Sticky Thread for MilAir II

[BM82557]

167th at MRB

While I was out this afternoon I saw a C5 in the pattern at MRB. Of course I didn't have my rig with me!!! The first C5 arrived in 12/06 but to my knowledge hasn't been flown much, if any, as the techs/crews are getting up to speed with it. I certainly haven't monitored any comms in that timeframe indicating that it's been flown. Last I heard a second C5 is to arrive this month. Maybe that's what I saw this afternoon.


EDIT - I should have posted that the time I saw the C5 on final to MRB was at 2:46pm local.

 

[freqhopping]

Thanks to my newly created 'antenna' that I installed in my attic this past weekend I can now hear pilots talking to Martinsburg tower. I just heard a private plane talking to the tower from 5 miles out, so I imagine he couldn't have been too high. Hopefully I'll be able to hear the C-5s. I didn't make my antenna for particular band, just used stuff I had laying around. But it works great for UHF and VHF air. It's a metal rod about 2ft long with five pieces of speaker wire connected to it. The center piece is probably about 10ft long and connects to my coax feed. On each side of that a shorter pieces about 1ft long and on the ends pieces 2-2.5 ft long. It's situated across the peak of the rafters, ends running basically east-west.

As I typed I had:
1639- HAWK-01 asked that JOSA-468 be noted at a 2130Z departure. 378.1
JOSA-788 announcing 2136Z departure for Wright-Patterson 378.1
1645-VENUS-24- checking in .. 378.1
1715-I can hear pilot>Davison Tower comms like never before
1747- ROCCO-62 on 303.0 References to -61. McGuire tankers.

1923- Refueling activity on 238.9. One plane reporting he's 40 miles from Norfolk. Otherwise there is too much noise to understand anything else.

1929- OPEC-29 with Giant Killer on 118.125 says he will be a receiver for DC-22. Block is FL240-260

2020- 292.3 active, too much static to hear
2025- Giant Killer freq 391.2 active now, too much static there too
2025- And now 373.1 also GK. Lots of stuff I've never heard in the past.
2125- 292.3 is where the action is. Still haven't heard any callsigns.

Wrapping up for tonight with OPEC-29 calling McGuire once on 319.4 at 2209 and DC-22 calling Liberator once on 378.1 at 2215.
Also the BWI approach controller on 119.7 is currently transmitting from Leesburg on 135.525. He once mentioned that someone could contact him very the remote transmitter.

 

[Mark]

Getting activity on 365.700 which i have as a Navy Pax river freq.
Sounds like they are doing aircraft light testing.One aircraft does 360 turns and the other watches.
1940 local DEE-CEE 21 doing touch and go's at Dover 132.425/tower 126.350

Mark

 

[Mateo]

Nothing of real import heard this afternoon 1645-1730. Command Post on 378.1/141.55 is still heard from Gravelly Point, while the ground side of Tower on 118.4/349.0 still isn't.

VENUS 24 (C-20 86-0204 seen) arriving ADW, JOSA 438 (C-21A 84-0128 seen) arrives A-1, 5 pax, highest an A-4, PAT 756 off DAA, NAVY 7C 857 off DAA, PAT 7104 to DAA, and DEECEE 21 off ADW.

Frequencies were the usual; 118.95 for DAA departures, 119.85 to 119.3 to 118.4 for ADW arrivals, except for DEECEE 21, which went to 124.55 for its departure.

 

[Gemini]

Getting activity on 365.700 which i have as a Navy Pax river freq.
Sounds like they are doing aircraft light testing.One aircraft does 360 turns and the other watches.
1940 local DEE-CEE 21 doing touch and go's at Dover 132.425/tower 126.350

Mark

Mark,
I just finished reviewing the audio I had on this freq for today. On this Freq I had DOG Flight of 2 conducting ACMs. DOG is STRIKE (SALTY DOG) C/S.

Additional note. 341.95 was again DOG 1 & 2. Different aircraft though. the 2nd pair of DOGS was using 341.95 as their interplane while the first pair were using 365.7. Both pair were in ACMs with each other with a 2v2. The 2nd Pairs lead did come up on the first pairs freq when the decision was made to RTB.

So the next time you catch an ACM ongoing on 365.7 you might want to try to bring up 341.95 as well.

 

[Mark]

Thanks Jeff, I rarely catch those Pax River test flights so clear up this way,
Had that freq 365.700 plugged in for long time but rarely hit.

Aberdeen Army PG Maryland was booming also today up here again.
No need for scanner,just sounds like mild earthquake/lightning booms!
Must be more tank/howitzer artillery tests

Mark

 

[Gemini]

Thanks Jeff, I rarely catch those Pax River test flights so clear up this way,
Had that freq 365.700 plugged in for long time but rarely hit.

Aberdeen Army PG Maryland was booming also today up here again.
No need for scanner,just sounds like mild earthquake/lightning booms!
Must be more tank/howitzer artillery tests

Mark

Mark,

Feel free to check out the info I posted previously about the audio feeds. I feed PAX 24/7. I try to shy away from feeding the normal ATC stuff but do as needed. I am at work at the moment and listening to 4 of my scanners at the house right now. I am spolied

 

[TinEar]

I heard STEEL 89 asking for wx at Savannah as well as Cherry Point.
It is possible that they could be Marine Corp F-18's as have heard term Boom drogue hose inop etc on previous tankers.Going to the Boom still could be hose method
My guess...

VMFA-553 Hawks MCAS Beaufort F/A-18D

Mark

Mark, I think we were both wrong. After talking with a MA MilAir listener (part of which was on another board that you might have seen), I'm thinking these were MA-ANG A-10s that were with the STEEL tanker yesterday. The callsign goes along with their static call - HAWK and HAWK Ops, the MA-ANG had a planned deployment to Savannah, and the lack of an interflight freq heard might have meant they were using low band FM which only the A-10s do (although that one's a reach). Plus...STEEL picked the fighters up over Massachusetts where they were first heard and apparently went all the way to Savannah with them. I missed every bit of their ARTCC traffic because of not listening to the VHF Center freqs which STEEL was no doubt using to report for the entire flight. If I had figured that out early enough, I would have unlocked that bank to catch them and no doubt would have learned a lot more about the flight.
*****************************************

Something kind of interesting. I have been watching 382.7 for a few days now. I keep getting numerous radios checks and test counts. I had it in AM mode and the comms were very garbled. I just figured bad location. I just caught it active and decided to swich over to FM. Comms now clear as a bell.

It's PAX related and now that I can copy it clearer I'll hopefully be able to figure out it's usage.

Jeff, isn't that part of the new LMR system at Pax? If so, it should probably be NFM mode. It'll be interesting to note if they are mostly encrypted like the rest of the LMR 380-390 systems that have been installed. The Ft. Meade system seems to have very little in the clear - only the basic police functions. On the NSA system, occasional police transmissions in the clear are heard from time to time but everything else seems to be encrypted. And that seems to be the case all over the D.C. area with these new systems. Only the Uniden 396/996 can track those systems but since they are almost entirely encrypted, why bother?
**********************************************

While I was out this afternoon I saw a C5 in the pattern at MRB. Of course I didn't have my rig with me!!! The first C5 arrived in 12/06 but to my knowledge hasn't been flown much, if any, as the techs/crews are getting up to speed with it. I certainly haven't monitored any comms in that timeframe indicating that it's been flown. Last I heard a second C5 is to arrive this month. Maybe that's what I saw this afternoon.

Nice catch Brian. Keep us up to date on new C-5 arrivals if you can. Finding their operational freqs and callsigns will be important for future monitoring.
*************************************************

Thanks to my newly created 'antenna' that I installed in my attic this past weekend I can now hear pilots talking to Martinsburg tower. I just heard a private plane talking to the tower from 5 miles out, so I imagine he couldn't have been too high. Hopefully I'll be able to hear the C-5s. I didn't make my antenna for particular band, just used stuff I had laying around. But it works great for UHF and VHF air. It's a metal rod about 2ft long with five pieces of speaker wire connected to it. The center piece is probably about 10ft long and connects to my coax feed. On each side of that a shorter pieces about 1ft long and on the ends pieces 2-2.5 ft long. It's situated across the peak of the rafters, ends running basically east-west.

That sounds interesting Travis. Is there any possible way you can take a picture of it and post it? Or a rough drawing perhaps?

Alan
******************************************
And at about 1045, I'm hearing Warren Grove Range active on 283.1 and some A-10s from Willow Grove with Philly TRACON 269.25 and then to 291.7 - CADE callsign. Not really monitoring yet - just one radio on and happened to hear those two while walking by.
And at 1053, Northrup Grumman test flight aircraft N161NG is at Pax on 310.55 where he says he'll be working until 1300 local time....he then goes to "The Duty Desk" at Pax on 250.7 for a minute before returning to 310.55. While on 250.7, he mentioned getting him on 123.22(5). That's their normal "home" freq so he apparently has a company controller working at Pax today.
1059: HUSKY 50 (C-130H, 142nd AS, DE-ANG Wilmington) reports airborne...343.0

 

[CitationJet]

One addition to 01.16.2007

2002Z 119.300 Potomac APP - NAVY AX 995 (C-130T VR-53 NAF Washington) - descending through 4500' requesting sidestep 1L to 1R app QSY 118.400.

01.17.2007

1452Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - LOBO 02 (C-9 MCAS Cherry Point) - deps ADW to 17000' dir LDN QSY 118.675.
1454Z 118.400 Andrews AFB TWR - PAT 442 () - lands rwy 1R.

1516Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - AIREVAC 80005 (KC-135E 58-0005 117th ARS KS ANG) - deps ADW to 17000' dir LDN QSY 118.675.

1626Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - EVAC 65300 (WC-130J 96-5300 53rd WRS AFRC) - deps ADW to 11000' dir HAFNR QSY 121.050.
1626Z 378.100 SAM CP Andrews - EVAC 65300 (WC-130J 96-5300 53rd WRS AFRC) - late t/off due to FDR reset.
1646Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - PAT 179 () - deps ??? to 12000' dir GINYA-J149 QSY 118.675.

1726Z 119.300 Potomac APP - PACER 50 (C-21A) - @ 2000' cleared for the ILS rwy 1L.

1917Z 119.300 Potomac APP - REACH 01 (presumably one of the C-37s per yesterday's ACARS - two different aircraft used the same callsign, of course at different times of the day) - conducting apps.
1945Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - PAT 1264 (C-12T 85-1264 OSACOM VA RFC Davison AAF) - deps DAA 900 for 2000' init. alt. then cleared to 12000' dir GRUBY QSY 126.400.
1950Z 119.300 Potomac APP - JOSA 208 (C-21A) - cleared to land rwy 1L QSYs 118.4 for the full stop landing.
1955Z 118.400 Andrews AFB TWR - DC 31 - deps ADW.
1958Z 126.300 Davison AAF TWR - PAT 2401 (C-12T Davison shuttle) - deps DAA rwy 32 QSY 118.950.
1958Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - PAT 2401 (C-12T Davison shuttle) - 1000' for 2000' then cleared to 5000' dir GRUBY.

Off to Mateo National Airport now...

 

[TinEar]

1115: U/I on Pax discrete freq 264.55 mentions going to the tanker again (Couldn't find him anywhere after that transmission)
1121: U/I flight using suffix 11 with ZDC-Irons...mentions standard formation so it's more than one aircraft...360.85
1124: RAVEN pair of MD-ANG A-10s up with Raven Ops giving in-flight report...on their way home...347.2
1125: RAVENs on interflight freq...142.3
1129: RAVENs in landing pattern at MTN with Tower...297.2
1131: RAVEN 1 and 2 report gear down, then touch down at MTN...297.2
1134: There has been a PAT 236 aircraft calling Navy Ops at Andrews on 139.3 for the past several minutes without getting a reply. He finally transmits in the blind and mentions he has a "Two star general on board."
1150: BOLAR 70 (C-5 Dover AFB) to Dover CP to report he's A-3 with a #4 engine that won't take fuel...is returning to base...349.4
1157: U/I (???? 24) checking in at FL 250...says he's going to do an approach at Atlantic City and then go back to Cherry Point...cleared direct Sea Isle, direct Atlantic City...with ZDC-Salisbury 257.7

1203: Navy 691 to Patuxent controller on 354.8 giving him hell...seems they are barely going out of bounds in their flight pattern and are catching flack for it from Pax....691 says maybe they just shouldn't come out there anymore for their work...says the complaining from the controllers is getting to the point of "ridiculousness." Says Pax will get a call when they get on the ground. Mentions discrete freq 256.5 but couldn't hear the controller so don't know what the context was.
1207: Navy 691 says they're operating at the limits of their capabilities and from the air it shows they are right on the boundary...no intent on their part to ignore those boundaries...turning the aircraft as hard as they can to stay within the airspace...(he is just beside himself with anger over the "petty" calls the ground is making)...354.8
[Jeff, did you hear the conversation from the ground side? If so, what were the major points?]
Heard NAVY 691 go to discrete freq 256.5 and ask if he should remain on this freq but that was all I got from him there.
I thought at first the aircraft was the Northrup Grumman N161NG that got chewed out and was complaining because the voices sounded similar. Once I heard him make the switch to 256.5 and heard the callsign, I realized it was the Navy aircraft.

Very light activity today for whatever reason(s)...back later.

Sent to me by a friend...interesting...especially for those of us on this thread that understand the parts they just hint at in the article....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/16/AR2007011601755_pf.html

 

[Gemini]

Just waking up here.

Just waking up trying to figure out which direction to head in today. Not as busy as yesterday at the moment.

1142: 289.8 is active with apparent interplane for ACM. No C/S yet
1142: 250.7 active as well
1147: 383.7 With BUZZARD & BLACK JACK
1147: 238.9 for an AR in progress. No C/S heard yet
1200: 354.8 - BTN 8 - NAVY 691 with BAYWATCH. BAYWATCH advises due to 691s Airspace Infractions 691 is told he is being directed to EXIT the PAX RIVER AIRSPACE, descend below 4,000 feet and stand by for handoff to National. Unsure what 691 did but was bascially told to get out of here. 691 requests phone number to call Baywatch when back on deck at ADW. Interesting conversation. 691 later calls again advising BAYWATCH will receive a BUMP call about this. BAYWATCH adivises ATC wishes to talk to him now on 256.5. 691 evidentally spilled out of the PAX Airspace into WASH CTR Airspace and caused WASH CTR to have to re-direct traffic to compensate. 691 seems rather upset about the whole deal and adivises he doubts they will return to PAX areas from here on out.

Tinear, The ground comms in a nutshell were that PAX RIVER is in WASH CTR Airspace and after muilitple WASH CTR AIRSPACE Incursions it was decided that the aircraft needs to get out of the Test Area. The ADVISORY "BAYWATCH" guy advised him of this and then the TOWER controller reiterated. Basically PAX and all aircraft within have to abide by WASH CTR RULES. This aircraft had repeated airspace incursionS and basically was told "NOT HERE".

Just a thought. Has anyone ever profiled PAX ADVISORY "BAYWATCH " freqs to find out whether or not a specific freq might be used for a specific test area? For example is freq XXX.XXXX commonly associated with 4006? The though just occured to me that this might be a good possibility. I know GK has certain freqs associated with certain areas and it makes sense PAX would follow suit. Once I get my shack a little further along I may start keeping an eye out for that.

 

[TinEar]

Jeff, ref your BUZZARD activity on 383.7 earlier....
Heard BUZZARD 81 operating for quite awhile on Pax freq 305.2 and finally at 1237 was handed off to ZDC-Coyle 121.025 and from there to ZDC-Sea Isle 133.125. At 1253, he was handed off from Sea Isle to a ZNY VHF freq I believe and that's where I dropped him. I have no idea who he might be.

I can't say I've noticed specific freqs at different Pax areas but I mostly only follow the ANG units that go there. They seem to prefer operating on their own freqs while at Pax and occasionally ask for a discrete freq which always seems to be either 256.5 or 264.55 for those units and it doesn't seem to matter which area they're in. The only differences I've wondered about are the entry freqs. Most ANG units enter Pax on 305.2 except for the MD-ANG A-10s which prefer 314.0 for some reason. Some units seem to leave on 305.2, some on 270.8 or 281.8. But operations within the several restricted areas on specific Pax freqs I've never noticed.

However, the biggest question of the day is why it's only 31 degrees at 1 in the afternoon. 70 degrees one day and freezing the next. It's unfair I tell you!

P.S. A WILD flight of F-16s took off from Andrews a minute or two after 1300...heading northeast and are currently with ZDC-Sea Isle 281.45 at 1309. Interflight 139.15...and now 143.6 also active which means a second flight is up...it's SCARY, a two ship F-16 flight.
WILD handed off to Giant Killer 255.0 at 1314 for entry to W-107....no reply to several calls. Makes contact at 1316 and says they'll be MARSA with SCARY...it's mission A-1709 - if you're counting. WILD IDs as a flight of two F-16s. SCARY flight is a few minutes behind the WILD flight. WILDs to Giant Killer's tactical freq 337.225 at 1319 which will become a "common" freq for both flights as they normally do. Both flights will maintain their interflight freqs for work. SCARY flight entering W-107 with GK at 1321 at FL 210 on 255.0. SCARY meeting up with WILD on 337.22(5) at 1325 to begin their mission.

 

[Gemini]

Tinear, COPY on BUZZARD. I knew hew was a visitor and had him working with BLACKJACK last week I think it was. Have him recorded and will review tonight.

As far as the entry freqs. I have a RDR ATC FACILITY PROCEDURES book here for pax and it does lay out what freqs incoming and outgoing aircraft are to use when going to/from the majority of the Mil Bases in the Mid Atlantic region. So there does seem to be a plan for that much.

I'll start trying to notice what freq BAYWATCH transfers them to when they CHECK IN and note the AREA they will be working. I just about bet there is a plan of some sort. Maybe unofficial but a plan non the less

1313: 360.7 just hit and I thought I had SCARY in there

 

[Mark]

News post from WDEL radio website..
Finally getting rid of that wrecked C-5 at Dover. video link http://www.wdel.com/news.php?n=N&s=2
The C-17 in video I believe is REACH 55140 from March AFB,had him landing this morning from overseas.

Mark

More than nine months after falling from the sky with 17 people aboard, workers begin the process of removing the ill fated C-5 from a field across from the Dover Air Force Base.

A machine called mobile shears crunched through one of the wings of the aircraft as crews dismantled the plane to send it to be recycled.

It was April 3rd of last year when the plane, following a similar flight path as this C-17 took Wednesday morning, fell short of its intended runway at the base, splitting into three pieces.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Ruse, Commander of the 436th Civil Engineering Squad at the Dover Air Force Base says many elements led to the time line of leaving the plane on the ground for so long.

Ruse also said the removal couldn't begin until preliminary environmental studies took place...Studies which showed no contamination leaving government property.

The process of getting rid of a plane the size of a C-5 is a difficult one.

Neil Gloger, the site manager for Intergroup International, the contractor hired for the job, says not only the plane's exterior can be reused.

Gloger says the removal process should be wrapped up in a week, and estimates the scrap metal from the plane worth between $60,000 and $80,000.

 

[freqhopping]

First thing I'm hearing as I just got home is 391.2, just enough to know someone is there.

This is what my antenna looks like. Just compared reception of the Leesburg airport automated weather signal. Compared to my modified Radio Shack magmount it adds 2 bars of signal strength.

MUSSEL-03 in vicinity of Tysons Corner requesting Route 5. 120.75

 

[TinEar]

This is what my antenna looks like. Just compared reception of the Leesburg airport automated weather signal. Compared to my modified Radio Shack magmount it adds 2 bars of signal strength.

Thanks Travis. That puts it into a better perspective rather than trying to imagine it which I was having trouble doing. How is your coax connected to that long center piece of speaker wire? I'm assuming when you say "speaker wire" you mean double strand wire that we normally take as being positive and negative/ground or is it just a single wire run? The speaker wire must obviously just connect to the center conductor of the coax run, correct? I'm assuming you just soldered the other end (both sides of the double strand speaker wire run) to the iron bar. If those assumptions are correct, it might be interesting to put something like that together with aluminum or stainless steel rods rather than flexible wire for the 1 foot and 2-2.5 foot vertical arms. Did those two sizes for the outer arms just happen to be that length or did you use some formula to arrive at those sizes? I'll assume that setup is giving you a figure-eight reception pattern off the sides. Okay...I'll stop asking questions now.

Alan

 

[freqhopping]

This thing is a field-expedient antenna all the way. I'm using a single strand of wire for each section. I stripped the ends and just wrapped it around the rod and twisted it around on itself. No rhyme or reason for the lengths, just experimenting. Connection to the coax is: wire>paper clip inserted into female-female BNC coupler> F-male BNC-male connector>F-female which is on the coax (18 AWG cable tv coax).

1620- Visual on a C-17 crossing ELDEE/ARMEL.
1625-REACH-3124 calling Navy Base Ops on 386.8

 

[Mark]

Just had a Kalitta 76 arrive Dover on VHF appch landing runway 1.
Usually hear calllsign CONNIE for these but this was just KALITTA 76.

Mark

 

[CitationJet]

01.17.2007 (CONT'D)

2040Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - MARINE 101 (C-37) - dir LDN to 17000'.
2045Z 118.400 Andrews AFB TWR - BOXER 952 - 6 mis out on the vis. to rwy 1L.

2100Z 119.850 Potomac APP - PACER 07 (C-21A) - dir DCA then dir ADW decend to 4000' QSY 119.300.
2102Z 118.400 Andrews AFB TWR - JOSA 109 (C-21A) - lands rwy 1L.
2110Z 119.300 Potomac APP - VENUS 02 (VC-25A vis. conf.) - conducting mult apps to 1L.
2118Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - PAT 442 () - deps ADW 1200'-3000' init. alt. vects. for the climb.
2120Z 139.400 Davison AAF Ops "Davey Ops" - PAT 2402 (C-12T 85-1267 afternoon shuttle) - i/b 10 mins. out tail #267 parking hot spot.
2121Z 119.850 Potomac APP - PAT 2402 (C-12T 85-1267 afternoon shuttle) - expect vis. app to rwy 32 QSY 126.300.
2122Z 119.850 Potomac APP - REACH 3124 (C-17A 03-3124 437th AW vis. conf.) - req. vis app to ADW rwy 1L descends o/h DCA on the app QSY 128.350 @ 3000'.
2123Z 119.850 Potomac APP - PAT 1264 (C-12T 85-1264 OSACOM VA RFC Davison AAF) - desc. for the app to rwy 32 @ DAA QSY 126.300.
2159Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - PAT 093 () - deps DAA 1000'-2000' init. alt. then cleared to 8000' QSY 126.650.

2214Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - PAT 2403 (C-12T 85-1267 afternoon shuttle) - deps DAA cleared to 5000' dir GRUBY.
2215Z 119.300 Potomac APP - VENUS 21 - 1000' for 2000' dir to RATTA then w/ ADW TWR on 118.400 @ 2230Z for the TACAN app to rwy 1L.
2227Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - PAT 603 - @ 3000' then cleared to 8000' dir CSN QSY 126.650.
2235Z 257.200 Potomac DEP - SCARY 1 - cleared to 14000' then to 16000' dir JERES then cleared to FL210 QSY ZDC-Westminster 227.125.
2242Z 257.200 Potomac DEP - WILD 1 - 14000' for 17000' QSY 254.250 then QSYs to ZDC-Westminster 227.125.
2251Z 118.950 Potomac DEP - JOSA 208 (C-21A) - deps ADW to 17000' dir GINYA QSY 118.675.
2253Z 141.550 GRIFFIN CP Andrews - JOSA 208 (C-21A) - pass t/off time of 2250Z to TACC.

 

[freqhopping]

Lots on fighter activity on the VHF channels. BICEP flight with DARKSTAR sim was some of it.
138.425, 139.15, 138.875

Now have Bluegrass Ops calling NIGHTHAWK-15 on 241.0.
1850- NIGHTHAWK-15 is 6 minutes out, received wx report and cleared to land on Hotel-4.
1904-NIGHTHAWK-15 has departed, checking in with Potomac Approach on 120.45 three miles west of Upperville. RTB Quantico.
1908- Handed off to 124.65