I dont know whats going on or what the boys are getting ready for, but for the last week there have been gunships flying around the place, 4 just flew over at tree top and I mean tree top height !!!! They were rattling the windows in the house,,, Any of sky jockeys hear anything other than something in the sand capital?
Gunships
- Thread starter skeets
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I dunno, but Friday was digging potatoes peacefully and a small jet came screaming overhead followed shortly by another and into an abrupt u turn. Did that a couple times. Sent a text to my neighbor pilot who said they were A-10 military jets. His best guess is they were screwing around over the football stadium prior to kickoff. Hope that is not my tax dollars they were burning.
BAP
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CaveCreekRay
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Skeets,
You sure they are gunships? If you see 130's down low, especially in formation, they are just "four-fanned trash cans" practicing low levels hauling loads or paratroopers to a drop zone.
The Gunships go up fairly high 10-15,000 when traveling en route to a target area and then descend to around 3-5000 feet over targets, to stay out of small arms fire. The miniguns have to be fairly low altitude to be effective but, the 105 Howitzer is a great standoff weapon. You can see that barrel sticking out of the side of the fuselage just behind the wing.
The gunships put the Somali pirates out of business with that Howitzer until Obama found out about the operation, then he cancelled it. Fortunately, they were afraid to try and mess with US ships after that. Notice that news item just dropped out of the press years ago? .
You sure they are gunships? If you see 130's down low, especially in formation, they are just "four-fanned trash cans" practicing low levels hauling loads or paratroopers to a drop zone.
The Gunships go up fairly high 10-15,000 when traveling en route to a target area and then descend to around 3-5000 feet over targets, to stay out of small arms fire. The miniguns have to be fairly low altitude to be effective but, the 105 Howitzer is a great standoff weapon. You can see that barrel sticking out of the side of the fuselage just behind the wing.
The gunships put the Somali pirates out of business with that Howitzer until Obama found out about the operation, then he cancelled it. Fortunately, they were afraid to try and mess with US ships after that. Notice that news item just dropped out of the press years ago? .
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johnjk
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Every Wednesday the local ANG comes over my house at tree top in a C17. Looks like the little brother to a C5 Galaxy. You don't hear it till it's gone. Pretty cool to watch. Usually they have the rear loading door open and a few guys are standing in the back giving a friendly wave. Almost like clockwork. 5:45 - 6:15. Other than that it is usually Blackhawks but they are up high.
Have never seen an Osprey untill about 2 weeks ago. Was outside and heard this noise that was not completely familiar to me but knew it was an aircraft. To my surprise it was 2 of them.
Low level flying looks fun from the ground - and it certainly is fun to do - but there's legitimate training value to it too. Military flight planning is pretty well scripted to the point that there's not much time to spend just screwing off, unfortunately. I wish there was though!
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Doing low-levels in West Texas, we got noise complaints from some towns. Three or four Herks at 100 feet and 280 kts can rattle stuff and definitely startle people. So, we treated the towns like enemy SAM sites and avoided them.
In denser population areas, the DoD has certified certain routes for low level training to keep the aircraft away from population centers, other air traffic, and hazards like towers, power lines, and other tall obstructions. That is likely why you see the planes pretty much on the same route over your property. Most low-level routes are a couple miles wide to give the pilots latitude in trying to terrain mask, which is the whole point of low-level training.
In denser population areas, the DoD has certified certain routes for low level training to keep the aircraft away from population centers, other air traffic, and hazards like towers, power lines, and other tall obstructions. That is likely why you see the planes pretty much on the same route over your property. Most low-level routes are a couple miles wide to give the pilots latitude in trying to terrain mask, which is the whole point of low-level training.
A-10's did the flyover at Lambeau Field Sunday and they were also featured for the flyover at the Nascar race in Vegas. For me, its the highlight of the sporting events as I'm losing my interest with sports on TV. My property is almost right on the flight path for the Lambeau Field flyovers. Seeing those military aircraft flying that low gives me goosebumps every time. F15, F16, F18, F117, B2, Osprey, KC135, and the venerable B52 have made low passes right outside my front window, just to name a few.
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In Britain (Wales), there is a low-level known as the "Mach Loop." It's down in some neat valleys and folks sit on the hills and watch the planes go by...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_IUvUEqEA
A shot from inside the planes on the low-level...
https://youtu.be/kT7qrYi8R_M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_IUvUEqEA
A shot from inside the planes on the low-level...
https://youtu.be/kT7qrYi8R_M
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Star Wars Canyon may be a thing of the past. A NAVY F-18 crashed just short of a lookout there about 8 weeks ago and the fireball injured seven tourists standing there. I'll bet one of the results of the investigation is they re-locate the entry path into that canyon, away from the lookout.
https://www.aerotime.aero/clement.c...-Wars-canyon-injures-7-tourists-missing-pilot
https://www.aerotime.aero/clement.c...-Wars-canyon-injures-7-tourists-missing-pilot
Lil Foot
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A guy I worked with who was former a Air Force crew chief (F4s, I think) had a favorite spot to camp on the edge of a mesa in Montana. The spot was right at the head of a canyon that was straight enough to see all the way to the bottom of the valley, several miles away. One night, his wife had gone to sleep in the tent and he had fallen asleep in a chair next to the camp fire. He was awakened by shaking and an overwhelming roar, and was scared silly when a B-52 came out of the blackness up the canyon and over the lip of the mesa, full throttle, at (he claims) about 50ft. altitude. He claims the jet wash nearly knocked him down and flattened the tent with his terrified wife inside.
They moved their camp the next day, and never went back.
I, on the other hand, would have gone back as many times as possible, hoping for a repeat performance.
They moved their camp the next day, and never went back.
I, on the other hand, would have gone back as many times as possible, hoping for a repeat performance.
Lil Foot
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My favorite fly by at my house is an old Navy biplane, outfit some where nearby gives flying lessons in it. I think my farm is an easy navigable target, I have a round pen in one of the pastures, easy to see from the air, and am near the Grand River. Last summer i saw them pretty often and would wave and they would waggle the wings or make smoke in reply. Heard the plane last week but didn't get outside in time to wave.
Up here we get ANNG out of HN and Vt getting seat time with FA's and A10's weekly, Iv been told its targeting runs on some of the bigger objects on top of the Hill. Great fun to watch.
Whiteman AFB is the home of the B-2. I've been outside when one comes over and you'd swear it is at 50 feet, puts goose bumps on your arms, and puts fear in you heart!
The first time it happened I though we has just entered into a war!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORyn0Zm3oeM
The first time it happened I though we has just entered into a war!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORyn0Zm3oeM
CaveCreekRay
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When I flew the T-43 (Boeing 737-200) navigation trainer, we would do not-so-low low levels at 1000 feet. The reason we'd do them so high is the students in the back of the plane were guiding us by radar. The only one's with windows were the pilots up front. Some students would go on to B-52's or F-111's that would fly low levels using radar, in weather. Scary stuff indeed. In C-130's, we used to fly in formation to drops, in the weather.
The whole point of a low level is to fly down in the weeds, hopefully masked by hills/mountains or trees, undetected by enemy radar. Radar has a hard time picking out an intermittent high-speed object masked by terrain. The low level ends at either a target or a drop zone. The escape from that may also be low-level, at least until you are a ways out of town.
Stealth technology has eliminated the need for low level flying except for non-stealth aircraft, such as F-15s or C-17's. The problem with low level flying is you are in small arms range and within shoulder-launched missile range.
The whole point of a low level is to fly down in the weeds, hopefully masked by hills/mountains or trees, undetected by enemy radar. Radar has a hard time picking out an intermittent high-speed object masked by terrain. The low level ends at either a target or a drop zone. The escape from that may also be low-level, at least until you are a ways out of town.
Stealth technology has eliminated the need for low level flying except for non-stealth aircraft, such as F-15s or C-17's. The problem with low level flying is you are in small arms range and within shoulder-launched missile range.
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