Talk about contrails!!

[ohiofarmer 3,372]

  I was walking out of the barn to the house a truck slowed down and stopped and the guys inside looked up and started to holler and whoop.  There it was , right above and high above . One passenger jet in the center and flanked by fighter jets in a vee formation. At least five if not six fighter jets. What a sight!

 

. i looked it up and AF1 does not normally have escorts.over the continent, and when it does have them , it might be 2.  i wonder what's up???

Edited February 7, 2021 by ohiofarmer

[cschannuth 3,817]

Super bowl bound maybe?

[Pullstart 66,767]

Air ride seats... Was the big guy a trucker?

[ebinmaine 72,699]

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,362]

Could it have been a tanker refueling the fighters ?

[ohiofarmer 3,372]

It really looked like a passenger jet profile. It was white or silver on the bottom.. Perhaps a very VIP, but do not want to speculate on that too much. The way things are now, it does not seem wise to look up schedules of where important people are.  We see the occasional cargo and chopper aircraft from Wright Patterson that is about 30 miles away

   The last time something like this took place was 9/11/2001.  Two fighters broke the sound barrier right overhead getting to where President Bush was..

[DennisThornton 4,771]

Interesting.

[8ntruck 7,835]

My 'alternate location' is a bit east of Whiteman AFB.  One day, I was walking the dog there and watching a flight of A 10's taking turns being refuled while circling town.

 

I've also seen a flight of fighters formed up on a cargo jet or an airliner type plane.  I'm thinking that might be a squadron in transit to somewhere.

 

KC 135 tankers were based on the Boing 707.  The newer tankers are also based on an airliner airframe, 747 or 767, maybe.

Edited February 7, 2021 by 8ntruck

[ohiofarmer 3,372]

   I was ice fishing on a big lake in Celina Ohio. I saw an A-10 bank hard and come around on me and my shanty.with a clear plastic covering.Just about 100% sure that he picked me out for a target run because no one else was out there that day . What was remarkable is the silence and then maybe a second or two of a bit of sound and by the time you really hear the roar you would be sooooooo dead...

   So thanks to 8ntruck, it appears that this could be routine and no big deal . Sure wish i had taken a picture..

[tom2p 2,394]

5 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

  I was walking out of the barn to the house a truck slowed down and stopped and the guys inside looked up and started to holler and whoop.  There it was , right above and high above . One passenger jet in the center and flanked by fighter jets in a vee formation. At least five if not six fighter jets. What a sight!

 

. i looked it up and AF1 does not normally have escorts.over the continent, and when it does have them , it might be 2.  i wonder what's up???

could have been a training exercise?

 

air national guard is stationed at WPAFB - they often fly F-16's in training maneuvers  

 

or new aircraft testing ?

 

WPAFB is a common location or stop for new aircraft testing ... 
 

if so could be a new F-15 model ( F-15 EX or something like that) ...  

 

I believe Dayton based GE Aviation supplies engines for that plane ... 

 

Edited February 7, 2021 by tom2p

[19richie66 17,634]

I was sitting at a light in Cherry Point and two Harriers buzzed right over top of the truck coming in to land. Scared the crap out of me. Cool watching them though. Another job we were on was right in the flight path of some V22 Ospreys. They were practicing the vertical takeoff to flight and kept circling the area. Very impressive planes. Lot of air activities around here being not far away from two marine bases and one Air Force base. 

[Jeff-C175 7,206]

12 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

ice fishing

 

One year a group of us rowdy drunk partiers were doing some winter camping in South Jersey.  We were the only ones crazy enough to camp in 0° weather with a foot of fresh snow on the ground.  We woke Saturday morning to fighter jets from McGuire AFB buzzing the smoke from our campfire.

 

Ran out onto the frozen lake and they gave us quite a show.  The most impressive was the guy who nearly stalled vertically then hit the afterburners and shot straight up about a mile or so.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Jeff-C175

[Handy Don 14,063]

12 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

... saw an A-10 bank hard and come around on me and my shanty with a clear plastic covering.Just about 100% sure that he picked me out for a target run because no one else was out there that day . What was remarkable is the silence and then maybe a second or two of a bit of sound and by the time you really hear the roar you would be sooooooo dead...

We had a similar experience at my Dad's cabin in a small clearing in the woods north of Rome NY some years back. Two in a tight formation came so low that the tops of the trees around the clearing shook from the exhaust blast and the noise was as, you described it--very low until they were on top of us and then gone. Our hearts were pounding because we had no idea what was happening until it was over and we were all asking "Did you see that?!"

Later, through an acquaintance, we learned that the A-10 squadron based out of Syracuse used "a cabin with a white metal roof in the middle of the woods near Redfield" as a navigation and targeting waypoint! It happened a couple more times over the years but now the squadron has relocated.

[8ntruck 7,835]

The ANG uses Whiteman AFB for exercises, so A-10 action is not uncommon.  When they fly overhead at around 1000 feet, they have a really neat exhaust whistle as they pass by.

 

One summer day, I noticed a F-16 overhead north of town.  Then I noticed  four A-10s bank over and make a stimulated attack run.  As the A-10s climbed out from their run, the F-16 lit his afterburner an head out also.  I saw this kind of activity the next day, too.  Figured the A-10s and the F-16s were training for coordinated air cover and ground attacks.

 

Whiteman is the home base for the B-2 fleet, so B-2 sightings are not uncommon, either.  That is another airplane you cannot hear coming.  They have a very distinct exhaust rumble when they are climbing out.

 

Another day, I saw a B-2 hooked up to a tanker.  I was wondering if they had traded bomb load for fuel load on the takeoff weight.  Nothing showed up on the news the next day.....

[953 nut 60,027]

22 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

There it was , right above and high above . One passenger jet in the center and flanked by fighter jets in a vee formation. At least five if not six fighter jets. What a sight!

 

. i looked it up and AF1 does not normally have escorts.over the continent, and when it does have them , it might be 2.  i wonder what's up???

    That was John Karry, our new Climate Czar, showing his disdain for fissile fueled modes of transportation.     

[tom2p 2,394]

5 hours ago, 8ntruck said:

The ANG uses Whiteman AFB for exercises, so A-10 action is not uncommon.  When they fly overhead at around 1000 feet, they have a really neat exhaust whistle as they pass by.

 

One summer day, I noticed a F-16 overhead north of town.  Then I noticed  four A-10s bank over and make a stimulated attack run.  As the A-10s climbed out from their run, the F-16 lit his afterburner an head out also.  I saw this kind of activity the next day, too.  Figured the A-10s and the F-16s were training for coordinated air cover and ground attacks.

 

Whiteman is the home base for the B-2 fleet, so B-2 sightings are not uncommon, either.  That is another airplane you cannot hear coming.  They have a very distinct exhaust rumble when they are climbing out.

 

Another day, I saw a B-2 hooked up to a tanker.  I was wondering if they had traded bomb load for fuel load on the takeoff weight.  Nothing showed up on the news the next day.....

B2 in flight is an amazing sight 

 

 

[tom2p 2,394]

the story behind the B2 bomber and the documentary on John Northrop is worth the watch - also amazing 

 

Northrop devoted a good part of his life to the design and development of the 'flying wing' - which never did materialize before Northrop retired - and this consumed Northrop 

 

decades later - and months before his death - Northrop was shown the B2 bomber 

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by tom2p

[RandyLittrell 3,903]

On 2/6/2021 at 9:25 PM, 8ntruck said:

My 'alternate location' is a bit east of Whiteman AFB

 

When I was still doing mobile auto glass, I used to go to Whiteman pretty regularly to put windshields in. Had a guy give me a brand new field jacket still in the bag one time! I think they used to fly the stealth bombers on tue or wed and it was so cool to see them. 

 

It was a real bear to get on base after 9/11!! 

 

 

 

Randy