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C130 too close and no radio contact

On a related topic I foolishly hit C-130 wake turbulence on takeoff while I was at 250 ft. It turned me perpendicular to the ground in an eyeblink but thankfully stopped rolling me so I recovered with no damage except to my ego! I acquired more "experience" in my judgement and skills.

I had that same thing happen (following a 90hp CHAMP of all things!) many years ago. Zilcho' control and staring at the ground from 200 feet! A bit shocked by the power of a Champ wake (good grief) but ever since have been way aware of where I'm positioned when following somebody.
 
Cessna 150 in cruise and the wake of an F-15 doing a very hard high-power turn right in front of me. He used me like a pylon. Cool view of an F-15, though.

I have two friends who've bent wing spars from hitting wake turbulence from military airplanes crossing overhead of the Lake Hood approach. I've taken what I thought were hard hits with no damage so I can't imagine how hard a hit it takes to bend spars. One common factor is they both had WingX extensions. I think about that with the big wings on my Cub. I give those crossing heavies a very wide margin.
 
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Cessna 150 in cruise and the wake of an F-15 doing a very hard high-power turn right in front of me. He used me like a pylon. Cool view of an F-15, though.

I have two friends who've bent wing spars from hitting wake turbulence from military airplanes crossing overhead of the Lake Hood approach. I've taken what I thought were hard hits with no damage so I can't imagine how hard a hit it takes to bend spars. One common factor is they both had WingX extensions. I think about that with the big wings on my Cub. I give those crossing heavies a very wide margin.
I had almost the same thing happen to me on the Lake Hood approach several years ago. The wake turbulence from an overhead F-15 was violent enough to bounce my head off the overhead x brace. The bump was hard enough that I saw stars and almost got knocked out. Fortunately I had another pilot in the back seat able to take over. I bought a helmet the next day and wore it on every subsequent flight.
 
I will say my scariest encounters have been from two types: flightseeing air taxis in CAVU weather (4), and fishing lodge floatplanes in SVFR conditions (2).

^^^^^^^^This!^^^^^^^^

Besides the usual military aircraft viewing in the MatSu Valley it’s always special to meet head on or be overtaken by a DC-6 in Lake Clark Pass. Usually the guys are on the radio and good about giving exact locations.
 
Watch for C130’s between the ridges in Arkansas, I’ve met two in those confines but have always been able to reach them on Guard.
 
25 years ago, flying low level up Wolverine Creek, the drainage that defines the NW side of Mt Susitna. In a Hawk XP so not clawing uphill but not gobs of power to spare, round over a rolling ridge and we see 5 or 6 C-130s at the same altitude over the same drainage heading right toward us. The exhaust plume is what we see and there's no way initially to know how many planes were coming but flights of 5 or 6 was SOP back then. If you're not sure if you believe in God that moment may help you figure it out. We never knew if the lead plane saw us but they favored the NW and we slid to the SE until we could get out of the drainage and away from the wake of multiple airplanes.

I've had a similar encounter with a DC-6 in Lake Clark Pass. I never expected to see him where I did, way down low on a blue bird day. If not for the shadow I may never have seen him and he never talked on the radio. It wasn't a close call as much very high startle factor. That wasn't the first lesson I learned that day, either. I do miss winter same-day fly and shoot Mulchatna Caribou. ;)
 
^^^^^^^^This!^^^^^^^^

Besides the usual military aircraft viewing in the MatSu Valley it’s always special to meet head on or be overtaken by a DC-6 in Lake Clark Pass. Usually the guys are on the radio and good about giving exact locations.

Yeah, it turns out that a DC-6 up close in your windshield (in his rear view mirror in my case) is pretty interesting....Windy Pass.

MTV
 
Squeaking low over the pass into the Copper Basin ID strip a few years ago, coming from Antelope to the east, about 5 minutes after I landed 2 F-15's came in the same way, did a circuit of the Basin, probably pulling G's the entire time as their speed made then stay banked up, and then they climbed up and out and were aimed back towards Mountain Home. I had to admire their taste in scenery, as I had also just made the circuit around the Basin before landing, I'm just glad our timing was a bit different.
 
Years ago, I was flying an Army OH-58A through one of the MOAs around Edwards AFB. The controlling agency for the MOA contacted us, and said there were some fast-movers launching, and asked if we would be OK with them attempting to do an "intercept" on us, for training purposes. I replied that it would be fine, and asked if they wanted me to make it easy for them, or give them a challenge... Without skipping a beat (but with laughter in the background), they replied "give 'em a workout, if you can."

So we dropped down to extreme low-level (unpopulated desert area) and began operating in our usual tactical mode – flying "nap of the earth" (as low as terrain and obstacles permit). That also meant that we slowed way down, as we began picking our way through the lowest part of the valleys, keeping everything except the main rotor below the level of the mesquite and hilltops.

Pretty soon, we saw (and heard!) a couple of fast-movers (I can't remember the type, but given the era, probably F-15s) go roaring up the valley, about a mile away from our track... They were clearly trying to find us along our last radar track. We found a night tight confined area with terrain on three sides, and ducked into it to see if they had spotted us. Pretty soon, they came roaring back down the valley, this time a little slower, like they realized they must have overflown us, and were now looking a lot harder.

As soon as they were well beyond us, we hightailed it for the top rim of the valley, following gulleys, washes, and anything that would mask us from them and provide terrain cover from their onboard radar. Just below the top of the ridgeline, we found a promontory we could mask behind, while still seeing them approach. Pretty soon the two jets came flying by, this time MUCH slower, well below us in the valley, and clearly befuddled. About that time, I got a call from the controller, asking if we were still in the area, and if we'd seen the interceptors. I told them I was looking right at them. Then one of the jet jockeys came on the radio, saying we were doing a good job of hiding from them...

I laughed, and asked if they wanted to know the tactics we were using. After all, the whole point of the exercise is that "steel sharpens steel" and to learn from each other, right? And I said we didn't get that many chances to play "air-to-air" with the Air Force guys...

Unusually for fighter jocks, they said "Yes," so we explained (without telling them exactly where we were) what we'd been doing. Pretty soon, they came over again, and this time they spotted us, and began to maneuver against us. For the next 20 minutes or so, they would try to maneuver such that they could dive on us with guns/missiles, and we would hop to the opposite side of the ridgeline (where they could no longer line up on us) or fly directly towards them (thus steepening their dive angle until they had to break off). Sometimes we would do both – jump over the ridge, then fly along the ridgeline towards them, forcing #2 to radically alter their attack sequence.

Now I realize that (in a real-world combat situation) they heat-seeking missiles likely could have made short work of us – if they could have gotten a lock-on. That was the point of forcing them to steepen the dive angle every time they made a run at us... They didn't have enough time to find us again, then initiate the dive and get stabilized for the "lock"... Had the fighters gone to altitude and dived on us, they could easily have locked on, but that would have also potentially made them vulnerable to AA fire. They could also have split up slightly, one on each side of the ridgeline, but "leaving your wingman" is apparently not just a bad thing in movies like "Top Gun" – it's a real thing...

Anyway, we had some fun, got some good training in, and helped our fellow service-members improve their tactics against helicopters. And it certainly broke up the monotony of a somewhat lengthy cross-country flight across some boring desert terrain... Good times!
 
Find out where they’re based, google to find out who is the base commander, and drop an email. Watch behavior change.


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
Hogs would have found you!!


Years ago, I was flying an Army OH-58A through one of the MOAs around Edwards AFB. The controlling agency for the MOA contacted us, and said there were some fast-movers launching, and asked if we would be OK with them attempting to do an "intercept" on us, for training purposes. I replied that it would be fine, and asked if they wanted me to make it easy for them, or give them a challenge... Without skipping a beat (but with laughter in the background), they replied "give 'em a workout, if you can."

So we dropped down to extreme low-level (unpopulated desert area) and began operating in our usual tactical mode – flying "nap of the earth" (as low as terrain and obstacles permit). That also meant that we slowed way down, as we began picking our way through the lowest part of the valleys, keeping everything except the main rotor below the level of the mesquite and hilltops.

Pretty soon, we saw (and heard!) a couple of fast-movers (I can't remember the type, but given the era, probably F-15s) go roaring up the valley, about a mile away from our track... They were clearly trying to find us along our last radar track. We found a night tight confined area with terrain on three sides, and ducked into it to see if they had spotted us. Pretty soon, they came roaring back down the valley, this time a little slower, like they realized they must have overflown us, and were now looking a lot harder.

As soon as they were well beyond us, we hightailed it for the top rim of the valley, following gulleys, washes, and anything that would mask us from them and provide terrain cover from their onboard radar. Just below the top of the ridgeline, we found a promontory we could mask behind, while still seeing them approach. Pretty soon the two jets came flying by, this time MUCH slower, well below us in the valley, and clearly befuddled. About that time, I got a call from the controller, asking if we were still in the area, and if we'd seen the interceptors. I told them I was looking right at them. Then one of the jet jockeys came on the radio, saying we were doing a good job of hiding from them...

I laughed, and asked if they wanted to know the tactics we were using. After all, the whole point of the exercise is that "steel sharpens steel" and to learn from each other, right? And I said we didn't get that many chances to play "air-to-air" with the Air Force guys...

Unusually for fighter jocks, they said "Yes," so we explained (without telling them exactly where we were) what we'd been doing. Pretty soon, they came over again, and this time they spotted us, and began to maneuver against us. For the next 20 minutes or so, they would try to maneuver such that they could dive on us with guns/missiles, and we would hop to the opposite side of the ridgeline (where they could no longer line up on us) or fly directly towards them (thus steepening their dive angle until they had to break off). Sometimes we would do both – jump over the ridge, then fly along the ridgeline towards them, forcing #2 to radically alter their attack sequence.

Now I realize that (in a real-world combat situation) they heat-seeking missiles likely could have made short work of us – if they could have gotten a lock-on. That was the point of forcing them to steepen the dive angle every time they made a run at us... They didn't have enough time to find us again, then initiate the dive and get stabilized for the "lock"... Had the fighters gone to altitude and dived on us, they could easily have locked on, but that would have also potentially made them vulnerable to AA fire. They could also have split up slightly, one on each side of the ridgeline, but "leaving your wingman" is apparently not just a bad thing in movies like "Top Gun" – it's a real thing...

Anyway, we had some fun, got some good training in, and helped our fellow service-members improve their tactics against helicopters. And it certainly broke up the monotony of a somewhat lengthy cross-country flight across some boring desert terrain... Good times!
 
Meanwhile over Plattsburgh, Beta has been testing their vtol prototype a lot....

Note : toprotors removed on this photo for this phase of flight testing.
(https://www.beta.team)
IMG_2939.JPG


Transmitted from my FlightPhone on fingers...
 

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Meanwhile over Plattsburgh, Beta has been testing their vtol prototype a lot....

Note : toprotors removed on this photo for this phase of flight testing.
(https://www.beta.team)
View attachment 53606

What's with painting the "N" number with an 8 instead of a 0?
N258UT belongs to a Falcon 900.
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=258ut
 
I had flown into Tieton state airstrip at the east end of Rimrock Lake, east of Yakima WA,
& was walking around with some friends when we thought we heard some vehicle traffic coming on the adjacent road.
All of a sudden a pair of Navy EA6B Prowlers came blasting through the valley from west to east--
pretty much right over the strip & at pattern altitude or below.
We were really glad we were on the ground, not in the air when they came through.
I've seen several pics of them going through there, now the EA6's are phased out it's EF18 Growlers.
FWIW Tieton is where CubCrafters takes a lot of their promo pics.
it's about 5 miles north of a VFR MTR so I guess the jet traffic is legit,
but it's kinda scary.
 
Vfr charts do not accurately reflect the mtrs in most cases because the routes are anywhere from 2-5 miles wide from either side of the line depicted. Essentially they are corridors to allow for movement within the terrain


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
Years ago I flew into Tieton State to work on some equipment. Climbing out over the lake in my old C170, two EA6s flew right over my head east to west at what felt way too close.
It was pretty cool, I hope they saw me.
 
During a visit to my relatives, I rented a 172 in Glendale, AZ, just east of Luke AFB about 15 years ago. While climbing out on the way to Flagstaff that morning with strobes and transponder blazing away, and still well inside the GEU Class D, I had a flight of two F-16s in loose wingtip in a steep bank cross so close in front of me that I could hear them quite clearly; they were LOUD. I was also able to notice that the pilot of the second ship was sporting a blond pony-tail, I'd say they were closer than 300', same altitude.

Even though I am aware that those chosen to fly such aircraft have been selected in part because they have superior vision and that the tower at GEU and app/dep at Luke have excellent radar, that's too damn close.

It was awesome.
 
Flying a G2 into Cairo shortly before hostilities broke out in the first gulf war, approach control advised us we had two fast movers at our 10 o’clock moving left to right. After a few seconds we advised we had them in sight and were a little surprised when the controller replied “roger, can you tell us what type they are?” Was kind of hoping they’d know.....
 
This stuff isn’t exclusive to military. I had a C-185 fly literally right past my nose, CLOSE, inside the Fairbanks Delta airspace. Asked Tower who that was, and they relied: “Who was?”. They didn’t see him on radar till he turned. Was my first exposure to flying tangential to Doppler radar.

MTV
 
Years ago I flew into Tieton State to work on some equipment. Climbing out over the lake in my old C170, two EA6s flew right over my head east to west at what felt way too close.
It was pretty cool, I hope they saw me.

My wife was on Little Bald Mountain Lookout off Chinook pass on the Naches Ranger District in the early 1970s. The lookout sat on the edge of a cliff. E6s would fly by at eye level and give a wave (salute). She couldn't hear them coming. The flag was always flying at the lookout so I think the Pilots liked flying by it.

Here's a cockpit view from an F18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4-VHMkHEUQ
Anyhow, here's the spots I could identify in the video. Washington people may recognize them too. 0:20 Rimrock lake; 0:45 starting up Indian Cr; 1:31 Blankenship meadow; 1:55 starting down Deep Cr; 2:18 Bumping Lake; 6:55 Keechelus lake off the left wing; 7:21 kachess Lake.

Rimrock to Bumping lake, 15 miles, 1 min 33 seconds = 580 miles per hour. Probably faster with all the turning.
 
During a visit to my relatives, I rented a 172 in Glendale, AZ, just east of Luke AFB about 15 years ago. While climbing out on the way to Flagstaff that morning with strobes and transponder blazing away, and still well inside the GEU Class D, I had a flight of two F-16s in loose wingtip in a steep bank cross so close in front of me that I could hear them quite clearly; they were LOUD. I was also able to notice that the pilot of the second ship was sporting a blond pony-tail, I'd say they were closer than 300', same altitude.

Even though I am aware that those chosen to fly such aircraft have been selected in part because they have superior vision and that the tower at GEU and app/dep at Luke have excellent radar, that's too damn close.

It was awesome.

Now I feel like telling my story. 1980--my 2nd solo cross country as a student pilot. I went from Bozeman to Great Falls. Great Falls had a TRSA, which was big and mysterious to me.

I contacted Approach and got vectors and assigned altitude. So I'm bumping along in my Tomahawk when Approach suddenly tells me to turn right 90 degrees and descend immediately. OK...Then Approach advises traffic at 3:00 approaching overhead, "please advise when in sight."

Well, I heard them first. Two F 106 Delta Darts from the Montana Air National Guard directly overhead--LOUD and fast--maybe 100 feet above. I told Approach I had them in earshot....

When I landed I asked an instructor at the FBO about that. He said, "those guys don't talk to anyone until they want to land. They like to wake up students, though."

Which left me wondering what good a TRSA was.
 
I was in a Huey in the fall of 97 going nap of the earth “low enough that when we banked, the wake turbulence kicked up water spray” and the pic was a Vietnam combat pilot, up the big Su when a black cub on floats and one of those fancy red beavers had taken off from one of the lakes in the area and never announced. We were calling on ctaf for the area. It was very interesting looking out the side door at a full view of the river...so it really goes both ways
 
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