Posted on 06/29/2024 11:06:01 AM PDT by suthener
Unusual aircraft in my area.
Probably not.
Paranoid rantings. It’s very slightly bigger in every respect (longer, wider, heavier) than the C5-A Galaxy. Why wouldn’t they still be operating them? Airplanes in general are almost infinitely repairable and too spendy throw them out because they’re not this year’s model.
The Antonov 225, the heaviest airplane every built, of which only one was built and which the Russians destroyed in the war against the Ukraine, was an AN-124 with fuselage and wingspan both lengthened by 50 feet, and an extra pair of engines.
I saw one over Detroit 20 years or so ago. It was delivering some massive machine tool assemblies from Germany for a GM engine plant project that it just so happened that I was also working on. Thing is so huge that it was hard to judge how far away it was. German vendor was running late, and hiring the Antonov let them make up some time. Unlike the government, the auto industry in utterly unforgiving about slipped delivery dates.
Sadly though I think it might be true in the now woke military.
You know that, and I know that, but some characters around here are not... analytical.
Probably from Eglin...
“Paranoid rantings.”
THERE IT IS!!! Good ol’ Freerepublic. An innocuous little Saturday afternoon post about an unusual aircraft sighting, and I’m paranoid ranting. Unbelievable. Your intellectual superiority is noted.
“Those items are not available to Flightradar via squawk.”
Where does Flightradar get the information?
“This was a charter flight, not a commercial.”
Charter is not commercial? I mean, there’s commercial, and there’s private. I’ve never known charter to be a third category.
“Doesn’t airbus have a mfg facility in Alabama?”
Yes, in Mobile, at the same general location that this aircraft flew in to (know as Brookley Field, a long retired Air Force Base). The Airbus aircraft are normally brought in by ship and barged to their facility for final assembley. I saw them regularly going down the river before I retired.
“Might want to sell and buy another house out of the flight path!”
Two airports in town, NAS Pensacola uses both for touch and goes, Keesler AFB down the road in flying distance, Coast Guard Aviation Training Center 10 miles away. You can’t get out of the flight path anywhere near where I live.
We used the Antonov to fly the 787 engines to Boeing because it was the only aircraft to handle the size.
“Probably from Eglin...”
No, it came from somewhere up north, but I got caught up in whether it was going to land in Mobile or not and did not trace the path before it landed and shut down.
“We used the Antonov to fly the 787 engines to Boeing because it was the only aircraft to handle the size.”
Thanks. I guess I’m finding out that these things are not that unusual even though I spend more time than I care to admit looking at Flightradar24 and I’ve never seen one. The fact that the origin, destination, and owner were not shown on Flightradar24 is, from what I’ve seen, unusual.
Antonov Airlines (the cargo part of ADB, Antonov Design Bureau) flies AN-124’s in the US under a US/UKR open skies agreement.
https://www.antonov.com/en/airlines
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airlines/adb/fleet
Perhaps delivering Airbus fuselage?..
....
Thanks. Please see comment #54.
I guess it’s possible, but as I said in my comment #50 they are usually brought in by ship and barged down the river to Airbus. I used to see them go down the river before I retired.
It is generally possible to get an exemption prior to take-off for non-fully-functioning transponders, such that a particular flight could still take place.
It is often possible to get an ad hoc variance after the aircraft has already taken off, if the voice-communicating controller has time available to serve the request and its continuation. This could also apply for subsequent handoffs to other controllers if those controllers have time available (and possibly, are so inclined).
Such service and a variance is possible, as above, if the transponder equipment fails while enroute. However, in some (rare or sensitive) cases, it's possible the controller would have the pilot divert and land at an airport that could provide transponder maintenance before the aircraft and pilot could get further clearance.
A generous, controller--with time available--may be able to identify a radar primary (with no info or data block) that has no functioning transponder equipment. Information can be attached to a primary return (as long as there's no disruption to that particularly primary), such that the newly info-associated primary could even be handed off to subsequent controllers. In other words, this could allow an aircraft that has no functioning or only a partially-functioning transponder to be associated with aircraft information that controllers will subsequently be able to use to continue identifying that particular aircraft, all the way to its destination.
In the specific case of FlightRadar24.com, its displays have filters available to its system operators--and to a lesser extent, other users--such that information about certain flights may be hidden in whole or in part, even though all the information that might be available to controllers. This is not infrequently done for military flights.
“This is not infrequently done for military flights.”
I see this regularly. I live near Pensacola NAS and not too far (in aircraft distance) from Eglin AFB. I see it sometimes with small private aircraft, too. I very rarely see commercial aircraft not identified with origin, destination, and owner. I would love to know why this particular aircraft did not have that information available.
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