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Black helicopters circling over Ballard Locks?

(31 posts)

Started 1 year ago by HeatherHeather
Latest reply from Cougar Bob

HeatherHeather

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What's up with those two?! I've seen the Coast Guard do it but never these black ones....they seem to circle over the locks over and over and over again. Shaking my windows!

Posted 1 year ago #
BuddyCianci

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Is this going to be some sort of tinfoil-hat, conspiracy theory type of thread?

Posted 1 year ago #
HeatherHeather

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I sure hope so, those are awesome!

Posted 1 year ago #
HeatherHeather

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and now a yellow one?

Posted 1 year ago #
BuffaloHawk

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HH - color comment

That made me think back to when I was a kid and we used to get stuck in the car waiting for the train to go by. I don't think we where the only family that did this but we all would take a guess as to which color the caboose would be.

Posted 1 year ago #
dsomers

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Ahhhh. The black copters. It has begun. The United Nation's Blue Berets will come down quickly from the Canadian North, take control of the crossing at the locks, and then move into the Southern US from there. The locks represent a choke point in their military movements, but they have been practicing for years so I expect it will be stunningly fast. Stay in your houses everyone. Stay calm.

D

Posted 1 year ago #
Cheese

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I agree with everything our patriot dsomers has said. Furthermore, the locks are a vital waterway that will soon be irrevocably flouridated by the UN, replacing our precious bodily fluids. The end is near!

Posted 1 year ago #
boatgeek

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Fortunately the Spirit of 76 anticipated the Canadian invasion and took out half of the locks-crossing capacity last week, so the Magnolia Militia will be able to hold them off on the other lock gate. The Militia's chief weapons are surprise, lawn mowers, and a fanatical devotion to $5 coffee drinks.

Posted 1 year ago #
great idea

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on a related note, I was paddling around the ship canal recently and was passed several times by a Seattle Police Boat.
what was odd was when I passed by a NYPD boat as well.

I half expected to see Jimmy McNulty from the Baltimore Harbor Patrol cruising around Lake Union.

Posted 1 year ago #
BuffaloHawk

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I was passed by Crockett & Tubbs.

Posted 1 year ago #
HeatherHeather

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I was hoping they were filming some opening sequence shot to The Real Housewives of King County or something.

Posted 1 year ago #
boatgeek

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GI- The NYPD boat was built by Kvichak down by Fred Meyer in Ballard. They were probably testing it out before putting it on the trailer for a long ride east. Kvichak recently built a SPD boat as well, I think to the same design. They might have been testing them out opposite each other. Whichever one is faster will get bragging rights.

Posted 1 year ago #
BuffaloHawk

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HH - The Real Housewives of Snohomish County would be more interesting especially if they filmed it in Scarysville ;)

Posted 1 year ago #
Pastafarian

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The yellow chopper is a helitour company. See that one pretty much every day.

http://www.seattlehelitours.com/

Posted 1 year ago #
great idea

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thanks boatgeek!
I knew someone (likely you) would know why that NYPD boat was around.

at first I was thinking it might be here for repairs, but then thought the East Coast unions would be up-in-arms over losing that work.
makes more sense that the boat was built here. it did look pretty new.

Posted 1 year ago #
iPlod

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"They might have been testing them out opposite each other. Whichever one is faster will get bragging rights."

Well then boatgeek, if it turns out NYPD gets bragging rights then Kvichak better switch some paper work before it goes public.

Posted 1 year ago #
Novalis

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Damn it, they found me again...

Posted 1 year ago #
Cougar Bob

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More helicopters today at noon! Two of them came in low over the north tip of Magnolia and went towards the locks. They circled once and then moved on.

Their fly over seemed a little more strange this time since I had been following this recent story.
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/08/27/downtown-mpls-serves-as-black-hawk-helicopter-training-zone/

Posted 9 months ago #
Cougar Bob

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We took pictures and just looked at them. FWIW there were no markings on these helicopters. We zoomed in and there was no ID anywhere on the fuselage. I don't know what that means. Zooming in I could see a guy looking out the side window. That person was wearing a khaki colored uniform. They were not uniformly black but looked a little like a used car painted poorly, sort of a dark olive color.

Posted 9 months ago #
Pastafarian

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Oh my god! JBLM is sending helicopters on training missions over Ballard! Whatever will we do!

This isn't the first time military helo's have been seen around Seattle and it won't be the last. I just saw a black special operations Chinook (easily identified by the long refueling boom by the nose) flying over low and slow about a month ago.

Posted 9 months ago #
great idea

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is there really any good reason why they need to 'train' in an urban environment?

I mean, I honestly don't know.

I do know that helicopters bug the crap out of me.

if I get that surface-to-air missile I requested for my birthday, that little yellow one is going down.

Posted 9 months ago #
Silver

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You guys are great! You are always either interesting or entertaining, and sometimes both at once. Thank you!

Posted 9 months ago #
Pastafarian

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Somewhere in a government office far far away a dweeb analyst is getting an alert on the words 'helicopter' and 'surface-to-air missile' being mentioned in the same post on a forum called My Ballard.

And hey, if you shoot the yellow one down, be sure to get the white one that flies the same route too will ya? Now, where's my cold beer? Seahawks pregame is imminent.

Posted 9 months ago #
great idea

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sadly, pasta, I considered such a scenario shortly after I posted.

attention Homeland Security: J/K!

Posted 9 months ago #
Pastafarian

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Yeah, you don't want one of those helicopters coming back to your house and having Green Berets rappel from it through your windows. Do you?

I mean, for once there would be a truly interesting story on the homepage here at the very least.

Posted 9 months ago #
great idea

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no, I don't.

but if it would give Ima Norwegian some fresh fodder, it's all good.

Posted 9 months ago #
iPlod

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I'm currently negotiating with the Magnolia Militia about supplying them with an undisclosed number lawnmowers mounted with my patented $5 coffee slinger.

My top of the line coffee slinger mounted on a highly maneuverable Cub Cadet capable of speeds up to 1.5 MPH can hurl 90 $5 coffees per minute with 19% accuracy, vastly out performing our nearest competitor.

If you find your neighborhood militia is sorely lacking in coffee slinging preparedness don't hesitate to call me for an honest quote regarding timely delivery based on your immediate needs.*

* Does not include tax & the amount of bribery required for at least a 34% guarantee of service and performance as advertised.

Posted 9 months ago #
Nora Charles

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Getting back to the original subject...helicopters flying close near Ballard Locks. Happened again today around noon...or 1...early afternoon. Three of them...

Posted 9 months ago #
SeaSpider

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I saw some UH-60 Blackhawks around this afternoon. Probably what you saw and not an unusual site given how close we are to Ft. Lewis. People often think they're seeing black helicopters when in fact they're dark green. They just look black from a distance and especially if you're looking up at them into a bright sky. I also thought I saw a S-3 Viking which would be far more unusual since they were retired a few years back though a few are still used at Point Mugu in So Cal.

Posted 9 months ago #
great idea

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"You! Yes, you! Stand still laddy!"

Posted 9 months ago #
Cougar Bob

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Mystery solved! The Locks FB page (https://www.facebook.com/ChittendenLocks) posted a picture and wrote the following description:

16th Combat Aviation Brigade, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord - Thanks for the flight and opportunity to get some pics! Great time, great flight and great crew.

Posted 9 months ago #