And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Altitude looks about right. Seen a few, including a company airshow for Northrup. Best was over the dry lake north of Baker, just east of Death Valley, shortly before dusk. Movie construction crew was fiddling around building a set for Lost Highway. The B-2 was coming south to north at about 75' AGL, over the middle of the dry lake bed. Someone on the lakebed could have hit it with a slingshot. We were above it, at the dunes on the "shoreline", because we cold see the top and the bottom, edge-on from the port side. 1) Saw it before we heard it maybe a mile away, and only then because its ACLs were still on. If not for the lights, it would have been on us before we noticed. At night, blacked out, we never would have seen it or heard it until it was leaving. 2) As it approached, the engine noise sounded like it was going away from us. (Multiple people there, everyone said the same thing.) Mad props to whoever figured that trick out. 3) Had to be part of a Red Flag training sortie from Nellis, because 50' higher and 1/4 mi. behind, there was a T-38 chase plane - which had to be so that the E-3 AWACS could "see" the B-2, by spotting the T-38's radar return.
Cruised north up the lake, pulled a shallow turn to the NE, and flew nap-of-the-earth over a ridgeline, dropped back to extreme low level after he crested it, and disappeared from sight. 4) Anyone with a Roman candle, or a smoke bomb on a model rocket, playing SAM launcher near that ridgeline would probably have made that aircrew soil their flightsuits, or at least pop some chaff and flares.
It was one of the coolest fly-bys I've ever seen. Knowing how much they can carry: God help anyone under one on the day. They can just kiss their @$$#$ goodbye.
Hi Aesop!!!, Usedta' work in "Aerospace' in the L.A. area back when... trips to Edwards were common... saw the B-2 many times and also the "Black Bird!!!" Good Times!!!!!!!!!!!!, skybill-out
Saw one fly over at a local airshow years ago. Made me think somel those UFO reports out west might have been B-2 sightings before it was made public,...
Altitude looks about right.
ReplyDeleteSeen a few, including a company airshow for Northrup.
Best was over the dry lake north of Baker, just east of Death Valley, shortly before dusk. Movie construction crew was fiddling around building a set for Lost Highway.
The B-2 was coming south to north at about 75' AGL, over the middle of the dry lake bed. Someone on the lakebed could have hit it with a slingshot. We were above it, at the dunes on the "shoreline", because we cold see the top and the bottom, edge-on from the port side.
1) Saw it before we heard it maybe a mile away, and only then because its ACLs were still on. If not for the lights, it would have been on us before we noticed.
At night, blacked out, we never would have seen it or heard it until it was leaving.
2) As it approached, the engine noise sounded like it was going away from us. (Multiple people there, everyone said the same thing.) Mad props to whoever figured that trick out.
3) Had to be part of a Red Flag training sortie from Nellis, because 50' higher and 1/4 mi. behind, there was a T-38 chase plane - which had to be so that the E-3 AWACS could "see" the B-2, by spotting the T-38's radar return.
Cruised north up the lake, pulled a shallow turn to the NE, and flew nap-of-the-earth over a ridgeline, dropped back to extreme low level after he crested it, and disappeared from sight.
4) Anyone with a Roman candle, or a smoke bomb on a model rocket, playing SAM launcher near that ridgeline would probably have made that aircrew soil their flightsuits, or at least pop some chaff and flares.
It was one of the coolest fly-bys I've ever seen.
Knowing how much they can carry: God help anyone under one on the day.
They can just kiss their @$$#$ goodbye.
Hi Aesop!!!,
DeleteUsedta' work in "Aerospace' in the L.A. area back when... trips to Edwards were common... saw the B-2 many times and also the "Black Bird!!!"
Good Times!!!!!!!!!!!!,
skybill-out
Saw one fly over at a local airshow years ago. Made me think somel those UFO reports out west might have been B-2 sightings before it was made public,...
ReplyDeleteHad one fly by when I was at NAS Lemoore. Low, slow, and showing off.
ReplyDeleteT38 was maybe ten feet aft.
Black hole in our wallets.
ReplyDeleteFreedom ain't free.
Deletepixelated
ReplyDeleteGah! Beat me to it.
DeleteThought someone left a piece out of the puzzle.
DeleteBubbarust