My house was just buzzed by an F-18

[41magsnub]

Which is weird given I am in Montana and there are no air shows or anything....  really cool though.  It just landed at the Missoula airport.

[freedom lover]

No pics?   

How low was the jet?

[Tallpine]

Good thing that second engine didn't quit 

[Fly320s]

What have you been doing to attract the attention of the Marines?

[RocketMan]

I'm betting it wasn't the Marines.  Instead, my money is on the Navy.  And knowing how those sailors are, I'd ask what he's been doing to attract the attention of the Squids. 

[Bigjake]

Isn't that just the coolest thing?

I was coming back from Indiana saturday, and I got to see 6 F-16's buzz the Turnpike at low level, coming in to land. 

[Gowen]

We get to see them quite often, we have Top Gun training school out at Fallon Navel Air Station here in Nevada.  They come in and do touch and goes at the local airport.  The jets usually fly in pairs, by the time I run to one window they are at another and I just get to catch a glimpse of the tail on the way by.

I love them jets, our local air guard used to be F-4 Recon, they have since be changed to a C-130 cargo planes.  Not quite as exciting.

[Lennyjoe]

Odd to have one land in Missoula.  Maybe he was heading cross country or something. 

Then again, the Canadian Air Force flies F-18's as well.  Could of had an in-flight emergency and headed down that way.  Who knows for sure.

[Leatherneck]

Some Squid was lost and trying to navigate IFR*

TC



*I Follow Roads/

[grislyatoms]

Odd to have one land in Missoula.  Maybe he was heading cross country or something. 

I see an Osprey from time to time tooling around ABQ. I figure it's headed out to San Diego.

[Leatherneck]

Probably a CV-22, Gris. AFOTEC is finishing up IOT&E of the CV in support of the first AFSOC deployment, and they own three aircraft, although most of the testing is being done at Eglin.

TC

[RevDisk]

If you're ever south of Harrisburg PA, stop by Chickie's Rock near Columbia a bit early on a Saturday.   You'll often see A10's flying back from HIA or FTIG target ranges heading south following the river.   They tend to fly at roughly eye level.

[grislyatoms]

Probably a CV-22, Gris. AFOTEC is finishing up IOT&E of the CV in support of the first AFSOC deployment, and they own three aircraft, although most of the testing is being done at Eglin.

TC

Sorry, I don't speak alphabet soup, but I got the general gist of what you were saying...

Thanks for the info, it is a pretty cool sight, my daughter doesn't understand my fascination with it. She'll learn.

 
edited to add:
Ahh, so the C designates it's Air Force. Somehow, I was under the impression only the Marines used them. Kirtland AFB is just down the road.

[Desertdog]

When working on a Navy base, the best one I saw close up was a F-118 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter come in for a landing while I was working at the end of the runway.
A beautiful aircraft.

Watching Harrier jets landing vertically is also something to watch.  I was privileged to watch the first one to set down on our base actually land on the golf course.  They were showing it's capability off for the big wigs.  I never got tired of watching them land.

[grislyatoms]

When working on a Navy base, the best one I saw close up was a F-118 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter come in for a landing while I was working at the end of the runway.
A beautiful aircraft.

Watching Harrier jets landing vertically is also something to watch.  I was privileged to watch the first one to set down on our base actually land on the golf course.  They were showing it's capability off for the big wigs.  I never got tired of watching them land.

N.A.S. Oceana's Trap and Skeet range is right next to the runway or taxiway or something. Never got tired of watching them, either. 'Cept back then, I was watching the occasional Phantom, lots of Intruders and Tomcats.

[Fly320s]

F117... F118... whatever it takes.  

[Tallpine]

Odd to have one land in Missoula.

He probably had an engine quit and was just dropping in to get some wrenching done ... 

[41magsnub]

No pics?   

How low was the jet?

Couple hundred feet at the most, I basically live right at the end of the runway.  How close you ask?  A Cessna crashed about 300 yards from my house a few years ago.

[AJ Dual]

My grandparents used to live in University City just outside San Diego, and their back yard butted up against the 805. And on the other side of the freeway was Miramar and the main East-West runway.

The Blue Angles would be there often practicing, and since they lined up on the runway as a landmark to orient their loops and manuvers, their F-18's were constantly buzzing their house. As a kid, with my Mother's cheap fixed focus non-zoom 35mm camera could get a Blue Angle's F-18 to fill the frame, with the pilot's helmet clearly visible in the canopy. 

Seeing as my late grandfather was an Engineer, an FAA IFR certified flight-instructor, and HAM radio enthusiast, I guess the location of my grandparents retirement house was not an accident. 

[Bob F.]

Drivin' down the strip along the river and lookin' out to see a B-fity-freakin'-two at 100 feet off the water---lined up on the dam--is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Range was about 300meters!! Been a lot of years but I'll never forget it!

Occassioanlly have the fighters come up the hollow about 1/2 mile away; hear 'em but rarely get a glimpse. Then the C-130's drone by at about 501 feet!

Stay safe.
Bob

[Lennyjoe]

I was in the back seat of an F-16 doing 250 mph at 150 ft off the ground and then 7.2 g's going from 150 ft to 10,000. Talk about an awesome ride! Won Senior NCO of the year for our base last year and got an incentive ride.

[Desertdog]

F117... F118... whatever it takes. 

I think I stand corrected.  The one I saw was the first model of Stealth Aircraft made, which I guess was the F-117.  It was still an awsome, beautiful, unforgettable aircraft

[Phyphor]

I got to see a B-2 once back in '96 or so... I dunno where it was from, but I was about 20 miles west of Lancaster, CA and he was headed west.  Absolutely blew my mind.

[MillCreek]

Here is a question for you.  Say the Navy/Marines F-18 had a mechanical problem and landed at the Air Force base in Montana.  Last time I checked, the Air Force had no F-18's.  So does the Navy/Marines fly in a F-18 maintenance crew, or do the Air Force F-16/F-15 maintenance crew just boot up the F-18 service manual and go to work?   Does the military require type-certification of their maintenance crews before turning a wrench?

[Josh Aston]

I think I stand corrected.  The one I saw was the first model of Stealth Aircraft made, which I guess was the F-117.  It was still an awsome, beautiful, unforgettable aircraft

First modern stealth was made in 1944 by the Germans.  There was no F-118 though, the F-117 which is now out of service was a hideous beast, all angles and stuff.  The B-2 on the other hand, that is one gorgeous aircraft.