A question for anyone with aviation/military experience

I am putting this in the UFO category because it happened a few days and about 100 miles away all the activity in Texas a couple weeks ago. On Wed Jan 16 I was driving from Dallas to Graham Tx. A good part of the trip is nothing but dark highways between the small towns, so its perfect for a little star gazing so i had the moon roof open on my car.

I was 3/4 done with my trip and just left the small town of Mineral Wells when i absolutely had to relieve myself. Being out in the country with very little traffic on the road, and it was 8:15 so it was very dark. i decieded to pull over and do my business.

I hopped out of the car and while facing a field on the east side of the road began to hear a helicopter from behind me. About 5 seconds later i could tell it was getting louder. I looked over my shoulder and saw nothing but a small blue light from above the trees. I continued for another 10 sec and it was really getting loud now. I began to get nervous because it seemed like it should have been on top of me, but i didnt see anything.

When done i got back in the car and pulled from the shoulder of the road and slowly got back on the highway. I then noticed a dark black object out of my drivers side window. At least it seemed dark black. I couldnt tell any features because it was against a black/blue sky. It was heading toward the highway and i could now tell that it was indeed the helicopter i had heard.

As it passed over me i looked up out of my moon roof and saw that it looked like one of the big double rotor military helicopters, that must be why it seemed so loud. It was very low, about 200 feet off the ground, maybe a little more than double the height of the trees.. I was kind of in awe, mostly because there was absolutely NO FREAKING LIGHTS on this thing at all. As it passed over me I turned the car around and saw it go over the trees.
It was then that i saw, not 10-15 sec after it , what looked like a cargo plane pass over the highway in the same path as the copter, and at the same altitude. Again, this one had only a blue (which must be what i saw earlier) and red light on and nothing else. They were both so very low.

So my question is what in the heck could these LARGE aircraft be doing FLYING SO LOW and with NO LIGHS ON at night. It was very spooky, especially since i realized that if had never stopped or had my moonroof open i would have probably never seen them at all. I asked my family and they are unaware of an airfield in Mineral Wells so i dont think they were landing there. I am 95% sure there is no Stephenville connection, but the mind does wonder...

Google ft. worth nas. sounds like a training mission. I have a friend deploying in aug to mid east. this is how they do supreps. i.e. low, fast, lights out. see if that base is on your route.

Sorry to hit again but I think the copter was either a CH-46 or 47. And yes I do have 6 yrs. naval aviation exp. The fix wing was possibly a C-5, but that's only a guess as you don't give much detail. And yes they are loud.

Thanks, you are right, when i checked google there is a military reserve not far from there. Thats probably the answer to my question. Thanks again!

that doesn't really answer the question, so being military absolves them from using lights over a civilian population? How are other aircraft supposed to avoid them then??

Also, there is probably a military reserve close to any location you care to name, big deal.

Originally posted by blvr5
Thanks, you are right, when i checked google there is a military reserve not far from there. Thats probably the answer to my question. Thanks again!

If you are lucky, they weren't watching you 'do your business' through night vision equipment.

I'm not sure that civilian aircraft would even be allowed to fly at that altitude at night. We should find out from a real pilot. I think there maybe one or two of those around here...

[edit on 30-1-2008 by Ectoterrestrial]

double post on single button press. fascinating

[edit on 30-1-2008 by Ectoterrestrial]

True, doesnt answer the big question. I cant explain how eerie it was to see something fly over your head and all you can see is a silhouette. If you didnt hear the noise it made, it would have been VERY VERY difficult to spot it.