Sticky Thread for MilAir II

[wildbillx]

where are you located jack? How far do you get. I have a discone about 20' and a 7db gain splitter. Is it worth the money?

 

[Mateo]

Little light, but even less traffic still lets me get a good 25-30 minute jag of listening and looking between work and dusk. From Gravelly Point 1645-1715:

1645: -118.4- PETTUS(?) 01 arriving [I saw a C-12 operating as TITUS 01 a few months ago, and this was probably the same.]
1648: -119.85- SAM 0895 (C-37 in the USA c/s seen) arriving 19R. To 119.3 and 118.4.
1700: -119.85- SAM 1018 (C-20 91-0108 seen) vectors for arrival 19R. To 119.3 and 118.4.
1712: -128.35- MARINE 767 (UC-35 166767 seen) vectors to arrive 1L with thanks to Tracon for "all the help." To 118.4.

 

[JackTV]

Wild Bill,
I am in central Baltimore County.I have only had it up a couple of days but overall
reception is GREAT!!!It is kinda hard to tell how far I can hear but I can now hear the ground controller for ZNY on one of the VHF freqs.I could never hear them with a discone!!!
I am using 100ft of LMR 400 cable. Is it worth the money??????......OH YEAH!!!!!


Jack

 

[Airfire]

Got a new LP for Xmas and I can hear ZNY controller on 133.475
NEVER been able to hear them before. Now if I can only hear the UHF side.

Jack

Jack;

Do you hear the ground side consistently on 133.475?
That's a good catch, 133.475 is the ZNY10 Harrisburg sector. The transmitter is in Michaux State Forest, Biglerville, PA in Cumberland County near the borders of Franklin and Adams counties.

From the Reistertown, MD area its about 50 miles.

Jim

 

[BM82557]

Activity this morning

Heard an unid aircraft on 143.800 at 9:56 talking about Atlantic City. Also mentioned a bullseye. Only heard one side of the comms. Signal strength of 2. At 10:00 heard more traffic on 143.800 then copied on 307.25 "flight of 2 alpha 10s southeast bound" by the same talker. Signal strength is up to 4. Ongoing comms on 143.800 about setting "cursor over my airplane".

 

[AES-256]

1110 - Roman 81 identified himself as a single flight F-18 talking to Elkins FSS 255.4

1117 - Roman 81 cancelles with Washington Center 319.1, Washington Center advises that frequency change is approved, squak 1200

1120 - Roman 81 back on 255.4 advising that he is 4 min out for 400 knots at 500 feet ( I assume that he is in a MOA in West Virginia)

 

[BM82557]

Notam for District of Columbia

NOTAM Number : FDC 6/9347
Issue Date : December 28, 2006 at 2308 UTC
Location : Washington, District of Columbia
Beginning Date and Time : December 30, 2006 at 2200 UTC
Ending Date and Time : January 02, 2007 at 1800 UTC
Reason for NOTAM : Temporary flight restrictions for VIP (Very Important Person) Movement
Type : VIP
Replaced NOTAM(s) : N/A
Altitude: From the surface up to but not including FL(180)
Effective Date(s):
December 30, 2006 at 2200 UTC (December 30, 2006 at 1700 EST) - January 02, 2007 at 1800 UTC (January 02, 2007 at 1300 EST)

 

[JackTV]

Jack;

Do you hear the ground side consistently on 133.475?
That's a good catch, 133.475 is the ZNY10 Harrisburg sector. The transmitter is in Michaux State Forest, Biglerville, PA in Cumberland County near the borders of Franklin and Adams counties.

From the Reistertown, MD area its about 50 miles.

Jim

Yeah,
As long as I turn the antenna facing North the signal is coming in.And I have some pretty big hills to the north of me.

Jack

 

[TinEar]

Heard an unid aircraft on 143.800 at 9:56 talking about Atlantic City. Also mentioned a bullseye. Only heard one side of the comms. Signal strength of 2. At 10:00 heard more traffic on 143.800 then copied on 307.25 "flight of 2 alpha 10s southeast bound" by the same talker. Signal strength is up to 4. Ongoing comms on 143.800 about setting "cursor over my airplane".

Must have been A-10s from Martin State...143.8 is their Raven Ops and 307.25 is ZDC-Dupont. Wonder where they were working?

And thanks for posting the TFR indicating another CAP covering D.C. for the ceremonies surrounding President Ford. I hope someone other than Shaw gets the duty this time. They've had more than their share recently.
*******************************************************

1110 - Roman 81 identified himself as a single flight F-18 talking to Elkins FSS 255.4

1117 - Roman 81 cancelles with Washington Center 319.1, Washington Center advises that frequency change is approved, squak 1200

1120 - Roman 81 back on 255.4 advising that he is 4 min out for 400 knots at 500 feet ( I assume that he is in a MOA in West Virginia)

ROMAN is VFA-106 from Oceana that I haven't heard for a while. I was thinking Oceana was closed today but just looked it up and they don't close until tomorrow for the holiday weekend. Good catch. That 400 knots/500 feet indicates he must have been flying one of the low level routes. Everyone seems to be doing a lot of that recently in this area.
*******************************************************
Jack, I think you've got everyone interested in that wideband LP from DPD now. It sure sounds good for the VHF freqs. I've got two antennas to get up once the warm weather returns - my MilAir LP from DPD with rotor and a dual-band corner reflector for both VHF/UHF MilAir comms. I plan to use the corner reflector without a rotor and just let it cover everything to the south/southeast since it has wide (90 degree) coverage. Figure that'll cover everything from Andrews/Pax and on down to Richmond/Langley and the offshore areas with Giant Killer.

 

[Mark]

According to AF website the VC-25 of the 89th AW will be the aircraft flying Gerald Ford this coming week.

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123036502

Mark

 

[BM82557]

Washington ARTCC site locations

Must have been A-10s from Martin State...143.8 is their Raven Ops and 307.25 is ZDC-Dupont.

Tinear, thanks for the follow-up to my post. I've seen A-10s in my area in the past but haven't heard them until I've started monitoring milair.

I found ZDC-Dupont in the RR list for ZDC but I don't know where it's located. The RR info lists the site location, freq etc but not the state the site is in. Does anyone know whether a chart or diagram exists showing the physical location of ZDCs sites?

Thanks

Brian

 

[TinEar]

Tinear, thanks for the follow-up to my post. I've seen A-10s in my area in the past but haven't heard them until I've started monitoring milair.

I found ZDC-Dupont in the RR list for ZDC but I don't know where it's located. The RR info lists the site location, freq etc but not the state the site is in. Does anyone know whether a chart or diagram exists showing the physical location of ZDCs sites?

Thanks

Brian

Brian, I believe the DuPont transmitter actually transmits from either of two sites....Hagerstown and/or [SIZE=-1]Potomac Airpark (Berkeley Springs, WV.) When or if they transmit from Berkeley Springs, I would imagine you'd hear the ground station perfectly.

By the way, the ZDC-DuPont freq changed to 307.25 probably 18 months or more ago. The newest FAA-AFA-100 document which is to be released as of 18 January [don't ask], still shows the old freq 385.4. I'm not sure what it takes to get those guys to update their lists. They still have the old 277.4 freq for ZDC-Kenton on the list that must be pushing two years since it changed to 354.15. None of the freq changes that have taken place over the last couple of years are shown on their newest document.

Hmmm...or am I confusing the DuPont site with the Hagerstown site? Both have changed frequencies. Is the new Hagerstown 227.125 freq the one that replaced 385.4? I have a case of CRS today.
Edit: Okay...took a walk outside, cleared my head and thought about it. The info I gave above is for Hagerstown, i.e., old freq 385.4, new freq 227.125 and transmitting from the locations I mentioned above. DuPont's old freq was 287.9 that changed to 307.25. The RCAG for that site is Modena. Modena is in PA. Specifically, the Modena VORTAC is located at 39-55-04.992N / 075-40-14.870W (A few miles from Coatesville PA in Chester County.

Alan
[/SIZE]
***********************************************************

According to AF website the VC-25 of the 89th AW will be the aircraft flying Gerald Ford this coming week.

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123036502

Mark, I wonder if the aircraft carrying President Ford will be given the honor of using the Air Force 1 designator? President Bush is also flying back from Crawford and he'll certainly be on Air Force 1 which would indicate something different for the Ford plane - if they're in the air at the same time.

 

[Mark]

Watching FOX and CNN as VC-25 departs Palm Springs 1315 local here.
Aircraft is VC-25 29000.
Commentator says callsign will be SAM 29000.
Expected Andrews direct in a little over 4 hours so you should here coming in
around 5:30 pm local.
That aircraft sure has lots of antennas on the top fuselage and I imagine many underneath.

Any idea what VHF freqs to monitor on way in from the West?

Mark

 

[TinEar]

Watching FOX and CNN as VC-25 departs Palm Springs 1315 local here.
Aircraft is VC-25 29000.
Commentator says callsign will be SAM 29000.
Expected Andrews direct in a little over 4 hours so you should here coming in
around 5:30 pm local.
That aircraft sure has lots of antennas on the top fuselage and I imagine many underneath.

Any idea what VHF freqs to monitor on way in from the West?

Mark

I guess we'll have to run through all the ZDC VHF freqs since we don't know if it'll be coming directly from the west or from a southern route on a northeastly course. I would guess they'll use VHF as AF 1 does on the ATC freqs.
As always, the first thing I'll be looking for is the SAM Interplane freq 136.725 to hear the lead aircraft giving flying conditions back to the primary aircraft's pilot. And, if I think of it, I'll listen for 300.4 to hear the secure data channel. If nothing else, that'll tell us the aircraft is somewhere within range of Andrews. Will they use that channel for President Ford's plane as they do for AF 1? Not sure.

1433: SAM 0793 landing runway 19R at Andrews with Tower...118.4
1441: BOXER 867 (C-38 or 40, 201st ALS, DC-ANG Andrews AFB) landing runway 19R at Andrews with Tower...currently 10 miles north...118.4
1442: BOXER 867 reports gear down...118.4

1512: MUSSEL 4 reports 10 minutes out, A-2 to Squadron Ops...292.2

NOTE: A couple of people have asked what that Regency Digital Flight Scan radio is at the bottom of my equipment list. Don't be fooled by the name. It's a very old (about 25 years) VHF only, 16 channel airband programmable radio. I use it just for listening to BWI. It blows away all the new radios for audio quality though. Everything is rock solid, clear as a bell audio feeding out of that radio with just the whip on the back of the radio. Don't need an external antenna to hear ground stations at BWI with it. And that Radio Shack Patrolman PRO-2 was my first home-based police/fire listening radio. It's tunable across low and high band VHF frequencies plus has a couple of crystal positions in it, circa late '60s. Just about 40 years old. It still works and, like all the old radios, has beautiful audio circuits. They forgot how to do that in recent years where all the built in speakers sound like mush forcing you to have an external speaker that still sounds nowhere near as good as the old built in speakers. How can you forget how to build a clean and clear audio circuit? I've been asking that question for the past 20 years or so.

 

[TinEar]

1640: COSMIC 45/46 (F-16 NJ-ANG) airborne with ZDC-Kenton 354.15 at 17,000 feet
1642: COSMIC 45 handed to ZDC-Swann 360.7 to enter the Guard Dog CAP
NOTE: SAM 29000 is with Indianapolis Center at this time operating on their VHF freqs...at FL 250.
1644: COSMIC 45 flight cleared to FL 210 by ZDC-Swann...360.7
Been a long time since we've seen the NJ-ANG F-16s have the Guard Dog CAP duties....PITMAN caught a break for a change.
1648: COSMIC flight working interflight freq...138.2
1649: COSMIC flight handed off by ZDC-Swann to 133.525 (he's wrong on this one) or 350.25...360.7
1650: COSMIC 45 flight to Guard Dog to enter area ...350.25 (Call Potomac Approach)
1650: COSMIC 45 flight changes to VHF with Guard Dog (Potomac Approach)...135.525...they are looking for TANKER 01
1651: TANKER 01 with HUNTRESS...4 minutes from entering the Guard Dog airspace...228.9
1651: COSMIC flight talking with Base Ops back at Atlantic City...261.0 (And also using it for an interflight freq)
1653: COSMIC 45/46 to HUNTRESS on 260.9 and check in on station
Just before going to HUNTRESS, they chatted on 261.0 about not having an interflight freq during the mission...to stay with HUNTRESS on UHF and with ATC (Guard Dog) on VHF...they agreed on that plan.
1656: TANKER 01 checks in with Potomac Approach...will descend to FL 240...135.525
I can barely hear the HUNTRESS ground station and have to open squelch to do it.
1657: TANKER 01 says he'll be on station until 'Zero Z' (1900 local) and then back to Bangor ME...confirms his aircraft type as a KC-135E...135.525 (So...he's only going to have a two hour shift apparently.)
1658: TANKER 01 wants FL 310 back to Bangor when he leaves...135.525

1701: COSMIC 45 gives PIREP to HUNTRESS...sounds like excellent visibility and flight conditions...260.9
This might just be a two hour CAP and nothing further until tomorrow...we'll see. If so, that would explain why the NJ-ANG got the duty.
1703: SAM 29000 with Potomac TRACON...119.85...he's asking for more direct routing...running late.
R.I.P. President Ford
1706: SAM 29000 reports coming up on ELDEE...119.85
1706: SAM 29000 cleared down to 6000 feet...119.85
1708: SAM 29000 cleared down to 4000 feet...119.85
1709: SAM 29000 cleared to 3000 feet...has field in sight...handed to Approach....119.85
1710: SAM 29000 to Potomac TRACON (Andrews Approach)...descending through 4500 for 3000 feet...cleared to 2000...119.3
1711: SAM 29000 cleared to approach runway 19R...119.3
1711: SAM 2900 handed to Andrews Tower and checks in for runway 19R...he's cleared to land...118.4
There hasn't been a peep from either COSMIC 45/46 or TANKER 01 during this approach sequence of SAM 29000.
1713: SAM 29000 reports gear down...118.4 (The ex-President's body and family are on the ground at Andrews)
1713: COSMIC 45 sent for a radio check by HUNTRESS to 288.35 (the old Guard Dog UHF freq...guess they're keeping it)...no joy there...260.9
1717: COSMIC 45 sent to 364.8 for a radio check...260.9
1717: COSMIC 45 has contact with HUNTRESS....nope, he makes contact with someone else there and says it was a mistake....364.8
1718: He checks with HUNTRESS on 260.9 to make sure the freq was 364.8..it was and he says that turned out to be a Center control freq.
1730: The ceremony at Andrews AFB is ongoing...live on all the news channels.
1732: COSMIC 45 tells HUNTRESS he's ready to go to TANKER 01 to refuel...tanker is off his nose at 10 miles...260.9
1734: COSMIC 45 and TANKER 01 make voice contact on refueling boom frequency...in a one mile trail...228.9
Note that the Guard Dog CAP is over Washington D.C. rather than the usual Thurmont area...I thought HUNTRESS' comms would be better as a result but it isn't happening - at least not on 260.9
1736: COSMIC 45 getting impatient..asks if he can make contact...the tanker tells him to hold on...228.9
1738: TANKER 01 clears COSMIC 45 in...asks for tail number...45 gives it as 84-1292...01 says this will be with autopilot off...228.9
1739: Pallbearers are removing the casket from SAM 29000...wow, the ceremony is certainly moving as they give the 21 gun salute on the flightline.
1739: COSMIC 45 and TANKER 01 disconnect...01 asks if he needs more...45 tells him he does and asks if that was a pressure disconnect...01 clears him back onto the boom...228.9
1742: COSMIC 45 disconnects...took 8000 pounds...says he'll send his wingman up...228.9
1743: COSMIC 45 reports back to HUNTRESS that he's established back in the CAP...sends COSMIC 46 to the tanker...260.9
1744: COSMIC 46 makes contact with TANKER 01...3 miles in trail...01 acknowledges...228.9
REACH 678T (C-17) on the way to Andrews coming through Indy Center now
1747: COSMIC 46 cleared to the boom...228.9
1751: COSMIC 46 disconnects from the boom...228.9 (No tail number, no fuel amounts given...they must have been on the boom intercom)
1752: COSMIC 46 reports back to HUNTRESS that he's reestablished back in the CAP block 22-23(000)...260.9
1753: The 40-car procession is starting to move from the runway at Andrews to downtown D.C. Fox Newchannel has had excellent visuals of the Andrews ceremony. The procession is going to Alexandria VA before heading into D.C. I'm not monitoring the police freqs...maybe someone can give us a report of the freqs used along the way.
1759: COSMIC 45 gives fuel remainder as 11,400 pounds...46 has 11,900 pounds...260.9

1817: Very quiet CAP...COSMIC 45 just had some unheard (by me) chat from HUNTRESS that he acknowledged...260.9
1819: COSMIC flight given a BRA to a TOI...080 degrees/53 miles/21000 feet...260.9
1823: COSMICs given BRA to new TOI after getting "skip it" on first one...this one is 336/24/26000...260.9
1824: And another - 345/40/9000...looks more like they are just checking various tracks on their Link 16...260.9
1825: They're going after this one...now BRAA 341/39/8000, tracking 140...260.9 (and then not much more on this track)
1830: COSMIC 46 confirming track number on his Link 16 for another target...260.9
1851: TANKER 01 asking COSMIC 45 if he needs more gas...45 says he won't if they get relieved in 10 minutes as planned...01 tells him they have more if needed...228.9 (Before going to this freq, COSMIC 45 looked for TANKER 01 on both 260.9 and 135.525. Found him on 135.525 and had him switch to the boom freq.)
I'm not sure the CAP will end as planned at 1900 local. The motorcade is still on the way to the Capitol...getting near though.
1855: TANKER 01 asks HUNTRESS for "release words"....228.9...couldn't hear the reply
1856: TANKER 01 to Potomac Approach to say he'll be heading back to Bangor at FL 310 if he's released on time...135.525 (He sounds anxious to get out of here.)
1856: COSMIC 45 tells HUNTRESS the last text message he received was at 2225Z...260.9
1858: TANKER 01 released by HUNTRESS...228.9
1859: TANKER 01 reports ready to RTB....135.525
1859: COSMIC 45 tells HUNTRESS they took about 6000 pounds of gas...both jets are Code 1....current fuel is 7300 for 45 and 7900 for 46...HUNTRESS release them...260.9

1900: COSMIC 45 and 46 go to U-1 and check in on 261.0
1900: COSMIC 45 calls Potomac Approach to say they're ready to RTB...135.525...they receive their clearance back to Atlantic City.
1902: TANKER 01 turned to course 060...135.525
And just as this is happening, the casket with President Ford's body arrives in the honor guards' hands in front of the Capitol Rotunda.
The CAP is officially ended for now.
1903: TANKER 01 handed off to 134.325 by Potomac Approach...135.525 (That's a ZNY freq and I'm not going to follow him.)
1904: TANKER 01 reports at FL 240, course 060...then realizes he didn't change freq, apologizes and says goodbye...135.525
1907: COSMIC flight cleared direct Sea Isle...135.525
1908: COSMIC 45 flight handed off to ZDC-Swann...135.525
1908: COSMIC 45 flight checks in at FL 210 with ZDC-Swann 134.5 (They take a VHF freq because they've already set up their 261.0 freq as interflight for the trip home.)
1909: COSMIC 45/46 chatting on interflight...261.0....45 mentions GPS is completely gone and it happened during the CAP...he decides that makes him Code 2 for GPS
1910: COSMIC 46 decides he'll stay a mile in trail with 45....45 says he's pushing it (speed) up to 400...261.0
1911: Fuel remainders...45 has 6400, 46 has 7200...261.0
1911: ZDC-Swann clears COSMIC 45/46 down to FL 180....134.5
1911: ZDC Swann clears COSMIC flight down to 15,000 feet..134.5
1913: ZDC-Swann hands COSMIC flight off to ZDC-Casino on either 127.7 or 285.4...134.5
1913: COSMIC 45 checks in with ZDC-Casino on 285.4
1914: COSMIC 46 calls Devil Command Post...261.0 (no joy to 2 calls)
1916: COSMIC 46 makes contact with Devil CP...reports 5 minutes out, gives 45 as Code 2 for GPS, 46 is Code 1...261.0
1916: COSMIC 45 handed off to ACY Approach by ZDC....285.4
1917: COSMIC 45 to Atlantic City Approach (U-6)...reports 27 miles to the west, says 45 will be on a full stop landing to runway 31, 46 will do a low approach ILS...327.125

Looks like that's all I'll hear from here. I just don't hear ACY Tower on 239.0 any longer. I've been asking someone to confirm that freq is still valid. Haven't received a response yet.

And we'll call that the end of the log.

 

[Mark]

Guess they finally gave those Shaw F-16's a break...
Tanker is a Bangor Maine KC-135.
Copy also SAM 29000 loud here on 119.850.."running late" down to 6k.
Looks like a quick CAP as Tanker 01 released back to Bangor on time 1900 local 0000z
on 135.525.
COSMICS also clearing out via Sea Isle.
1912 TANKER 01 134.325 ZNY Millville sw to ZNY 127.175 level 31k direct Kennebunkport/Bangor.
1916 COSMIC 45 AC 327.1250 AC appch

Tin wrote:
I just don't hear ACY Tower on 239.0 any longer. I've been asking someone to confirm that freq is still valid. Haven't received a response yet.

Sorry Tin I can confirm that AC tower is still 239.000.I don't hear as often either anymore but did hear the other day and tonite.
Not sure why but could be just atmospherics or local interference.
They don't seem to hit the tower freq till 2k or lower in altitude anymore so maybe that is it.

Mark

 

[freqhopping]

A little over an hour ago I was near Andrews AFB listening to its 380mhz system. I heard someone saying Ford's bird had an ETA of 80 minutes. Any time now.

Before that around 1:15-1:30 I was near Brandywine listening for 380mhz systems and the Andrew's guys were talking about the VP's arrival. I looked up to see the plane on approach.

About 5 minutes ago I was hearing the AF-1 radar noise on 300.4.


I've heard practically nil of this CAP, doesn't make sense. Anyone in the DC area ought to tune in the 009-0101 380mhz system. The 4XX talkgroups were hopping with all sorts of funeral-related comms. The Ft Myer system 002-0101 is active too.

1903- No problems hearing the tanker and COSMICs on 135.525 along with Potomac.

 

[BM82557]

Huntress on 260.9 is faint but readable from my location. 228.9 is loud and clear for both the tanker and the fighters.

 

[ka3jjz]

And if I copied this correctly, it looks like Cosmic 45 was looking for the tanker on 260.9 just a minute or so ago - this call usually is used by the NJ ANG, which I haven't heard in quite a while. The CAP is up. 73s Mike

 

[TinEar]

And if I copied this correctly, it looks like Cosmic 45 was looking for the tanker on 260.9 just a minute or so ago - this call usually is used by the NJ ANG, which I haven't heard in quite a while. The CAP is up. 73s Mike

See log above Mike.