For todays remembrance days services I was at Middle Wallop, Hants working with the AAC. At 11 o’clock the parade ended with everyone stood around the memorial on camp and there was a flypast of an Auster with three helicopters in tow.
The Auster then broke off, circled back round to fly over and drop poppies on the memorial.
Unfortunately the pilot got it slightly wrong and flew over the gatehouse 50 yards away and dropped the poppies there. Luckily the wind blew some of the poppies over the memorial but the majority fell near the camp entrance. 🙁
At least the silence was faithfully observed.
By: Mada Gaskar - 15th November 2006 at 19:32
looks like they had the pros on the job 😀
By: Ewan Hoozarmy - 15th November 2006 at 18:33
Here’s how its done……..All poppies dropped over the Memorial 😎
Having the doors off meant it was easier to get the poppies out, but bloody cold for pilot and ‘bomb aimer’.
Pics by Norm Feltwell 😀
By: At6Pilot2B - 14th November 2006 at 16:51
that sounds a warmer way of doing things.
By: WP840 - 14th November 2006 at 16:05
Wonder if they had a Norden bomb site on board…
The ‘bombadier’ opened the side door, up turned a binbag full of poppies and waggled it furiously!
By: QldSpitty - 14th November 2006 at 07:24
Wonder if they had a Norden bomb site on board…
By: Mada Gaskar - 13th November 2006 at 20:11
I was at a different poppy drop on sunday and an auster dropped 10,000 poppies and got them directly on the memorial, all falling over the crowd of people at the service. Wonderful. I congratulate any pilot, and the ‘bombardier’ for that matter, for getting near any memorial, it is not an easy thing to do.
By: hunterxf382 - 13th November 2006 at 19:34
Maybe the shock loading of releasing 3 towed helicopters made it difficult for a precise approach…..
I’ll get me coat…lol :diablo: :diablo:
By: Trolly Aux - 13th November 2006 at 18:15
I would say the Auster Pilot was taking into consideration the wind, the only problem is with that is if you have a gust or lull at the precise time you drop it all goes can of worms, they int as weighty as a 500 pounder
By: vulcan558 - 13th November 2006 at 07:22
You say some of the poppies landed on the memorial .
to me thats job done . do you know the glide path of a poppy from 1000ft . add in the wind speed air speed etc and i would say he did a grand job.
By: QldSpitty - 13th November 2006 at 07:12
Reminds me of the scene in “A bridge too far” when the para goes for the container dropped into no mans land.We have a minutes silence here every year but no holiday 🙁
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November 12, 2006 at 8:00 pm