Tankers, Choppers & Some Weather
A beautiful February day in the Texas Panhandle along with some raging SDS and cabin fever beckoned me outdoors. Off in the distance, I could see a large plane circling the airport...one I've seen numerous times. A couple of previous attempts to go view it failed as the plane left for it's homebase as I got there (kinda like some storms I try to chase..lol). Today, I got lucky...AND enjoyed a nice bonus surprise too.
Rick Husband International Airport is not only served by Southwest Airlines (wanna get away?), but is also home to a Bell Helicopter facility which builds the V-22 Osprey and Cobra/Huey upgrades and refits. Even cooler than that is that it is also serves as a training facility and layover for military aircraft as well. Heck, we've even had the Space Shuttle land here last July piggybacked on a 747....which, painfully, I missed.
The big plane I keep seeing circling the airport all of the time is a KC-135 Tanker doing touch and go landings. According to Jay McCoy, this is a preferred airport because of the frequent strong winds...especially cross winds. Combined with it being a low traffic airport, it's ideal for such military training. I was able to identify the plane as part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing from Altus AFB.
In addition, they don't have the airport secured in miles for every direction, so you can actually get close to the runway. I didn't get too crazy with that liberty though. Camera-toting civilians around the perimeter of an airport nowdays gets the bored security personnel out here a bit excited. Nobody seemed to mind my activity though, so I snapped away.
I start off with my little bonus surprise which was a small squadron of army medical helicopters, UH-60Q Medevac Blackhawks, landing at the airport as I approached. The crews were all piling into a small restaurant there called the English Field Restaurant. I've not eaten there (yet), but hope to someday. I've heard it's pretty good. The Army crew certainly seemed to be chowing down on the food pretty heartily. I'm assuming that this was simply a layover and refueling stop for them for some sort of training mission. When they took off, they circled out west and then back to the SE...perhaps to Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas. Who knows?
By the way, "English Field" is the name of the old airfield which was an Air Force Base in it's day and home to a squadron of B-52s according to what I read online. Going back even further than that, it was an Army training airfield. I've not found alot of detailed history online, but am now very curious to learn more. The old terminal is still standing along with a couple of hangers and some support buildings which actually look like barracks. This is located just ENE of the NWS office and the FAA building. Like I said, I'll investigate this more later down the road.
OK, some pics!
Here a few of the UH-60Q choppers as the camera lens peers through the fence to get a good shot. After landing, they taxi like normal aircraft.
Three of them lift off. Notice the KC-135 Tanker in the background taking off.
One a little more up close.
The old relic in the foreground is one I can't identify. So, any of you aviation fanatics out there that know, please let me know! This is part of some sort of museum effort, perhaps a failed one, by the FAA bulding and NWS office in proximiy to the old terminal building (which I would LOVE to get a peek inside someday). The plane in the air is the KC-135.
KC-135 and the FAA control tower.
I finally was able to figure out the KC-135's approach pattern in advance in order to position myself perfectly along Hwy 60. I love these shots and the many other ones I captured. I was able to identify it as belonging to the 97th Air Wing group by the numbers on the fuel boom...the little "black flags" on the very back. You can't make them out here, but the big RAW images you can easily.
God Bless our military men and women!
On to weather....things are a fixin' to change. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, the upper air pattern is just about to undergo the long anticipated change. A strong upper trough and perhaps cutoff low is forecast to traverse the southern plains starting this weekend. Although it is far too early to get too excited, it certainly is looking like a good setup for a little severe weather for Sunday through Monday. Moisture return will be meager, but enough with the forecast dynamics and forcing to pop off a pretty decent squall line.
There is even a possibility that the Panhandles could see some convective snow if the GFS is correct in moving a closed upper circulation across the I-40 corridor. After this upcoming storm system moves out, it is looking prettly likely that we will setup a persistent west coast trough. This is an excellent pattern for several shots at significant precip for the first half of February. In fact, the GFS is strongly hinting as a big upper low and trough developing out west beyond day 10. I'll give this a little credit since such large upper systems as being advertised are a classic February pattern. Things could get wild around these parts next week if enough cold air filters down into the area. Stay tuned for that one to see how it plays out.
Ironically, Big John Harris, formerly with Channel 10 here under "Doppler Dave", will be taking the reigns of the new and improved weather department at Channel 4 and 14 starting the 9th....just about the time we start getting a chance of severe weather and some desperately needed rainfall. Coincidence? Or are the weather gods smiling upon his "storming" onto the local weather scene ? LOL!! The good news is that if I am able to stay in Amarillo (hopefully my fate will be determined next week after a big interview this Friday), I will join Big John's weather team as one of the stormchasers. More on that down the road though. I gotta get a solid job here first. :-)
More ramblings later as the weather starts cranking up for us!
Before I forget, I want to send a special thanks to Jay McCoy for treating me to a superbowl party along with Chris Nuttall and Jason Boggs as we enjoyed one helluva game at Hummer's Sports Bar and Grill. I had a GREAT time precisely when I needed it most. Thanks guys! If I get "The Job" here, the celebration will be on me. :-)
Rick Husband International Airport is not only served by Southwest Airlines (wanna get away?), but is also home to a Bell Helicopter facility which builds the V-22 Osprey and Cobra/Huey upgrades and refits. Even cooler than that is that it is also serves as a training facility and layover for military aircraft as well. Heck, we've even had the Space Shuttle land here last July piggybacked on a 747....which, painfully, I missed.
The big plane I keep seeing circling the airport all of the time is a KC-135 Tanker doing touch and go landings. According to Jay McCoy, this is a preferred airport because of the frequent strong winds...especially cross winds. Combined with it being a low traffic airport, it's ideal for such military training. I was able to identify the plane as part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing from Altus AFB.
In addition, they don't have the airport secured in miles for every direction, so you can actually get close to the runway. I didn't get too crazy with that liberty though. Camera-toting civilians around the perimeter of an airport nowdays gets the bored security personnel out here a bit excited. Nobody seemed to mind my activity though, so I snapped away.
I start off with my little bonus surprise which was a small squadron of army medical helicopters, UH-60Q Medevac Blackhawks, landing at the airport as I approached. The crews were all piling into a small restaurant there called the English Field Restaurant. I've not eaten there (yet), but hope to someday. I've heard it's pretty good. The Army crew certainly seemed to be chowing down on the food pretty heartily. I'm assuming that this was simply a layover and refueling stop for them for some sort of training mission. When they took off, they circled out west and then back to the SE...perhaps to Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas. Who knows?
By the way, "English Field" is the name of the old airfield which was an Air Force Base in it's day and home to a squadron of B-52s according to what I read online. Going back even further than that, it was an Army training airfield. I've not found alot of detailed history online, but am now very curious to learn more. The old terminal is still standing along with a couple of hangers and some support buildings which actually look like barracks. This is located just ENE of the NWS office and the FAA building. Like I said, I'll investigate this more later down the road.
OK, some pics!
Here a few of the UH-60Q choppers as the camera lens peers through the fence to get a good shot. After landing, they taxi like normal aircraft.
Three of them lift off. Notice the KC-135 Tanker in the background taking off.
One a little more up close.
The old relic in the foreground is one I can't identify. So, any of you aviation fanatics out there that know, please let me know! This is part of some sort of museum effort, perhaps a failed one, by the FAA bulding and NWS office in proximiy to the old terminal building (which I would LOVE to get a peek inside someday). The plane in the air is the KC-135.
KC-135 and the FAA control tower.
I finally was able to figure out the KC-135's approach pattern in advance in order to position myself perfectly along Hwy 60. I love these shots and the many other ones I captured. I was able to identify it as belonging to the 97th Air Wing group by the numbers on the fuel boom...the little "black flags" on the very back. You can't make them out here, but the big RAW images you can easily.
God Bless our military men and women!
On to weather....things are a fixin' to change. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, the upper air pattern is just about to undergo the long anticipated change. A strong upper trough and perhaps cutoff low is forecast to traverse the southern plains starting this weekend. Although it is far too early to get too excited, it certainly is looking like a good setup for a little severe weather for Sunday through Monday. Moisture return will be meager, but enough with the forecast dynamics and forcing to pop off a pretty decent squall line.
There is even a possibility that the Panhandles could see some convective snow if the GFS is correct in moving a closed upper circulation across the I-40 corridor. After this upcoming storm system moves out, it is looking prettly likely that we will setup a persistent west coast trough. This is an excellent pattern for several shots at significant precip for the first half of February. In fact, the GFS is strongly hinting as a big upper low and trough developing out west beyond day 10. I'll give this a little credit since such large upper systems as being advertised are a classic February pattern. Things could get wild around these parts next week if enough cold air filters down into the area. Stay tuned for that one to see how it plays out.
Ironically, Big John Harris, formerly with Channel 10 here under "Doppler Dave", will be taking the reigns of the new and improved weather department at Channel 4 and 14 starting the 9th....just about the time we start getting a chance of severe weather and some desperately needed rainfall. Coincidence? Or are the weather gods smiling upon his "storming" onto the local weather scene ? LOL!! The good news is that if I am able to stay in Amarillo (hopefully my fate will be determined next week after a big interview this Friday), I will join Big John's weather team as one of the stormchasers. More on that down the road though. I gotta get a solid job here first. :-)
More ramblings later as the weather starts cranking up for us!
Before I forget, I want to send a special thanks to Jay McCoy for treating me to a superbowl party along with Chris Nuttall and Jason Boggs as we enjoyed one helluva game at Hummer's Sports Bar and Grill. I had a GREAT time precisely when I needed it most. Thanks guys! If I get "The Job" here, the celebration will be on me. :-)
posted by Steve Miller TX at 2/03/2009 02:32:00 AM
2 Comments:
That airplane is a DHC-4 Caribou otherwise know in the U.S. military as CV-2 and C-7 Caribou. It was used as a cargo aircraft. Before the museum closed I had the privilage to go inside it. It is kind of cramped, but interesting. Great pictures!
LOve the shots of KC-135. Back when I was in Civil Air Patrol I got to fly in one out of Carswell AFB in FT. Worth. We fly up over Kansas and refuled a B52 at 40,000ft. Talk about a great adventure to be laying there on you stomach looking out the belly window at a B-52 20ft from you flying at 400mph. After we were done with that we got to play with the fueling boom then the pilot treated us to a few "vomit comet" rides to experience zero gravity.
And as for the Superbowl. You guys are very welcome. It was a very enjoyable evening with good friends. we all needed a good break from reality.
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