Air-Air chatting 132.525 & 134.075

[gldavis]

Listening to a couple of "pilots?", talking to each other over the Great Salt Lake (GSL). They were talking about "targets" and Fremont Island, among other things. Sounds like aerial surveillance, but at 05:00 in the morning, I don't see how or what they are able to see. They were on 132.525, then switched over to 134.075 as they headed west. I have heard these guys in the past, but on other freqs. Normally early in the morning.

 

[littona]

Interesting... FCC search for licenses comes up pretty slim. 132.525 is licensed to Hopkins Field Airport in Nucla CO. Sounds like they "don't need a license".

 

[ChrisP]

Aircraft are licensed by service - that is they are licensed to any frequency in the VHF aircraft band. You can sometimes see the posted license near the cockpit door on commercial aircraft.

There are some specific FCC licenses for base station operations and fixed stations.

- Chris

 

[nd5y]

I don't see how or what they are able to see. ... Normally early in the morning.

Maybe they are tracking animals.

 

[KK4JUG]

Sounds like aerial surveillance, but at 05:00 in the morning, I don't see how or what they are able to see.

If they have FLIR, they can see a lot.

 

[jaspence]

A couple of years ago I picked up the Thunderbirds on their way to Thunder Over America at Willow Run Airport. The chatter was just a series of nonsense statements, nothing to do with flying or any other real subject.

 

[gldavis]

They get on a chat channel, and the sky is the limit.
The first I heard of the Sept 11 attack, was from a couple pilots chatting on 123.450, about the first tower getting hit. They (we) didn't know what had happened. Then I heard a VA State Trooper calling in about a plane hitting the Pentagon. Interesting day on the scanner.

 

[gldavis]

Some of their conversations make me want to think they were/are working with the shrimp boats out on the lake.

 

[gldavis]

Those two are back up on 122.7250. Boy, those guys like to talk.

 

[KK4JUG]

Strictly out of curiosity, I was wondering how far their transmissions are reaching out. It's pretty much line-of-sight and there are not a lot of power lines or trees at 5,000 ft.

 

[BushDoctor]

Square root of 5000 times 1.23=87 nautical miles

 

[gldavis]

I am also hearing the commercial fishing boats out on the lake. It is a great ground plane/reflector of radio waves.