B-52 in WNC?

Dan0311

Dan0311

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Earlier today, did I see a B-52 flying westbound in Western N. Carolina? I'm kinda' a plane/air show buff, so I don't think I was mistaken, and it wasn't very high.

Is this normal, has anyone seen one flying around here?
 
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Did you happen to note the time? Sometimes military aircraft will leave their transponders on and you can track them on Flightradar24 or another app.
 
I didn’t look too hard, but I saw maybe 2 747s in WNC during daylight and no A340s or other 4 engine aircraft. (Yea the 52 has 8, but 4 pods).

Closest thing I saw was a KC135 in TN.

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Frank C Lyons said:
Did you happen to note the time? Sometimes military aircraft will leave their transponders on and you can track them on Flightradar24 or another app.
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No, I was on the phone when it passed, but can't remember who I was talking to - and was on the phone most of the day. This was westerly on a path north of Asheville and Waynesville.

And I could be wrong, but I don't think I would mix up a 747 and B-52 (I lived 50+ years 30 minutes from LaGuardia or JFK).
 
Chuckman said:
Likely in transit, but I don't know why it would fly over NC.
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I saw one landing at Seymour Johnson one time around 2004. I was driving on US 70. Unbelievable how massive they are. Don't know why it was landing there, but it was unmistakable. I also saw several of them flying at altitude when we first went into Afghanistan. Was working in eastern NC (Dare/Hyde County area) and they were flying overhead with what looked like fighter escorts. That happened more than once that year. I assumed they were flying to theater for the war.

Anywho, that is my rabbit trail contribution to this thread. :)
 
cubrock said:
I saw one landing at Seymour Johnson one time around 2004. I was driving on US 70. Unbelievable how massive they are. Don't know why it was landing there, but it was unmistakable. I also saw several of them flying at altitude when we first went into Afghanistan. Was working in eastern NC (Dare/Hyde County area) and they were flying overhead with what looked like fighter escorts. That happened more than once that year. I assumed they were flying to theater for the war.

Anywho, that is my rabbit trail contribution to this thread. :)
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They used to be assigned to Seymour-Johnson AFB, until the late 80s I believe (it was both a SAC and TAC base). Not every AFB has a runway long enough to handle. My mom was from Goldsboro, a lot of family there. We'd get BBQ from Wilbur's and sit outside and watch them land.

Yeah, we used them in Astan, they were so high you never knew they were there until the bombs dropped.
 
Chuckman said:
They used to be assigned to Seymour-Johnson AFB, until the late 80s I believe (it was both a SAC and TAC base). Not every AFB has a runway long enough to handle. My mom was from Goldsboro, a lot of family there. We'd get BBQ from Wilbur's and sit outside and watch them land.

Yeah, we used them in Astan, they were so high you never knew they were there until the bombs dropped.
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Yeah, its altitude was what made me wonder. Our strategic aircraft undoubtedly need to get places and fly over us, but way up. What was this doing so low? Not incredibly low, but low enough for me to see it with my eyes, and now 'cruising' altitude.

I see Chinooks once in a while and a rarer Blackhawk, but this shocked me a bit.
 
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Dan0311 said:
Yeah, its altitude was what made me wonder. Our strategic aircraft undoubtedly need to get places and fly over us, but way up. What was this doing so low? Not incredibly low, but low enough for me to see it with my eyes, and now 'cruising' altitude.

I see Chinooks once in a while and a rarer Blackhawk, but this shocked me a bit.
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Yeah, it would have shocked me as well...
 
Dan0311 said:
Yeah, its altitude was what made me wonder. Our strategic aircraft undoubtedly need to get places and fly over us, but way up. What was this doing so low? Not incredibly low, but low enough for me to see it with my eyes, and now 'cruising' altitude.

I see Chinooks once in a while and a rarer Blackhawk, but this shocked me a bit.
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We see Chinooks and Blackhawks on training flights quite frequently here. Occasionally Apaches. They are always flying the same path, so I assume we are on some training route.
 
Dan0311 said:
Yeah, its altitude was what made me wonder. Our strategic aircraft undoubtedly need to get places and fly over us, but way up. What was this doing so low? Not incredibly low, but low enough for me to see it with my eyes, and now 'cruising' altitude.

I see Chinooks once in a while and a rarer Blackhawk, but this shocked me a bit.
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Well, they train to deliver nukes at low level, so maybe Russia has got them doing that kind of flying again.
 
Chuckman said:
They used to be assigned to Seymour-Johnson AFB, until the late 80s I believe (it was both a SAC and TAC base).
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Dad flew out of there in '65 - '69; we lived on Base for awhile, then on Best St. (I remember the neighborhood, but was mighty young then.)

Later he did a tour in VN; when he returned, we moved to KI Sawyer and he was a SAC pilot (B-52) for about a year. Then a KC-135 in Okinawa 'til '74 (we left in '73 to start the new school year in the fall).
 
Windini said:
Dad flew out of there in '65 - '69; we lived on Base for awhile, then on Best St. (I remember the neighborhood, but was mighty young then.)

Later he did a tour in VN; when he returned, we moved to KI Sawyer and he was a SAC pilot (B-52) for about a year. Then a KC-135 in Okinawa 'til '74 (we left in '73 to start the new school year in the fall).
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That is awesome!
 
They used to use the Grandfather Mountian area as a practice bombing range. A lot of the ground attack guys still do. We see a lot of F/A 18s, F-16s and a bunch of C-130s during the summer when I’m up there. I was fishing Wilson Creek last Spring and 2 F/A 18s came roaring down the valley at tree top level. Sent chills up my spine and brought back some bad memories but it was still great to see them again! They tend to change up training plans a lot or it could be just a pilot getting in some flight time . We’re only a couple hours from the places that they are based in the US.
 
Back in the day there used to be a low level practice run between Mountain City and Boone right down Hwy 421. It used to be listed on the aeronautical charts of the area but I have no idea if it still is. For years back in my 30's I flew hang gliders off of Tater Hill (Rich Mountain). Our launch faced that valley. We saw 52's running the valley floor more than once below our launch. The launch was at 5200 feet and both times I saw them they were significantly lower than that. It was rumored back then that there was a radar beacon they used for guidance somewhere on the campus of ASU but I have no idea if that was true. What I do know is I saw B-52's flying down that valley from West to East twice. Once literally below me while I was in the air. I know that the Airforce, Navy and Marines still fly low level runs through the Linville Gorge to this day. Enough that some folks complain about it. The only thing I've ever seen in the Gorge is F-15's. My son who is an AV8-B Harrier pilot has a couple of buddies that have flown Harriers thru the Gorge.
 
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I watch ADBS exchange fairly often. I didn’t see any Stratofortresses on there in NC yesterday. I know from time to time they do fly around NC. I did see a pair of C5 galaxy planes flying out west yesterday doing refueling training with the tanker.
 
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Windini said:
Dad flew out of there in '65 - '69; we lived on Base for awhile, then on Best St. (I remember the neighborhood, but was mighty young then.)

Later he did a tour in VN; when he returned, we moved to KI Sawyer and he was a SAC pilot (B-52) for about a year. Then a KC-135 in Okinawa 'til '74 (we left in '73 to start the new school year in the fall).
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My dad was at KI Sawyer and Kincheloe about the same time.
 
Tim said:
My dad was at KI Sawyer and Kincheloe about the same time.
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I've had a lot of "small world" experiences in my life. Wouldn't be surprised if it's hereditary!

Be weird to find out your dad & mine were beer buddies or arch enemies... :)
 
Radar said:
I watch ADBS exchange fairly often. I didn’t see any Stratofortresses on there in NC yesterday. I know from time to time they do fly around NC. I did see a pair of C5 galaxy planes flying out west yesterday doing refueling training with the tanker.
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They were probably C-17s. There’s not many C-5s around anymore. A couple Reserve unit may still fly them but most are mothballed.
 
Hammer12b said:
They used to use the Grandfather Mountian area as a practice bombing range. A lot of the ground attack guys still do. We see a lot of F/A 18s, F-16s and a bunch of C-130s during the summer when I’m up there. I was fishing Wilson Creek last Spring and 2 F/A 18s came roaring down the valley at tree top level. Sent chills up my spine and brought back some bad memories but it was still great to see them again! They tend to change up training plans a lot or it could be just a pilot getting in some flight time . We’re only a couple hours from the places that they are based in the US.
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Given it's height and terrain features it would make sense.
 
Windini said:
Dad flew out of there in '65 - '69; we lived on Base for awhile, then on Best St. (I remember the neighborhood, but was mighty young then.)

Later he did a tour in VN; when he returned, we moved to KI Sawyer and he was a SAC pilot (B-52) for about a year. Then a KC-135 in Okinawa 'til '74 (we left in '73 to start the new school year in the fall).
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Born in Goldsboro; dad wound up at Wurtsmith AFB for a year 1971/72. Buffs doing a max effort takeoff for wing ORI was something you won't forget....
 
We see F15E's in the Mt. Airy area at least once a week or so. They are usually low enough you can see the SJ on the tail. I live on a dairy farm and swear it looks like they do bombing runs on the silage silo. We also get Ospreys, Chinooks, Apaches and lots of cargo stuff, but never seen a B52 low enough to identify.
 
Last I saw was a group of 2 or 3 flying south? over Lenoir area. That was years ago. Had to use binos to get a look at them but the vapor trails are what caught our attention. In the middle of a bow tournament we started plane watching. Even at altitude those things look massive.
 
When I was at Ft Sill '89-'90, we used to do a CALFEX/dog & pony show for the graduating Arty OBC class. Armor, scouts, mounted & dismounted Infantry, mortars, artillery, close air support, the whole bit. F4s, A7s & Warthogs were the norm, but one day, I don't know if someone in the 3 shop goofed or what, but the AF sent us a B52. That big MFer came in low & slow, not much higher than treetop level & when it passed overhead, it blotted out the sun. Huge. Amazing they can even stay airborne at low speeds.
 
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Vlad Ozark said:
When I was at Ft Sill '89-'90, we used to do a CALFEX/dog & pony show for the graduating Arty OBC class. Armor, scouts, mounted & dismounted Infantry, mortars, artillery, close air support, the whole bit. F4s, A7s & Warthogs were the norm, but one day, I don't know if someone in the 3 shop goofed or what, but the AF sent us a B52. That big MFer came in low & slow, not much higher than treetop level & when it passed overhead, it blotted out the sun. Huge. Amazing they can even stay airborne at low speeds.
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The million dollar minute! I e seen that a couple times out there. I was at Sill in 1983-84.
 
Chuckman said:
Really? C-5s are all gone?

man I'm old....
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No all gone but going fast. All that’s left is some Air Guard and USAF Reserve units of them and they don’t get the flight time much anymore because of parts. The C-141s are ALL gone and the C-17 has replaced everything but the C-130s and that only because the 130s can get into places the 17 only dreams of!
 
Criminalcamel said:
We see F15E's in the Mt. Airy area at least once a week or so. They are usually low enough you can see the SJ on the tail. I live on a dairy farm and swear it looks like they do bombing runs on the silage silo. We also get Ospreys, Chinooks, Apaches and lots of cargo stuff, but never seen a B52 low enough to identify.
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They run that New River Gorge like a race track. That the F-15Es out of Seymour Johnson. I’ve seen them smoking down that river before!
 
I'll never understand why every time we jumped combat equipment, we got Tetris-d into a C130, Safety walkin' on our laps to get from front of bird to rear, etc., but whenever we jumped the C17, the one bird in the inventory expressly designed for that crap, it was always Hollywood.
 
rocketman said:
Back in the day there used to be a low level practice run between Mountain City and Boone right down Hwy 421. It used to be listed on the aeronautical charts of the area but I have no idea if it still is. For years back in my 30's I flew hang gliders off of Tater Hill (Rich Mountain). Our launch faced that valley. We saw 52's running the valley floor more than once below our launch. The launch was at 5200 feet and both times I saw them they were significantly lower than that. It was rumored back then that there was a radar beacon they used for guidance somewhere on the campus of ASU but I have no idea if that was true. What I do know is I saw B-52's flying down that valley from West to East twice. Once literally below me while I was in the air. I know that the Airforce, Navy and Marines still fly low level runs through the Linville Gorge to this day. Enough that some folks complain about it. The only thing I've ever seen in the Gorge is F-15's. My son who is an AV8-B Harrier pilot has a couple of buddies that have flown Harriers thru the Gorge.
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Oh the times I spent on that till, lol. Rolled my truck off Rich mtn Bald in Aug 1988. While we were winching it out, I took a pic of a B52 flying that route. I'll see if I can dig it up.
We used to camp up there when the Riplogels (sp?) Owned it. Some rather wild times up there, lol
 
Not a B-52, but I'm sorry I missed this yesterday.

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Did you see it? NASA uses retired spy plane to survey, improve snow forecasts

If you looked up early Wednesday afternoon and noticed a unusual looking white aircraft high up against the clear Carolina blue skies, you caught a rare glimpse of a spy plane turned science platform for NASA. It returned to Pope Airfield shortly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday passing over Rocky...
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Not my photo, but this was about how high/size it was when I saw it - whatever it was....
 
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