RogersJetboat454
Commander
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2010
- Messages
- 2,964
So last night a little after 10, I head out of the house to haul some trash off to the dumpster. I can hear/see a Cessna sized single engine plane up in the air passing over the house, and don't think much of it. Get done dumping the trash, and walk back towards the house. I notice the plane is looping around, and heading back in the other direction. Hmmm, well there is a small municipal airport near by, and I figure maybe the pilot is just looping around waiting for his turn at the runway... OK Well I wait 5 minutes, walk out and look and the silly thing is still flying in perfect 1/2-3/4 mile circle around the house and my area. What's up with this I think?... Well 20 minutes goes by, plane is still flying in a circle around the house.. That's when I think something isn't right here.
I watch for about 5 minutes more, with wild movie Esq scenes going through my head of an air plane with mechanical trouble and no radio, and the pilot just along for the ride till the thing runs out of gas. Or a pilot slumped over at the controls that has died, had a heart attack, or just simply passed out for some reason. OK... Time to make a phone call. I call the local P.D. on the regular desk line, and tell the guy what I'm seeing... no no, I'm sure its not a model plane.. bla bla bla. He concludes the conversation by saying, well if there are any problems with the planes in the area, the local municipal airport notifies us. Thanks officer. I hang up, and then the thought crosses my mind; Aren't most of the control towers at these air ports closed at this time of night?
Well checked on the Internet. Sure enough... the tower closed at 10... Head back outside, and this thing is circling still.. Uhh.. Well.. I give it 5 more minutes, call my girlfriend and tell her what I'm seeing. Then call my father who has gone flying several times in little puddle jumpers like these with his buddy. His suggestion was to give the state police a call. I give the local state police barracks a call, and tell them what's going on. No.. No.. I'm quite sure it's not a model... yes this is the street I live on, this is my name, bla bla bla... The state police sounded allot more interested in what was going on, and the officer said he was going to do some checking to find out about this. I hang up, go back outside, and sure enough, my buddy is still up there. About 10-15 minutes later the plane finally breaks out of the loop it's in, then heads off toward the south. Don't know if the guy just got sick of the scenery, or if somebody radioed him about it.
In total he was circling for at least 45 minutes, in a perfect circle almost as though the plane was tied to a string.
If there are any pilots or airplane savvy guys out there, what do you think about this? Is this normal behavior for say a pilot getting instrument certified?
I watch for about 5 minutes more, with wild movie Esq scenes going through my head of an air plane with mechanical trouble and no radio, and the pilot just along for the ride till the thing runs out of gas. Or a pilot slumped over at the controls that has died, had a heart attack, or just simply passed out for some reason. OK... Time to make a phone call. I call the local P.D. on the regular desk line, and tell the guy what I'm seeing... no no, I'm sure its not a model plane.. bla bla bla. He concludes the conversation by saying, well if there are any problems with the planes in the area, the local municipal airport notifies us. Thanks officer. I hang up, and then the thought crosses my mind; Aren't most of the control towers at these air ports closed at this time of night?
Well checked on the Internet. Sure enough... the tower closed at 10... Head back outside, and this thing is circling still.. Uhh.. Well.. I give it 5 more minutes, call my girlfriend and tell her what I'm seeing. Then call my father who has gone flying several times in little puddle jumpers like these with his buddy. His suggestion was to give the state police a call. I give the local state police barracks a call, and tell them what's going on. No.. No.. I'm quite sure it's not a model... yes this is the street I live on, this is my name, bla bla bla... The state police sounded allot more interested in what was going on, and the officer said he was going to do some checking to find out about this. I hang up, go back outside, and sure enough, my buddy is still up there. About 10-15 minutes later the plane finally breaks out of the loop it's in, then heads off toward the south. Don't know if the guy just got sick of the scenery, or if somebody radioed him about it.
In total he was circling for at least 45 minutes, in a perfect circle almost as though the plane was tied to a string.
If there are any pilots or airplane savvy guys out there, what do you think about this? Is this normal behavior for say a pilot getting instrument certified?
