A selection of rotary wing aircraft photographed over and around Dover appear on this page.
All images on this page and elsewhere on the website are subject to copyright. This requires you to obtain permission to reproduce them before doing so.
Thank you.
03.07.15 Belgian Airforce Search and Rescue Helicopter RS04 takes off from Dover Coastguard Station and heads back to base.
26.05.15 Aerial
surveying of the grid system. Just caught her as she flew close to the marina earlier.
The helicopter flies just above and to one side of the line.
Trained observers, using OS maps with overlays showing power lines and installations, report on 40 kinds of faults - ranging from deterioration to damage caused by storms, vandals and woodpeckers. If
the condition is urgent, details are immediately telephoned to the electricity network control centre.
All routine work is plotted onto report maps or stored in a computer system.
About 130 to 160 km of line can be surveyed in a normal five-hour flying day split into two sorties. Two men and a Land Rover would take 10 days.
A forward looking infra-red Kelvin 275 electronic camera is used with a digital video recorder to detect hot spot faults. Used mainly on the 132kV and 33/66kV systems, this technique can also show
heat coming from buildings to measure how energy efficient they are. Utilising superior four-axis stabilisation, this camera system delivers exceptional TV performance, together with the latest
technology in thermal imaging.
30.06.15 BBC News helicopter G-TAKE hovers over the port whilst filming during the blockading of Calais port by MFL/SCOP employees fearing for their jobs.
June 2009: Belgian Search and Rescue helicopter RS02 plucks a casualty from the cliffs beneath Dover Coastguard Station. Both images courtesy of and copyright Mike Jackson.