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Hmmm..do you like low flying aircraft?....then here ya go!

frank8003

frank8003

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_WP-3D_Orion

https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/p-3.htm



Lockheed WP-3D Orion
Maximum fuel weight		28,350 kg 62,501lbs


According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these planes conduct low-altitude data collection. Ultimately, they fill in gaps in data not available from radar or satellite imagery that analysts look at from the ground.

There is only two……………….
"Kermit" (N42RF) and "Miss Piggy" (N43RF)



https://www.403wg.afrc.af.mil/About...er-reconnaissance-squadron-hurricane-hunters/
 
frank8003

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Another Ahab said:
Only (2) P-3 Orions still flying?!

You get old, but never notice it until the surprises like this jolt you into the reality. Yikes!!

Time to pack for the trip out...
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There is only two Orion flying for Hurricane research but maybe 60 airworthy ships still fly around the world.

P-3 Orion Research Group

www.p3orion.nl
There was 757 of them built

I had posted about Kermit (N42RF) and Miss Piggy (N43RF) because they flow LOW thru hurricanes
 
Mullaney

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Another Ahab said:
Phew! Thanks, Frank8003, that's a relief.

I was just about to drop into a wheelchair and just STAY there...
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Yeah, I wasn't going to be far behind you Another Ahab . I started looking to see if the old E2C Hawkeye was on that list :-( Seems that all is well and they are still in need of both planes. Not like they would let a 60 year old, even one with experience ride in one ever again...
 
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frank8003

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USAFSS-ColdWarrior

USAFSS-ColdWarrior

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Another Ahab said:
ColdWarrior and I share the same curiosity, so another thanks here to you, Frank8003.

I read somewhere once that the manufacturing plants in Witchita (almost dead-center in the state of Kansas), were considered ideal (if not actually developed there purposefully).

Being almost exactly in the dead-center of the continent (equal distance from each ocean shore) the plants were considered safe from any kind of high-altitude bombing that either Axis power might possibly come up with. Makes sense, you know?
Click to expand...
As with any real estate..... LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION ! ! !
 
Guyfang

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frank8003 said:
talk about low flying...........
I helped in the beginning to make parts for these in 1966 1967

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II Blueprint - Download free blueprint for 3D modeling

drawingdatabase.com drawingdatabase.com
At the time is was explained to me that this "gun" was built and they gonnah build an aircraft to move it

My favorite
Hog

a-10 warthog total built and airworthy - Google Search

www.google.com
Click to expand...

When ever I am in Graf, You know when the Hogs are in town. That sound you hear when the gun fires is a one of a kind.
 
Mullaney

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Guyfang said:
When ever I am in Graf, You know when the Hogs are in town. That sound you hear when the gun fires is a one of a kind.
Click to expand...
Absolutely! Sounds like a really good card shark shuffling the deck... Davis Monthan here in the states houses and trains on/with the Hog. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be on the receiving end of the HE## it would rain on your parade!
 
M813rc

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My first experience with an A-10 entailed low flying, and was during a BnFx (Battalion Field Exercise) on Fort Hood. We Marines had flown in via C-130 from Camp Pendleton to play with the Army.

As a machine gunner, I was dug in in a fighting position just below the military crest of a hill overlooking a valley. I watched as an A-10 snaked its way up that valley below me and came up the side of the hill to simulate an attack on our position. And that hill wasn't over 200' at the crest!
That pass was the closest I have ever been to a flying aircraft without being in it, I could have slapped his belly with a stick as he went directly over me.
The funny thing was he was very quiet on the approach, just a very faint whine before he arrived. It was strange to watch that almost silent plane coming up the valley. But he brought plenty of noise with him as he passed!

It all happened very quickly. If it had been a real fight, I'd have had very little time to get rounds out at him, and the chances of hitting him would have been minimal. Not that an M60 would do more than poke a few holes in an A-10 anyway.

Cheers
 
Guyfang

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Big Brass ones!

I once watched the lowest flying C5A in the world. At Mcord AFB, Washington, about 1979-80. It was on a Saturday, and the wife and I were in the AFB to attend a collage course. Just before we were to leave, the crash trucks, fire trucks and everyone and his dog went in the direction of the Air Strip. We walked out and saw the C5A flying in circles, and making strange movements. The fire crew started to put down foam, all over the strip. 20-30 min later, in came the Big Bad Boy! Looking good, but, no nose gear down. He got lower, and slower, and then lower! He greased that baby in, nose high, on the threshold limits. Used brakes and sounded like tad reverse thrust. Nose high. It seemed like he would never come down. When the pilot at last lost enough speed, he dropped the nose on down like a feather. It slid in the foam a long ways, before coming to a stop. A few hours later, the repair crew put a big fat pillow under the nose, inflated it, manualy dropped and locked the nose gear and took it to the shop. A few days later, it was gone. What a trip.
 
Tracer

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M813rc said:
If I remember correctly, that flying sequence is from a Steve McQueen movie called The Warlover, from the early 1960s (when B-17s were still plentiful, and not considered valuable!).

Cheers
Click to expand...
M813rc, you are absolutely right. Of all the war pics I've watched over the years, I missed this one. Here is the trailer for War Lover.
 
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