Helicopters overhead (San Antonio, Center, Ranger: university, living in, military)

[amye1158]

My husband and I were awakened last night by the sound of helicopters circling the area west of 1604/Potranco. Anyone know what was going on?

[Paka]

If you have the windows open they do often at night...there is something that has a flight plan that includes helicopter about 2am every Tuesday and Thursday morning...and often other days at the same time...comes in from the southwest and flys direcly over head.

[Paka]

2:11am on Wed morning...here they come....same bat time, same bat day, same bat channel.....I have NO idea who they are or why they come this time of morning over this area...but they sure the heck do!

[elnina]

I think those are charters and UPS/FedEx. I am not sure, but I think that the latest arrivals are just after midnight, and the earliest departures start around 5:30 AM...
Regular passenger planes coming/going to other airports fly to high to be heard on the ground.
There is no nighttime curfew at SAT.

[JuanValdez]

Living in the Medical Center, I've gotten used to the sound.

When the weather's nice, you'll always hear one around 9pm and then another around 11pm. It's always because a knife fight broke out at a family reunion and someone showed up an hour later with a gun to finish the job.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall at University Hospital....

[majormadmax]

Moderator cut: orphaned

What the SAPD police helicopters really do in this report:

Risks high for SAPD Blue Eagle pilots | kens5.com San Antonio

[SATX56]

I was listening to my scanner the night the Police chopper went down (Feb 2004) in HEB's parking lot. I was following (on the radio) a police chase on the near west side as they called for the choppers assistance. I heard the chopper as it left Stinson Field and was heading out. Then came the "Mayday" call and .."we're going down"... pretty wicked hearing it. I've had scanners since my youth and have witnessed many thrilling events.

I hear helicopters all night long. Most if not all the news and law enforcement choppers fly out of Stinson Field. It's a short walk from my house. Nothing unusual about them! I've flown in a Hughes 500 D back in the 80's.

[John911]

Aside from the 3 SAPD Blue Eagle helicopters, Channel 4 operates a Jet Ranger and Channel 5 & 12 'share' another Jet Ranger with one side painted with KENS5 colors, the other side KSAT12 colors.

Airlife, MedEvac Lifeteam/Critical Air, Halo Flight and Methodist Aircare also frequent the airways.
Once in a great while Travis County's STARFlight and PHI AirMed occasionally fly into San Antonio.

It has been a long time since I've seen MAST locally.

DPS 107 also flies out of Stinson and was airborne almost nightly as they attempted to burn off hours and fuel prior to the end of the fiscal year. (Use it, or lose it) But since the new fiscal year began, their operations do not appear to be as frequent.

There is also a white Robinair sight seeing helicopter that buzzes downtown on a regular basis and often circles the Tower of Americas.

As far as listening to them, local law enforcement is very very difficult (not impossible) to monitor, but even the most elementary scanner owner can listen to the helicopter air to air channel on 123.025

Sometimes you can hear Eagle talking to the news choppers about chases or things that are going on, but mostly its Medical choppers announcing position and destination and coordination with Eagle.

[SATX56]

Black Hawks fly in and out of Stinson as well....border service I believe.

[John911]

I forgot to mention the rare HUEY or more frequent Blackhawk military craft that fly out of Martindale Base near IH-10 and Ackermann Rd....

Another rare sighting would be an out-of-town Sikorsky aircrane which I've seen placing air handlers on the roofs of several large box outlets - Lowe's most recently.