranges around here. I think the MOD pay compensation for livestock injured by misaligned bombs. According to someone who did some filming for them, they are not very accurate!

It might be worth making enquiries for compensation when cattle are spooked by low flying helicopters as yellow belly says, horse riders have occasionally been injured when their horses were frightened.

Some useful contacts here:

https://assets.publishing.service.g...g_-_Advice_for_Horse_Riders_Trifold_150dp.pdf

More information on compensation for damage here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=low+flying+livestock&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-ab

 

[Tim W]

Being on the edge of Salisbury Plain we have had these issues but i have to add not for some time
We tried phone calls/letters etc and eventually had a visit from an officer of some sort
Nothing changed and pigs panicked through their electric fences regularly/sheep piled up in pens on top of each other etc
I happened to be pigeon shooting when one helicopter came very low over the pig field----funnily enough that prompted 2 officers to visit us that same afternoon & the problem ceased immediately

We also had problems with army vehicles & squads of up to 20 men regularly trespassing until the boss punched one officer and i ran over another's radio pack with a JCB
End of problem

Times are different and i doubt these approaches are as successful any more but equally the forces are a bit more PR aware so maybe diplomacy and tweets of offending helicopters/damage will be effective?

 

[Yale]

We don’t get chinooks here that often but last summer one was low flying and I’ve never seen anything like it.

It banked to the right and I was looking at the top of the rotors.It disappeared below a brow and I was waiting for the bang and the plume of smoke.

How the pilot got it back I’ll never know.

 

[uztrac]

Great lot on here moaning about our own armed forces,live and let live guys. Around us we have the fast jet boys of Marham & Lakenheath,transports from Mildenhall & ? at RAF Sculthorpe. We welcome the sights & sounds,get a life out there.

 

[ollie989898]

The MOD will do what they can to help you if there is a genuine problem. They don't want to upset people. Air ambulance folks are pretty good too.

 

[Yale]

Great lot on here moaning about our own armed forces,live and let live guys. Around us we have the fast jet boys of Marham & Lakenheath,transports from Mildenhall & ? at RAF Sculthorpe. We welcome the sights & sounds,get a life out there.

Do you keep cattle?

 

[Paddington]

Had a "Wokka wokka" Chinook fly very low over the house some years ago. Sheep took off across the field and there was a noise that reminded me of a milk float full of empty bottles which puzzled me for a second until I realised it was 'er indoors store of glass jars in our feed store dancing on the shelves. For ten seconds or so I sped from one end to the other pushing the jars back from coming off the shelves.
No jars were broken, but I banged my knee, can I claim ?
Used to get Chinooks carting concrete blocks slung underneath for training purposes near Odiham, now they could make a mess if they cocked the altitude up.

 

[Tim W]

Great lot on here moaning about our own armed forces,live and let live guys. Around us we have the fast jet boys of Marham & Lakenheath,transports from Mildenhall & ? at RAF Sculthorpe. We welcome the sights & sounds,get a life out there.

That's fine and very true but if they regularly panic 1200 growing pigs through fences, cause lambs to get trampled and suffocate in pens or drive through arable crops then it wears a bit thin ----especially when they have the entire Salisbury training area a few miles away (150 sq miles)

 

[joe soapy]

My old landlords house was prominent in the valley,the jets used to follow the river at low level, over the town untill his house,
then it was taps open and stick back hard to climb over the rise..

At another favorite spot the helecopters would hide under a pylon when training

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Great lot on here moaning about our own armed forces,live and let live guys. Around us we have the fast jet boys of Marham & Lakenheath,transports from Mildenhall & ? at RAF Sculthorpe. We welcome the sights & sounds,get a life out there.

I love to see them and they are protecting us .cows took no notice off then, would they sooner they were Rushion fighters flying over

 

[michael N123]

I like to see when flying over and my cows and sheep never seem bothered

 

[DRC]

RAF Shawbury, who train all helicopter pilots for the forces, regularly have to fly over here, and many farmers let them land or hover just off the ground. They are pretty good at avoiding problems and regularly lower with horse riders and farmers via a dedicated officer and meetings with reps from all parish councils.
I ask them to avoid us when we have a lot of in lamb ewes here on tack, after suspecting a late night one, spooked them into the electric fence where a ewe was hanged ., Which they now do.