I had no idea they would send an aeronautical chart my way.I'm putting that on my to do list!
When i found your original post on this,i started checking the FAA site.I agree completely,it is very sporadic.Matter of fact,i haven't caught it on there yet.I depend on FR24 and FlightAware for any chance of catching a flyover.If it weren't for them,i would still be in the dark.And sometimes,even they miss it.I've had several flyovers that are still a mystery.I'll admit it,in these trying times we live in..........a flyover is sometimes the brightest spot of my day.Thanks to the men and women of our ANG and USAF!
At this time,my only scanning equipment is a Uniden BC700A from 1998.I bought it refurbished from a dealer in Popular Science magazine.That's taking a step back in time,ain't it?LOL.I have a small magnetic base antenna on my truck.Not very good,but most of my plane spotting is done at KCLT and KGSP.Or it was,before Covid.I use the LiveATC app when i'm out of range.It doesn't seem to recognize the 300 numbered freeks though.
The first time i ever heard IR721 mentioned,Epic 41 was talking to KCLT.The tower was asking questions about their flight plan.(I think they flew direct to "Critter" after leaving Charlotte).After talking to Charlotte Departure,they switched to 125.15 Wilkes sector.Then it was 127.85,and direct to "Roanoke".Next was 126.90 and "Point Alpha".At that point i was scanning 118.15 and 126.90 with LiveATC.
They seem to have a Sunday morning flight about twice a month.Last one was Epic 32 on 3/7,so i was hoping yesterday might be number two.Not so.Maybe next Sunday though.It looks like today is a bust,but Tuesday is usually lively.We'll see i guess.I can't figure out how to send you a message.I'm new to the site,are private messages done here?I have some iPhone video clips of Epic,and i can't see a way to upload them here.
so in trying to think of a friendly, non-hostile response, i have whittled it down to either "nobody likes a show-off" or "you make me sick". i just can't decide which one is best tho.
so you have basically figured out in a couple of months, what i have spent a couple of years working on, and then a number of things i haven't even considered yet. disgusting....
and you are using a...scanner i had to look up, which i must say, certainly must make things, challenging.
frankly i haven't bothered to think about the sector freqs in relation to IR721 as of yet, cause i have still been working on nailing down what the patterns (if even relevant) were. but considering 30-40% of the runs are by EPIC, and often wheels up from CLT direct to Pt A, i should have thought about that. nonetheless 127.85 wouldn't have occured to me cause it seemed too far afield.
also i am afeared that NCDOT is not offering print maps anymore, just the pdf. I looked for a while but couldn't find them. last time i got one would have been at least a year ago. alas....
interesting about the whole sunday run, as 3/7 was one of the few i have noted, which means nothing more than they are apparently far more frequent than i realized.
turns out, i was actually up at that early hour, and saw em start diving around Roanoke on adsbx. this gave me some wiggle room on time (not much tho). it occured to me this was a good chance to try a new spot.
having scouted a particular place on the west bank of the river that seemed to have potential, i had cut a path thru the swamp to expedite my passage from the highway. a brisk walk from the car requires 5 minutes.
comparing the times of a typical run, from where EPIC was, between Roanoke and the NC/VA line, i hit my stop watch and jumped into my grey ghost, who was already warming up outside. after a zippy 12 minute drive, i realized that a further 5 minute walk, when noting the time on my watch, was going to be a problem.
it appeared, i had somewhere/how managed to loose most of the 5 minutes of spare leisure time i had started out with. the carefully cut path, was shortcutted further, thru mud and briars and the true widowmaker of the flip-flop-hating-forest, exposed roots. as i reached the spot, the cursing and splatting, sploshing and sucking of air of the previous 150 seconds having surprised most of the woodland creatures on such a lovely sunday morn, and giving them reason to find a more tranquil place to sun themselves, i cut on my camera, put my hands on my knees, praying i would have a couple more minutes, to compose myself and my picture, but mainly to be able to surpress urge to throw up the breakfast that i luckily didn't eat...
at just that moment i hear:
"Stanly County, EPIC31-heavy, we're passing to the north on IR721"
with my left hand still firmly resting on my knee, i cocked my right hand up in the general direction.
Create photo books, personalize photo cards & stationery, and share photos with family and friends at Shutterfly.com.
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turns out the spot is only marginal. oh well. (something vaguely allegorical about that statement...)
shot from here, just for kicks:
ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live - aircraft flight history
globe.adsbexchange.com
oh and i wouldn't worry too much bout the pm's. most of the stuff i have figured out and learned etc, wouldn't have happened if the posts i read (usually years after they were written) had been pm's instead.
message boards, they are the collective memory that we run the risk of choking off.