A-10s Dropping Flares (Photos)

I'm not completely sure if this is the correct forum to post this in, but as I posted another aircraft observation thread in the Aircraft Projects forum and it got moved here, this is where I'l post it.

I took these photos in South-Eastern Arizona about a week ago while two A-10s appeared to be mock-dogfighting and were dropping flares overhead. They probably dropped 15 or 20 total that I saw. Several days ago, another flew over heading east and dropped one flare out of the blue without changing direction.

During the initial flare-dropping period, one also appeared to drop a tube-like object into the mountains, but I didn't have my camera out yet at that time, unfortunately. I can't guarantee that it actually did drop something in that case, either - it could have merely been a bird intersecting the jet and diving at the same time or something of the sort.

Now, the pictures:

external image
external image

Great pics! It's always nice to see the old Warthog in the air.

Good pics.! I can't put my finger on it but there is just something about the Warthog I really like. Maybe it is becasue of it's many redundent systems to ensure that it can take licking and keep on ticking..just like the little Everyready bunny but just pumped up on steroids

For me it's the fact that it can turn 360 degrees within the width of two runways, and does square turns. It's the ugliest, most beautiful, amazing airplane currently in the US inventory.

Well, i suppose taht it's the right forum... about the pics... Nice ones... i love them...

The tube that you saw might have been a malfunctioning flare or radar decoy. Both are tubular in shape. The pictures are great. I saw an airshow at Lake City Florida in 1988 where the cloud ceiling was too low for most of the flying demonstrations. There was an A-10 there and this guy put on a show that you wouldn't believe, all between 1000 and 3000 feet up. I have been a Warthog fan ever since. I have always wanted to see what a couple of A-10s could do to a ship.

I've seen A-10's only on one occasion on an airshow, too bad they were so far away and nothing really spectacular was done, just some fly by's...

They are absolutely my favorite ground attack aircraft, I don't think they are ugly at all, they are very unique and excentric looking planes, very much to my liking.

Nice pics! it's strange to think of A-10's dogfighting, but they definitly can bite back with their AIM-9's and their devastating GAU-8 Avenger 30mm cannon, it's funny, the plane was ACTUALLY designed AROUND the gun, not the other way around lol.

AWESOME PICTURES, LOVE THE A-10.

Thanks for the comments. I should've thought to get out my video camera and film them. I've got a nice long lens for it. Well, if they are around again I'll try to.