Posted on 04/02/2021 2:02:57 PM PDT by chrisser
I get that.
I’m trying to gauge how likely it is that an airfield that typically only services small private propeller aircraft (I assume using AVGAS) would have fuel stores that could service a wandering Osprey that happened to stop by, which I’m guessing would be Jet-A kerosene?
If the runway is too short for small jets, then it seems unlikely, unless the military has made some arrangements to keep fuel there just in case.
This is mostly off topic....
Back in the 80s I was out in a dark field smoking weed with some other heads, in eastern Pa. The sky was clear, the stars out — all peaceful. Then a big helicopter flew over fast, only up five hundred or a thousand feet. No lights. Really loud. Then another. Then another. This went on for a couple minutes. Turns out, it was the night of the “invasion” of Panama. But way the heck up in Pa.? We were sure the Martians had landed over in NJ again.
I tend to avoid reporting the location of every military aircraft that I see to the Net, being a loyal American and all.
FWIW, it’s been about 90 minutes since I saw the Osprey drop down for a landing.
Nothing showing on ADS-B, although I have tried to track twin rotor military helicopters that fly over our place occasionally and they have never shown up as squawking.
So we’re talking about the bird here.
They chose to approach the airfield over the most populated part of the county right as everyone is driving home for the day. If they wanted to be stealthy, they could have easily done so. It’s not like it’s a huge metropolis that is difficult to avoid.
It would be ridiculously easy to fly in and only be seen by a handful of locals.
We literally have more cows than people per square mile outside of the town.
Saw lots of them in my King George Va. house when I lived up there, the Marine Corps Base (Quantico) was up river (Potomac) from me. Apparently I was in their flight path. In the many years I lived there I only heard one siren, an ambulance.
My son and I were visiting the Mojave Spaceport a few years back and met a pilot of a Boeing EA-18G Growler. He and his backseat EW officer were en-route to Denver to have lunch with the pilot’s dad. We thought that was so cool.
They have popped up across the river in the wastelands of western MD, as well.
Beats me.
/right after the “black triangle” glided over a few nights before
I saw ours after seeing a “black triangle” a few nights before.
I win.
:D
I thought the writer was talking about the bird Osprey. Both delightful to look at - the plane and the bird...
Funny - I also thought it was the bird...
LOL.
Thanks.
I live close to Osprey point in Pinellas, which is very close to where Ospreys land (MacDill).
5.56mm
While boating on the Missouri River adjacent to Omaha’s airport, I saw 2 VF-22’s doing touch and goes there. Of course military aircraft are common in our area with Stratcom located in Bellevue,a suberb adjoining Omaha to the south. Currently the runway at OFFUT AFB is being being redone and won’t reopen for another year. The beautiful E4-B “Doomsday” airborne command post 747’s and the RC & KC 135’S and other planes are now flying out of Lincoln, NE. Their airport has a 12,900 ft runway. The E4-B’s
are often seen flying very low and very slow in the area. They have an even larger “hump” than normal 747’s because of their satcom array. It’s really kind of a traffic hazard when they fly parallel to Interstate 80 because they are mistaken for Airforce One. Offutt AFB is an incredible asset to the area.
The former Martin Bomber Plant building is still in use their.
During WW2, Col Tibbets came to Omaha to hand pick his planes for the A-bomb missions. The B-29’s built in Omaha had better
reliability records than any others. My fantastic Mom was a 1-room school teacher in Adam’s County Iowa, but like so many
“Kids” from all over the midwest came to Omaha to work on bomber’s. What a generation.
I live between three airfields where reserve pilots fly c17s, C5s, helicopters, and f15s. Having the Dad at a soccer game who had to go fly to Afghanistan or some other place after the game took a little getting used to....
That’s on the edge for small jets, but possible.
LOL...I’ll bet. The other kids must have been jealous, though.
USMC Ospreys do not fly alone. Always in pairs. I am not sure about the Navy and Air Force policies.
2020 article about Yeager Airport, Charleston trying to bring in military aircraft for training in the region. They leased old strip mine sites for training areas, so it would make sense to add a few airstrips. They named two counties south of Charleston but added that they had agreements in four. https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/kanawha_valley/yeager-airport-earning-reputation-as-home-base-for-military-training-operations/article_aaa136fb-d164-50b5-89b9-2aa99c1b0d6d.html
Jet fuel.. capable of refuel mid-air. They can put down anywhere there is room Vertical Land and Takeoff. If the little local has this fuel, so might have been a mechanical.
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