Helicopters over Bankside

Does anyone know why all the military helicopters do one or two loops above the Tate before heading on?

I am guessing that this activity is somewhat related to the Commonwealth summit.

No, they do it all the time. It appears routine, I just can't figure out the reason.

Maybe they have some special gadgets that allow them to look at the art through the walls and this way they catch up on the latest exhibitions.

I can see them from my office and have often wondered the same thing

presumably this gives the guests fabulous photo opportunites - a bit like the start of the apprentice with aerial views of london.... I dont for one second think there is an operational rationale for this behaviour.

btw - for those who live on the river - do the sight seeing helicopters rather ruin the enjoyment? is it possible to ignore them? just planning for my lottery win

The sightseeing helicopters are annoying but you kind of tune them out eventually. Bad news if you're at a performance at the Globe though.

Anything else I'd suggest a recreational reason, but it seems a little flippant for military choppers. The Chinooks usually do at least two loops before heading off. Curious.

JimG wrote:

btw - for those who live on the river - do the sight seeing helicopters rather ruin the enjoyment? is it possible to ignore them? just planning for my lottery win

The intrusive racket from helicopters has a wide impact in SE1, but on the river it seems that in some locations residents are also assailed by disco and tourist boats with commentaries, buskers, squeaky trains and station announcements, and hoards of tourists. Spend your winnings elsewhere!

My understanding is that military helicopters heading east along the Thames are held around London Bridge if there is potential conflict with aircraft using London City airport. Those aircraft being commercial flights, depending on the wind direction, landing in an easterly direction or departing in a westerly direction... Hovering a helicopter burns more fuel than circling so if the military helicopter is asked to hold by air traffic control then, it seems to me, it usually circles around the London Bridge area and stays close to the River Thames in case it has an engine failure...

Aha! That makes sense. It does always appear to be those heading east as I recall.