Hi folks,
I know there are a few of you photographers that are into aviation and i need an ID - unfortunately no picture, i wasn't quick enough!
Last week a 'Lump' of a plane flew very low over thurso, banked along the cliffs at scrabster and went off in the general southerly direction so it could have been heading for lossiemouth.
The best description i can give is it was very fat and oval in general shape, even the wings looked very fat, they were rounded ends not squared, the total wing span looked very similar to overall length, it was definately driven by propellors though i can't remember if it was 2 or 4. nose was very rounded. wings came out from the centre of the body not the top or bottom. it was a uniform very pale grey with no markings whatsover.
i know it's a bit vague but any help on ID would be appreciated.

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Paula.
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tugmistress:

Hi folks,
I know there are a few of you photographers that are into aviation and i need an ID - unfortunately no picture, i wasn't quick enough!
Last week a 'Lump' of a plane flew very low over thurso, banked along the cliffs at scrabster and went off in the general southerly direction so it could have been heading for lossiemouth.
The best description i can give is it was very fat and oval in general shape, even the wings looked very fat, they were rounded ends not squared, the total wing span looked very similar to overall length, it was definately driven by propellors though i can't remember if it was 2 or 4. nose was very rounded. wings came out from the centre of the body not the top or bottom. it was a uniform very pale grey with no markings whatsover.
i know it's a bit vague but any help on ID would be appreciated.

nothing speciale they are called

UFO

......

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I was thinking Thunderbirds 2 from the shape at first...

Try yahoo images, search for Flying Pancake - experimental US plane from the 50s I believe....

Second one down on this link

http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dflying%2Bpancake%2Baircraft%26sp%3D1%26fr2%3Dsp-top%26y%3DSearch%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dsfp%26x%3Dwrt%26js%3D1%26ni%3D21%26ei%3DUTF-8%26SpellState%3Dn-437728972_q-YwrUFsZazioTWhDqxK6MJQAAAA%40%40&w=600&h=426&imgurl=www.salimbeti.com%2Faviation%2Fimages%2Fpancake.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.salimbeti.com%2Faviation%2Fmodels1.htm&size=46.9kB&name=pancake.jpg&p=flying+pancake+aircraft&type=JPG&oid=9130ea7a68a97dc0&tt=51&no=11&sigr=11d7c27vv&sigi=11d1frmvb&sigb=162o9unba

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Curious indeed unless the Russians have developed their EKIP concepts further?... 
Its airshow season so it may well have been a visitor; from the apparent military scheme I keep thinking it might have been a P3-Orion maritime patrol aircraft... but, the wing mounting you describe is wrong, and is very unusual these days (for various structural loading reasons), and is more suggestive of something much older like a Boeing 377/Stratocruiser - but can't think if there are any flying these days.

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Brian

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Shadow wolf you're a star!
i looked up a picture and it certainly looks like that! thank you ... curiosity satisfied now

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Paula.
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tugmistress:

Shadow wolf you're a star!
i looked up a picture and it certainly looks like that! thank you ... curiosity satisfied now

Thx Paula - but I'm curious which of my suggestions was correct

Brian

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Brian

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It was more than likely a C130 Hercules.

Shadow_Wolf:

tugmistress:

Shadow wolf you're a star!
i looked up a picture and it certainly looks like that! thank you ... curiosity satisfied now

Thx Paula - but I'm curious which of my suggestions was correct

Brian

The boeing 377 stratocruiser thingy

wduncan, definately not a herc, i've seen a lot of them and if you compare the pic of a herc with the 377 mentioned above the difference is glaringly obvious. my closest encounter with a herc was on one of the lochs along the caledonian canal when one 'snuck up' behind me and flew over the top of the boat no more than 100ft up! not an experience or sight i will forget in all my days lol.

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Paula.
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Aren't you a lucky girl Paula. I live under the runnway approaches for Canada's busiest airport and I've never seen anything like it. Even during airshow season. Though admittedly I'm not the avid aviation buff some of the posters are.

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what we have here...is a failure to communicate

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flckr

have just had explained to me that the P3 thingy shadow wolf also suggested can have 'add ons' where the nose would end up rounded aswell as the wing tips (by a mannie works at our local airport) but i don't really mind if it was that either, it was an awesome sight less than 100ft up flying straight across in front of me over the bay and i am just narked i never got to the camera in time.
spin, i used to live about 7 miles from Leconfield when it was an active RAF base and the Vulcans used to fly right over our house, was only a kid at the time but i loved watching those planes and hated the wee jets (harriers i think) that used to flit about.

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Paula.
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