The new bullseye of St. Thomas is northwest of the normal bullseye...earlier said it would be to the northeast MDT at Harrisburg but that has now changed. «228.9»
Lat/longs for St. Thomas are 39.55.59 North, 077.77.03 West according to HUNTRESS «228.9»
Meanwhile, TANKER 21 has been sent to freq «363.075» where he first calls New York Center and makes contact to say he's heading to THS (St. Thomas). However, his next call is to Cleveland Center on the same freq. This is the new freq I posted last week as an unknown. Now, all we need to do is figure out whether it's really ZNY or ZOB.
Fighters and tanker are all over the place with HUNTRESS and Washington Center/Guard Dog because of the change to the game plan. Meanwhile, ARROW 27 and 28 are just chatting away non-stop on tac «369.15» as they head home to Eglin.
2235: TANKER 21 again uses «363.075» and calls Cleveland again so I guess that's who really belongs to this freq. Put it in the ZOB column.
The first time I heard this freq last week, it was a handoff from the ZDC-Hagerstown 227.125 freq. That should give a general area and now that we know it's the Sector covering St. Thomas, that should pin it down quite a bit.
2241: TANKER 21 asks ZOB if they can hold over LEONI (39-59-07.280N / 078-19-21.120W (PENNSYLVANIA) because of weather. ARROW 31 is also with Cleveland Center on this freq «363.075»
2242: TANKER 21 settles on holding around Johnstown which is in Cambria County PA. «363.075»
2244: TANKER 21 says he can fly along with the ARROW flight when they get released to go home to Eglin if they can arrange to leave together so he can refuel them on the way. ARROW flight leader is thankful «228.9». He mentions going down to around Shaw.
2259: TANKER 21 and the ARROW flight are figuring up fuel offloads and how/when they'll need to move to the south before departing and how far the tanker can accompany them. The ARROW flight is worried about how they'll get from their present location down to south of D.C. because of the weather. «228.9»
2313: The ARROW flight is about to begin another refueling operation with TANKER 21. They're working out the logistics now. «228.9»
They decide to use primary as the boom freq this time around and by 2323, ARROW 31 has finished refueling and 32 is heading for the boom. «228.9»
The ARROW flight and TANKER 21 have worked out a plan they're trying to sell to HUNTRESS....they want to start moving south at about 0430Z so they are back in the lower end of the normal CAP area around the time their replacements should arrive. They want to do this to save the fuel (and shorten the trip I assume.)
I'm going to go out on another limb with that other new Washington Center freq 235.625 and call it the Salisbury Sector. I notice that the listed freq for the VHF side of Salisbury on 128.525 is dead and I haven't heard the 257.7 freq in quite a long time. The area they are in when handed off to 235.625 is also right for the Salisbury Sector.
2359: TANKER 21 calling Cleveland Center again on «363.075»
0012: TANKER 21 and ARROW 31 let Cleveland Center know they are going to begin refueling ops. «363.075»
Although CAP primary is still 228.9, HUNTRESS must have changed his transmitting antenna location when they moved the CAP north because I haven't been able to hear him since that move.
0015: TANKER 21 lets ZOB know they are going to go back to the Guard Dog freqs in 10-15 minutes. «363.075»
0015: ARROW 31 is cleared to the boom by TANKER 21. They are again using primary 228.9 for the refueling operations.
0025: ARROW 31 flight cleared back to the Guard Dog CAP at FL 240 and TANKER 21 at FL 350. «363.075» Say goodbye Cleveland.
0030: TANKER 21 and ARROW 31 flight handed off to ZDC-Blue Ridge «285.6» ARROW 31 comes up there and tells the controller they have VHF capability but it only works 10-15 miles range (explaining why he wants to stay on UHF.)
They must have been a good way to the west of St. Thomas (THS) to be handed off to Blue Ridge rather than Hagerstown.
0032: ARROW 31 checks in with Guard Dog «288.35» and says they broke MARSA with the tanker because he's up pretty high right now. (FL 350)
0035: ARROW 31 tells HUNTRESS they are surrounded by storms and wants HUNTRESS to work out a way for them to get out of the area when it's time for them to leave. Says they can't go as fragged. «228.9»
0041: ARROW 31 tells TANKER 21 that if they leave the CAP at 0600Z, they will need a total offload of 22,000 pounds of fuel to make it home. 21 says he needs to do some figuring now but thinks that will be tight. So 31 says he can make it on 20K. 21 still thinks that will leave him short. 31 makes another offer...if they don't take enough fuel to cover a divert and just enough to make it home they can do it with 16K. The next offer is to take some from TANKER 22 when he gets here and then just 10K from TANKER 21. They then leave it up to HUNTRESS to find out when 22 will get to the CAP area. So, once again fuel is a problem. «228.9»
0044: The word is that TANKER 22 is about 40 minutes out....so the plan is that shortly before 22 gets to the area, 21 will fill up the fighters and try to leave right away for home. The fighters can get the rest from TANKER 22 and, by leaving early, 21 will have enough fuel to get home. «228.9» Hopefully, TANKER 22 will arrive with his boom in the green - otherwise everybody is in trouble.
0053: TANKER 21 asks HUNTRESS to notify him when his replacement is 15 minutes out. «228.9»
0108: TANKER 21 again asks HUNTRESS the status of his replacement. «228.9»
0110: Whatever answer he got about the replacement, he tells ARROW 31/32 to begin coming to the boom for refueling. Apparently, things aren't going to work out the way they had planned because ARROWs replacements are going to be 15 minutes late so all the fuel computations are out the window. «228.9» ARROW asks for 10K apiece but TANKER 21 says he can only manage 7K each and with that he'll be bingo and must scoot for home after giving that much fuel. ARROW 31/32 will take what they can.
0118: ARROW 31 has his 7,000 pounds. «228.9» 32 moves in for his 7K.
0119: TANKER 22 calls TANKER 21 on «260.9» and 21 tells him he should be on 228.9. They arrange their altitudes and talk about the weather.
0125: TANKER 22 Heavy checks in with Guard Dog on «135.525» to enter the area at FL 250.
0128: TANKER 21 reports ARROW 32 is off the boom and asks Guard dog for his RTB clearance and requests FL 340. Guard Dog tells him he can make a right turn and head directly for Seymour (Johnson). «135.525»
0130: ARROW 31 is given location of TANKER 22 and the tanker's Mode 3 of 3146 by Guard Dog. «288.35»
0131: Guard Dog gives TANKER 21 final clearance to head for Seymour Johnson AFB SC and clears him to FL 340. And away he goes. «135.525»
0134: Guard Dog hands off TANKER 21 to ZDC-Brooke «126.875 and 21 checks in there.
0134: ARROW 32 is going to RTB and 31 is going to stay in the CAP. They also want a change in their flight plan back to Eglin...they want to go direct to Liberty TACAN and then direct Spartansburg and from there as fragged. «288.35» So...apparently, they are going to make do with just a single plane in the CAP.
No sooner said than changed...now they are going to be released together and their replacements will be in the area in 30 minutes. Its a fuel problem of course.
0135: ZDC-Swann on «134.5» talks to REACH 322 about refueling with an ETHYL tanker and advises him to go to the tanker interplane freq 139.875 to work out the details. I can't hear either the REACH or ETHYL aircraft on this freq (or on 360.7) so Swann must be controlling other sectors and simulcasting on this freq.
Found the REACH aircraft...he's transmitting on the ZDC-Woodstown freq «125.45» and is heading for ZIZZI to hold. ZIZZI=38-56-26.460N / 074-31-44.270W (NEW JERSEY). No telling where the ETHYL tanker is transmitting. Anyway, at 0145, ZDC-Swann hands off REACH 322 Heavy to ZNY on 128.3.
0143: Guard Dog calling ARROW 31 on «288.35» and gets no reply.
0146: Guard Dog says ARROW 31/32's relief is about 12 minutes out and confirms their altitude and again confirms that 31/32 are travelling home together. «288.35»
0146: ARROW 33 turns up on «228.9» and talks with 31 about the trip home and the weather along the way. Looks like everything is going to turn out okay in spite of the fuel shortage. 31/32 say they don't need to go to the tanker again and have enough to get home.
0150: ARROW 33 is a single ship according to Guard Dog on «135.525» He's still 10 minutes out with a Mode 3 of 1072 for the benefit of TANKER 22. So they will allow a single ship to cover the CAP and are allowing 31/32 to leave together to solve their potential fuel problem if one of them had to stay over. He could take gas from TANKER 22 but that would leave someone else short later on.
0156: ARROW 33 reports he's still 60 miles south of ARMEL. He's crawling. «228.9»
0157: ARROW 33 checks in with Guard Dog on «288.35» and picks up the Mode 3 of TANKER 22 which is 3146 and is told to come in at FL 230 and go to the tanker at that altitude or above. Guard Dog also asks ARROW 31 for his request for flight level for the trip home and 31 tells him he'd like FL 280.
Continued below......
