IR721 scheduled today 1645-1745L & 1930-2145L, 7-28-2020

Status
Not open for further replies.

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
So the Military Training Route, IR721, is blocked out twice (technically thrice) today, but of note is a very long continuous time block, 2 hours 15 min, which I haven't seen before. This could mean all sorts of things but seems worthy of a mention for anyone in the Piedmont area along the route. If you haven't seen em on the route before, or have been disappointed by a no-show, today is looking pretty good from a statistical POV.


Required (tho not always done) reporting points/freqs
126.275/291.9 KVUJ between Pt. H-I (Lexington to Troy leg)
307.8 for CLT sometime after Pt. I but before SC
318.1 after crossing into SC

238.650 heard as A2A on a multi-ship run once
236.000 the freq used prior to switching to above same

anyone wanting to double check my arithmetic can feel free:

 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
Soooo, yesterday and today has seen a flurry of schedulings for IR721. Some posted and removed, to be replaced by others before the time for the first arrived. the current list is as follows:

IR IR721_A_K 09/03/2020 16:45 09/03/2020 17:45 ZJX 003 080 MTR / AR
LOCAL TIME 1245 1345


IR IR721_A_K 09/03/2020 23:15 09/04/2020 00:00 ZJX 003 080 MTR / AR
LOCAL TIME 1915 2000


IR IR721_A_K 09/04/2020 00:00 09/04/2020 00:45 ZJX 000 080 MTR / AR
LOCAL TIME 2000 2045


VR VR1721_A_I 09/03/2020 18:00 09/03/2020 18:45 ZDC 003 015 MTR / AR
LOCAL TIME 1400 1445

The occasion i first posted this, might i add, i saw nor monitored any activity on said route. while i have caught a C-17 since then, on the route, at the correct listed time, including that one run, made it a 1 for 6 record for the past couple of months. *grinds teeth*.

so why am i bothering ya'll with this? cause this is the first time i have seen a posting for VR1721, ever. in fact from the AP1B listing for VR1721:

Special Operating Procedures:
(1) VR-1721 will not be flown unless the aircrew has filed for
IR-721 and IFR procedural problems are encountered.


and so it's a bit confusing, especially since this was scheduled yesterday. for those non-nerds out there who don't know, VR1721 is the exact same route as IR721 but with different flying parameters, like being allowed to do terrain following with less restriction, tha good stuff.

it is also listed as Pt A-I instead of the whole thing, Pt I being just outside of Troy. It could be anyone on it today, but i will mention that a number of times when IR721 was scheduled it turned out to be our good friend EPIC (KCLT ANG C-17) who about half the time will call into KVUJ (Stanly) after H, request the tower cancel the route for them, continue to Pt I and then come in for some pattern work at KVUJ.

So we'll see :)
 

lowlevelNC

Newbie
Joined
Mar 17, 2021
Messages
3
I hope this is the right kind of post for this topic.I'm new to the site,and i share an interest in the IR721 route.The route has been more active the last couple of weeks.Moose,Lion,Pitt,Eagle,and Epic have all strafed my neighborhood.Poor weather conditions hampered photography.But i try to snap a photo whenever i can.IMG_6287.JPG
 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
dang you can bout read the numbers on that thang! you lucky bugger, you live out on the lake don't you? i gotta drive 100mph when i see em dive going over Roanoke just to get to the first closest spot!

well maybe just 80. but 100 if they have made it to the state line!!

har

i've been figuring there had to be some other poor soul out there :)

DSCF3386 LIFTR31 09-9212 IR721 1252h 1-29-21.JPG

pretty sure that's going to be my "peaked-out" pic.

NC's Mach Loop- har har
 

lowlevelNC

Newbie
Joined
Mar 17, 2021
Messages
3
Those pictures are awesome!Especially the dam (not damn) shot.:giggle: We do have a Mach Loop don't we?How cool is that!
I'm about halfway between Yadkinville and Mocksville.In my area he's usually 1500ft or so,with the lowest being 850ft.There is a golf course south of here,i think it's near Albemarle,and he was 300ft over there the other day.(!!!!)I imagine somebody probably shanked a putt when that happened.Lol.

I've lived in this general area since i was a kid.I always wondered why those jets strafed this neighborhood.Only found out about IR721 a few months ago.I was listening to Epic 41 one night and i heard him talk to Roanoke about it.

I've been reading your posts on what to listen out for.Sure enough,i heard him get permission for "terrain following" on Wednesday.It's neat to learn more about our Mach Loop.I'm guessing Sunday is our next chance of a flyover?
.
 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
Those pictures are awesome!Especially the dam (not damn) shot.:giggle: We do have a Mach Loop don't we?How cool is that!
I'm about halfway between Yadkinville and Mocksville.In my area he's usually 1500ft or so,with the lowest being 850ft.There is a golf course south of here,i think it's near Albemarle,and he was 300ft over there the other day.(!!!!)I imagine somebody probably shanked a putt when that happened.Lol.

I've lived in this general area since i was a kid.I always wondered why those jets strafed this neighborhood.Only found out about IR721 a few months ago.I was listening to Epic 41 one night and i heard him talk to Roanoke about it.

I've been reading your posts on what to listen out for.Sure enough,i heard him get permission for "terrain following" on Wednesday.It's neat to learn more about our Mach Loop.I'm guessing Sunday is our next chance of a flyover?
.

Well you certainly got a faster jump on things than i did. I think it was 2015 that i got my first aeronautical chart and saw the MTR's (NCDOT will send ya one for free, SC as well). It was probably 2 years before i had the first indication that anyone was running it. There are a number of others listed in my, shall we say, AO, and as far as i can tell they never get used.

i heard them calling out to KVUJ but not until 2019 did i hear it happen and i happened to be somewhere in the path to get a clear shot.

so your 2 months beats the pants off my...4 years.

fairly early on i came across this see an avoid site :


but it was probably a year before i ever saw anything listed on it. it is used, but not at all regularly, sporatically for a while and then not at all for long periods, and regardless you still only get a maximum or 24hrs heads up and usually, if one checks it regularly, less than 6 hours before go-time is common.

and with all of that heads up, they seem to only show up about 30%of the times that it is shown to be scheduled(daytime runs that is, much better percentage for nighttime runs, though i haven't a clue why) . packing up ones gear, trudging back to the car and cursing is usually acompanied by the whoosh of turbines cruizing overhead, yet i never know if that is the one who even had things scheduled!

what freq was EPIC talking to KROA on? i m a bit far out to catch it but i try to set up on "high elevation" areas when i can, and anything helps. the lower they are, the cooler the pics, but also the harder it is to hear them call out to KVUJ, when they even bother (they have a lot to do i suppose :) ) when on foot, even when using a 36 inch whip on the ole scanner.

that dam photo is the perfect example, i thought i had missed him, thinking he probably passed over to the east of where i was, huffing and puffing and trying to get another camera set up anyway, heard the spooky whine, looked up and just pointed the camera that was already on in the general direction.

i dunno how you go about things, but with the recent military usage of adsb, i have been logging/bookmarking as many runs as possible thru adsbx and studying the variations of the route and mapping out options and possibles that way. it has been a serious leap forward for me.

out of curiosity, how did you reach your conclusion of Sunday as a flyover chance?
 

lowlevelNC

Newbie
Joined
Mar 17, 2021
Messages
3
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.
 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
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.
IR721 EPIC31 3-7-21 CEDAR CREEK IMG_1712-2.JPG

IR721 EPIC31 3-7-21 CEDAR CREEK IMG_1715-2.JPG

turns out the spot is only marginal. oh well. (something vaguely allegorical about that statement...)

shot from here, just for kicks:


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.
 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
There is a golf course south of here,i think it's near Albemarle,and he was 300ft over there the other day.(!!!!)I imagine somebody probably shanked a putt when that happened.Lol.
is this the course you're talking about? the area looks promising (at least via google earth) for spots to set up for.


the farmington road bridge over I-40 kinda jumps out at me as a possible good spot assuming it gets you high enough over the terrain. speaking of terrain following, the run linked above, note altitude at high rock mountain, 950ft, 575ft just prior to it. obviously these numbers aren't exact perse, cause most of high rock mountain is over 950ft in that section.

i have thought many a time about how awesome it would be to set up there, needless to say its a gated community....

i bet they paid extra when they learned at least thrice a week they could wave out their kitchen window to one of America's finest pilots while they did their dishes :) yuk yuk

i need richer friends...
 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
well a swing and a miss, wrong place, right time.

tho its always interesting when one sees an example of the -relatively- crowded skies.



4-6-21 EPIC31.jpg

4-6-21 bug on windshield .jpg

--EPIC31
15:23:24 Z
318 knots
2,825ft



---Bug-On-Windshield
15:23:27 Z
99 knots
2,200ft (and descending, tho i would be diving)



open each link in a separate tab/window and toggle between the two...

i see this sort of thing somewhat frequently, much to my surprise.


planes have rear view mirrors right?


not that it would have mattered, i guess technically EPIC was in his blind spot...such that one could exist for a C-17....
 
Last edited:

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
well a swing and a miss, wrong place, right time.

tho its always interesting when one sees an example of the -relatively- crowded skies.



View attachment 101896

View attachment 101897

--EPIC31
15:23:24 Z
318 knots
2,825ft



---Bug-On-Windshield
15:23:27 Z
99 knots
2,200ft (and descending, tho i would be diving)



open each link in a separate tab/window and toggle between the two...

i see this sort of thing somewhat frequently, much to my surprise.


planes have rear view mirrors right?


not that it would have mattered, i guess technically EPIC was in his blind spot...such that one could exist for a C-17....

well thats just 2 static images mister. let's go to the tape and see if the officials made the right call!

the FR24 INSTANT REPLAY


movin' pictures makes it more interesting, especially considering they had about 500ft vertical separation, and vastly different airspeeds
 

ai8o

Brachiating Tetrapod
Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
331
Location
Lexington, NC
Is the little airplane (the slower moving one), “bug on a windshield”, a high wing design?
I.e. can you look straight down at the ground directly below?
The local elevation in this area is around 600 to 700 feet asl.
Flying at 2200 asl would mean that the plane was about 1500 agl.
 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
yeah it is a C172. altitudes i am stating are coming straight off adsbx, so its agl/asl/msl whatever is being reported, i presume theyre all on the same page. if you are implying diving from 1500 ft is a bad idea, i won't argue that point. i dunno what i would do in that situation.
 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
just fyi heard EPICxx report Point Delta on 327.075 the other day, first time I have heard them do that tho.

tonight/ Sunday Morn:


IRIR721_A_K05/09/2021 01:4505/09/2021 02:45ZJX003080MTR / AR
IRIR721_A_K05/09/2021 15:3005/09/2021 16:30ZJX003080MTR / AR
 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
two daytime runs, two EPICS, both hit as scheduled, i was pleased.

126.275 "EPIC32, 10 miles to NW, would like to cancel flight plan for IR721" , 5/9/21 1545h.

Would have appreciated the call prior to passing me, but I gotsa good ears, so no harm no foul this time.


IMG_2418 EPIC32 00-0183 1300ft 5-9-21 small74.jpg


IMG_2424 EPIC32 00-0183 1300ft 5-9-21 smaller78.jpg

IMG_2430 EPIC32 00-0183 1300ft 5-9-21.JPG


Sister ship round 1150h:

 

spacellamaman

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
1,288
Location
municipality of great state of insanity
two daytime runs, two EPICS, both hit as scheduled, i was pleased.

126.275 "EPIC32, 10 miles to NW, would like to cancel flight plan for IR721" , 5/9/21 1545h.

Would have appreciated the call prior to passing me, but I gotsa good ears, so no harm no foul this time.


View attachment 103477


View attachment 103473

View attachment 103478


Sister ship round 1150h:



PITT's on the way!


IRIR721_A_K06/01/2021 21:0006/01/2021 21:45ZJX003


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top