help identifying an aircraft operator

i was thinking it might of been an ATP as atlantic airlines land in coventry very near me and at the time an atlantic airlines ATP was taking off from coventry (it was tracked on a sight i use) it would certainly be heading south east over my house if coming from coventry and heading towards london/europe and it’s possible not all of their planes are tracked

also got a picture of a plane that did some circling earlier did a few wide circles around the area then oddly cut the engines or went into idle for a few seconds while flying straight

i do see some odd activities by aircraft by living where i do like a turboprop plane doing an immelman in the dark and a commercial looking plane flying just barely above the trees with all landing lights on :confused: (these were at different days/months they didnt happen last night)

We do operate out of EMA, but not at that time of night.

It could have been this aircraft http://www.airliners.net/photo/Atlantic-Airlines/British-Aerospace-ATP%28F%29/1944936/M/&sid=68c99d7efa910d1cf0472603a334d429

But then it could have been anything, we’ll never know 🙂

FlyBe operate out of EMA too, also you have the Aurigny one

See

http://www.aurigny.com/

it was last night yes same sort of sound i cant confirm it being a dash 8 due to it being dark but it was a turboprop for sure

Very doubtful, the aircraft ends up back at all bases by around 22:30pm at the latest all around the network. The only way this would have happened is that a plane has incurred delays for various reasons. Was this last night? I can check the system. It was most likely one of the many mail flights going into & out of East Midlands.

any chance of the aircraft transferring to another airport during the night?

heard a turboprop go over heading SE around 2am then again at 2:30am quite fast too and rare to hear a prop aircraft go over past 11pm where i live hard to tell the distance in the dark but could of been 10,000ft judging by the lights on it

I fly as aircrew for Flybe and we fly from BHX alot more than once per hour, the chances of seeing a Flybe Dash 8 is very high. BHX is one of our biggest bases and we fly to at least 18 destinations from there.

I’m glad you have identified the aircraft in question, the Q400 is a quirky little beast 🙂

it’s a flybe dash 8 i managed to see it on approach to birmingham sounded exactly the same looked exactly the same i could hear it coming for a few miles and got a good look as the weather is clear

as flybe is a sort of shuttle service and operates from birmingham it makes sense to hear it going over roughly each hour heading south just more noticeable as it is a turbo prop

Could be doing aerial survey work? There is a company based at EMA called Reconnaissance Ventures which do all kinds of survey work, they operate Cessna 310, 402, 404 and 406, Partenavia P68 and BN2 Islander – http://www.rvl-group.com/home/

-Dazza

still too big

Not an Air Contractor’s ATR42/72 is it?

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Contractors/ATR-ATR-72-201/2103804/L/&sid=5e2aeca065db81dfa05e55b6574c0f6b

Not a flybe dash 8 far too big the wings appear flat the engine does not extend over them but is attached to them as if they were part of the wing not too sure on detailed colour from that height it just looks white from what i can see

Are you sure it isn’t one of these? http://photos.plane-mad.com/5/large/5293.jpg

On reading the original and subsequent posts again, I support the suggestion that the aircraft seen are Flybe Dash 8 aircraft – the height they are observed at being a big clue. The Security forces Islander and Diamond Twin Star aircraft generally operate below oxygen requiring altitutes, say below 8000ft, the Police Islander and helicopters generally at 1000-3000ft. The question is asking about aircraft being observed much higher, 20000ft being suggested (missed that crucial info on my initial reply). From experience 16000 to 20000 ft, is the usual cruising height of the likes of Dash 8, ATR-42, Fokker 50 etc on domestic flights.

When seen from underneath, have the aircraft got a blue line along much of the length of the underside, with a slightly broader white either side and white under the tail? Do the engine pods significantly extend behind the wing trailing edge? (PS those on a King Air 200-350 don’t). Is the fuselage longer than the wing span? If so, increases the chance of Flybe Dash 8s actually being the answer.

On the rare clear day, I see several Flybe Dash 8s per hour over Merseyside. The drone of a crusing Dash 8 can be heard on the ground, although not an intrusive noise. The turbo-prop drone appears to be absorbed by thick cloud. Flybe have a considerable fleet of Dash 8Q-400s, flying a wide network of routes around Britain and beyond. Flybe don’t track on SBS.

i know in the UK there are 2 or 3 islanders (called defenders due to being modified for police/armed forces use) owned by police forces (manchester northern ireland and another on the south coast somewhere) though these look much different and from what ive read fly in a circle pattern above the area the other 2 planes suggested are a little too small but the king air 200 would fit

the flaps are most certainly at the top of the tail the rest of what i can make out is it is a large twin turboprop it is white on the underside i cant make out any sort of camera underneath it is quite loud especially for 20,000ft up much louder than any jets on the flightpath

i will try to get a picture though from my house i can only see it for a few seconds as it goes over

What about FlyBe’s Dash 8’s, they are regular!
If possible, get a photo, even a grainy photo will be better than none.

There are a number of aircraft used by Police/Security Services that fly regular large orbits/grid patterns etc while listening out to communications and watching major drug activity/suspected terrorists etc. Clearly such flights do not track and indeed talk little to ATC. Main types involved are ‘Army’ marked BN-2T Islanders and civilian marked Diamond Twin Stars, while potentially RAF marked King Air 200 Shadow aircraft could also work in UK airspace. Police Force’s own Islanders and helicopters are clearly marked and nearly always in distinctive black and yellow colours.

The other thought is that it is a Partenavia P.68 or BN-2B Islander on environmental survey work – although the frequency of overflight seems rather too often.

possibly they have flown over before and 1 of their 350s “M-SPEC” is tracked on a sight i use so i can see where it goes,
however the plane going over is never tracked. but a sort of shuttle service would make sense. i live on the flight path for birmingham airport but not east midlands airport.

I’m wondering if it’s one of the Specsavers Aviations 2 B350s you are seeing/hearing. An friend of mine who is still in the corporate handling business, tells me that the company operates its own personnel shuttle services, linking East Midlands, Birmingham, Bournemouth, and the Channel Islands, as well as ad hoc charters to numerous destinations. They have also recently acquired a 737. Maybe another member has some ideas.

http://www.ebanmagazine.com/mag_story.html?ident=9832