More fun at Dyess

So I had another opportunity to sit outside Dyess today, and it was a fun, and very busy day. We caught several T-1As, C-130s, B-1s, and T-38s. Interesting, one of the B-1s was out of the 57th Weapons Group at Nellis, and another one did a high speed pass, with the wings full back.

Nice photographs. Sure beats the crop dusting planes I see down here.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I agree with roadgravel. There sure are some purdy pics. Looks like a good time.

wow, some really great shots here! i really wouldn't want to find myself living in an opposing regime, standing underneath these bad boys.

however, upon reading that you saw several c-130s, i couldn't help but get triggered and think of michael ruppert. more specifically, looks like he and other investigators have found that these planes are pretty popular for a particularly interesting purpose:

US Forest Service Tanker Scandal

any thoughts on why they'd use this particular plane model for this purpose over others?

a reply to: roadgravel

I don't know, crop dusting planes are actually pretty cool to watch, too. Especially on rolling hills. Those guys are good.

a reply to: facedye

Flexibility. They can carry more than other aircraft used as air tankers. The HC-130s that were transferred from the Coast Guard to the Forest Service carry 3800 gallons of retardant. That's more than several of the other types that are in use to fight fires. The tank that Coulson installs can also be rolled off the aircraft, and seats installed, so they can transport ground crews to the area as well, or even drop smoke jumpers out the jump doors on the sides.

Great pictures, but I apparently am still triggered by the B-one, that eye twitch started just seeing the pictures...

I will admit they look purty... but god I hate them.

a reply to: Irishhaf

It was pretty cool to see them come screaming by with the wings back. They do make a pretty picture.

originally posted by: seagull
a reply to: roadgravel

I don't know, crop dusting planes are actually pretty cool to watch, too. Especially on rolling hills. Those guys are good.

They fly rice fields around here. They are good at missing power lines and flying low and slow. Sometimes there are small helicopters.

a reply to: Zaphod58

No doubt, last deployment we had a plane lose an engine just shy of rotate, crew made the right call (I think) and kept it on the deck, but they lost all the tires once they got off the runway.

My crew got tagged with fixing her and towing her back on night shift.

Looked Amazing.. did my hearing no favors, even with ear plugs in the motors are death on hearing, even if you have double hearing protection in, still does not really help.

a reply to: roadgravel

Used to be pea fields around here, but now it's vineyards and wheat, with some truck farming veggies.

I swear some of these boys were kamikazes in a previous life... I saw one good ol' boy, possibly a girl, don't know, do a barrel roll as he was lining up for a pass at a field. I fully expected snoopy and his sopwith camel to come rolling in on him. He was making that plane dance.

a reply to: Irishhaf

Yeah, they were pretty brutal. I got to sit in the left seat on an engine run, which was fun. It was a lot more interesting to be on that end of the run. I was going to get to go out to the end of the Reef Runway in the DSO seat to do an afterburner run, but a Light Colonel from one of their other crews decided to go out with them, and they couldn't take anyone that didn't have an ejection seat, so I missed out. So the crew chief let me sit up there on an idle run with him.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Nice I never got to sit in it for a run, I ran from them as fast as I could to the reserves to preserve my health just before I was slotted for engine run school.

Worst feeling for me was on launch and they requested to bump the throttles up,( I never ran ground for engine runs, we always made some airmen) I swear there were times I felt things shaking inside my chest that are not supposed to move like that.

a reply to: Irishhaf

I was about 8,000 feet down the Reef Runway for a MITO. I swear it took five minutes for my body to stop vibrating from the afterburners. It was nuts.

I thought this one was interesting, and wish I had gotten it in better focus. It's the 77th Weapons Squadron. They're coded for Nellis, and part of the Weapons School, but they're based at Nellis.

a reply to: Zaphod58

thanks for the response Zaphod, extremely informative.

again, great shots.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thanks Zaphod,
My younger brother gets his CDL in 3 weeks. He is so excited to have these opportunities to see stuff like this.

a reply to: Irishhaf


She's a really beauty..had in at our air show last year ....had lunch under her....had good pics of her sniper pod and all !!

a reply to: Slys13

I worked with a good guy on the KC135 that cut his teeth down at dyess on the B-one.. he thinks they walk on water.

I was at Ellsworth, in warm dry climates they are ok... in cold wet climates they are a bloody nightmare of epic proportions.

To put it in perspective I had never seen a 0% MC rate before I landed on the B-one, it was slightly better down in Texas but in SD it just sucked.

a reply to: Bigburgh

There won't be a lot of opportunities, but they're definitely there. Especially if he's running solo, and plans right. He'll have to shut down for 10 hours every day, so if he plans right he can shut down near something.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I'll let him know. Mentioned it would more than 5 years before he can have a ride along. But he wants the cross country runs. I marked all the bases from here to point mugu for him.