The idle musings of a former military man, former computer geek, medically retired pastor and now full-time writer. Contents guaranteed to offend the politically correct and anal-retentive from time to time. My approach to life is that it should be taken with a large helping of laughter, and sufficient firepower to keep it tamed!
The latest annual EAA Airventure is currently under way at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. A USAF B-1B Lancer bomber made an amazing flypast earlier this week. Atmospheric conditions were just right to produce some spectacular effects.
I’d have loved to have seen that in person . . .
Peter
That was wild!! I gotta get to EAA before I croak.
Impressive. Also at Oshkosh … The world's only flying B29s, Fifi and Doc.
"Condensation blanket" sounds so much more gentile than, "ripping the freakin' air apart", doesn't it?
Hey Peter;
Wish I could have been there also to see that. It isn't often you actually can see the "sound" barrier and a plane going through it.
Peter,
Though the B-1 no longer has nuclear tasking, they still do high speed low level training in Texas. They fly from Dyess in Abilene, and mostly seem to head west. The southern part of the loops goes down by Big Bend, then through NM by the Guadalupe mountains. I would not be surprised if the return routes does not take them near your part of Texas.
I can testify: They are loud and very fast.
I have a friend who camps there every year for the duration. That would be a bit much for me.
When I see a jet exhibiting that vapor barrier effect, it reminds me of this video flyby:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y7-58xQXfM
Not the flyby results you want to see…
Chemtrails
Living under an air-to-air refueling track (2 to 3 actually) I got the opportunity to see most everything in the USAF inventory and a few Navy aircraft refueling at various altitudes. Walking to school it wasn't uncommon to see B-52s, B-1Bs and later B-2s nuzzling up to a tanker. B-1s, even at altitude have a pretty distinct rumble that even B-52s or big cargo haulers don't. B-2s are also pretty distinct in their own way. Living on the edge of those tracks now I don't get to see them quite as much as I did before but I do get the Boeing test pilots breaking the sound barrier every so often which makes a hellacious thump that never fails to make me smile. Also get to see C-130s doing low level work sometimes which is cool.
That explains what I saw. I had just returned from doing a show down in Clinton Oklahoma and was walking the dog when two planes flew over, a twin engine medium bomber and a fighter. I couldn't tell for certain but I believe they were a B25 and a P51. Since they were flying in a southwesterly direction, it appears they were headed home from that show.
Nothing turns jet fuel into noise quite like a Bone.