Low level c17s

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Criitter7

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Brian
My girlfriends dad keeps telling me c17s keep flying over his house really low like 500ft. Always evening time on a Sunday. I always thought he was full of **** since it didn't make sense to me... Sure enough I was driving home one day and happen to look left and see 2 c17 in loose formation flying along at I assume 500ft agl but probably really 1k just flying along. Anybody know what they are doing? It's some kind of training mission but for what? I'm guessing they are flying out of wright Patterson afb. Only place I can think of, all the other bases close to here have c130s
 
All C17 pilots are qualified for Low Level flight and have to maintain currency in it. I think they are cleared down to 300'.
 
They're following and spying on you! :yesnod:

Nah they're probably on a low level military training route. Those C130s you mentioned do it too, as all military planes do. One way to evade enemy radar and/or sneak into (we wouldn't do that would we?) another country. OK now I've told you secrets we're gonna have to eliminate you. See those C17s over there.....:hairraise:
 
We get c130s here flying nap all the time. Yesterday the trees started waving about 15 sec after the pass. Little rock AFB is a training base for them. I don't mind but the house executive manager complains every time.
 
You should see B-1s on an MTR. Impressive! Yeah the big guys use the routes as well. Couple years ago I had a C-17 go over the house around 400-500 AGL. Two different occasions. Haven't been back since. Mostly I get T-45s, T-6s and T-1s on the route on a weekly basis.

Spent a couple hours in the back of a C-130 (King) on a MTR before. Not the. Most comfortable flight. Like sitting in a big barn during an earthquake only with G involved. Walking up to the cockpit under 60 degree banks was a blast.
 
Velocity173 said:
You should see B-1s on an MTR. Impressive! Yeah the big guys use the routes as well. Couple years ago I had a C-17 go over the house around 400-500 AGL. Two different occasions. Haven't been back since. Mostly I get T-45s, T-6s and T-1s on the route on a weekly basis.

Spent a couple hours in the back of a C-130 (King) on a MTR before. Not the. Most comfortable flight. Like sitting in a big barn during an earthquake only with G involved. Walking up to the cockpit under 60 degree banks was a blast.
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My ranch / private airport is on a training route... I LOVE to watch the B-1's low level as they blow past......Must be out of Ellsworth in SD...

I LOVE the sound of freedom...:yes::):)
 
N801BH said:
My ranch / private airport is on a training route... I LOVE to watch the B-1's low level as they blow past......Must be out of Ellsworth in SD...

I LOVE the sound of freedom...:yes::):)
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Either Ellsworth (most likely) or Dyess AFB Tx, only bases with B1s.
 
mscard88 said:
Either Ellsworth (most likely) or Dyess AFB Tx, only bases with B1s.
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Back in the 90s Warner Robins had them in the ANG and they'd run along the VR routes in north GA. Was an impressive sight.

Only worked one "Bone" on approach. Just happened to be popping up off a VR route and wanting a TACAN at the air station. Always been one of my favs.
 
For my cross country solo I went to an airport that housed c130. It's very distracting to be setting up to land and watch c130s perform combat landings on the other runway.
 
I have C-17s and C-130s over my house at 3,000 feet, multiple times a week. Mostly because I'm in line with the pattern for SWF where they are based.
 
Criitter7 said:
For my cross country solo I went to an airport that housed c130. It's very distracting to be setting up to land and watch c130s perform combat landings on the other runway.
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That's the price of freedom buddy. Get over it! :nonod: :D
 
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Criitter7 said:
For my cross country solo I went to an airport that housed c130. It's very distracting to be setting up to land and watch c130s perform combat landings on the other runway.
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When the Aero Club was operating at WPAFB, at various times we used the parallel runway next to Operational Bomb Wing B-52's, KC-135's, Airlift Wing C-5's and right before the Club was abolished, C-17's. "Caution, Wake Turbulence" meant something:hairraise:

Cheers
 
Criitter7 said:
My girlfriends dad keeps telling me c17s keep flying over his house really low like 500ft. Always evening time on a Sunday. I always thought he was full of **** since it didn't make sense to me... Sure enough I was driving home one day and happen to look left and see 2 c17 in loose formation flying along at I assume 500ft agl but probably really 1k just flying along. Anybody know what they are doing? It's some kind of training mission but for what? I'm guessing they are flying out of wright Patterson afb. Only place I can think of, all the other bases close to here have c130s
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If he's annoyed now, just wait until they start dropping cargo out the back. :thumbsup:
 
N801BH said:
My ranch / private airport is on a training route... I LOVE to watch the B-1's low level as they blow past......Must be out of Ellsworth in SD...

I LOVE the sound of freedom...:yes::):)
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What is the IR route number near your place. I probably blew by a few times back in the day.
 
I worked outside on the side of a low hill years ago when B1s regularly flew their routes on the deck...when they went by, we looked down on them, they were so low!
We also had one make a local mountain come from together one night, very sad. (the story incorrectly indicates there might have been survivor)
 
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The LRAFB C-130 training routes are fixed but not on the charts.
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I have often wondered why. It always makes me a little nervous when I get over to about Searcy or so headed west. Never sure exactly where they might be or at what altitude. I have (thankfully) seen them abeam but so far, not headed for me.
 
Velocity173 said:
Back in the 90s Warner Robins had them in the ANG and they'd run along the VR routes in north GA. Was an impressive sight.
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Yep. Was headed up I-75 one day and a Bone crossed the interstate a mile or two in front of me, maybe 500' high and moving fast. I thought "Never seen that before - pretty neat."

Then the second one crossed. It was in trail by a mile or so.
 
We flew at 300' AGL, C-130s; there were other, fast movers, down there, as well, on the routes. Low-level, go fast, minimize your exposure to defenses. Train like you fight, fight like you train, or something like that.

It was VFR, and we went under a lot of GA, and sometimes ultralights, bird flocks, helos, and looked up at a lot of microwave towers. It was fun. and we stayed low till near the DZ, then popped up to whatever altitude was appropriate for the drop (CDS, heavy, jumpers, whatever) and slowed to 120 knots or so.

We read road signs on occasion. And 300' was more like an average than a hard altitude.
 
More than likely from Wright-Patt based on your location. Give me more specific location and I'll find the route and print you up the chart when I'm bored at work. C-17s there are reserve guys. They mostly do their local training flights on weekends.
mscard88 said:
They're following and spying on you! :yesnod:

Nah they're probably on a low level military training route. Those C130s you mentioned do it too, as all military planes do. One way to evade enemy radar and/or sneak into (we wouldn't do that would we?) another country. OK now I've told you secrets we're gonna have to eliminate you. See those C17s over there.....:hairraise:
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I have actually never done one in my plane, nor are we permitted to.:D
 
Reservists fly pretty regularly on other than weekends, as well. Depending on unit, often the weekend is the square-filling and paperwork time. Been a while, but we probably did more on weekdays and evenings than weekends. Sometimes a Saturday to get caught up on quals, though. And short-term TDY, week, two weeks, sometimes longer. Depended on your civilian job. It was often the sole source of income for furloughed airline types.

I did a full year, on two occasions. As I got a little older, and my career progressed, it got too expensive.

Sometime back in the 80's, I think, Reserve and Guard flying hours began exceeding AD hours. It may still be that way. Again, been a while, but there were some OCONUS locations where ALL the aircraft and crews were Reserve/Guard, all the time. I believe the vast majority of F-16 aircraft and pilots were Reserve/Guard in 1991 and 2003. Not certain, though.
 
If we're in a war where KC-10s are flying low level ingress to avoid detection, that's some scary ****! :D
 
Gucci Pilot said:
More than likely from Wright-Patt based on your location. Give me more specific location and I'll find the route and print you up the chart when I'm bored at work. C-17s there are reserve guys. They mostly do their local training flights on weekends.


I have actually never done one in my plane, nor are we permitted to.:D
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I live under the downwind leg for kdlz the planes fly over the town of ostrander which is westish of kdlz

I also have a pic of a c-130 flying under me while I was at 2500ish ft
 
Tactical Airlift missions fly low like that....and use terrain following equipment for night and IFR ops. :eek:
 
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