A10s buzzing the notches

[tomcat32]

Is this usual in the area? I was parked at Crawford Notch by the train station Tuesday around 1230 changing in my van and heard the roar. A second one came doing a very low run through the notch before climbing steeply. This was repeated. The next day coming down Owls Head I heard it again but couldn’t see through the trees. Later in the afternoon I was on my way through Franconia and could see them in the distance. As I made my way up Cannon I saw three more A 10s. Fly through the north though not nearly as low as in Crawford (I swear they were 100ft there).
I see F22s or 35s over my house in the ADK all the time creating sonic booms. Never this low. Which I guess makes sense since the A 10 is a tank/ground attack plane. I love seeing it since I hold a pilot license but could see it being a nuisance to some.

 

[Barbarossa]

As a former Infantryman I hold a peculiar fondness for the A-10, but I like my time in the woods to be quieter these days.

More typical in the Whites are fighters; something that needs lots of real estate to turn around. I've always assumed those were from the Vermont Air National Guard. No idea what unit or location might have A-10s.

 

[Nessmuk]

Ahh, the sound and sights of freedom!

A-10s and other fighter jets will usually fly in pairs in tactical practice training. When F-16s previously were stationed and flew out of Syracuse I would often see them doing the same thing over the Adiorndacks. One reason, perhaps, why my son became an F-16 pilot. Now that Syacuse/Hancock is flying drones from there, you will never see or hear them.

Creating a sonic boom over populated areas, including the Adirondacks, the Whites, nor anywhere else outside of special military designated restricted airspace is not normally intentional nor permitted by military policy, but may occasionally unintentionally happen during certain types of evasive or air-air attack maneuver training. When I flew the KC-135 air refufeling aircraft many years ago, I was free to plan and would often fly my navigation legs (unseen at 25,000'+) over my Adirondack home area.

 

[peakbagger]

I was out on the Franconia Ridge on Tuesday but had just got off the ridge when they started. Someone hiking down the trail mentioned she knew a pilot at the former Pease AFB, now a national guard base and said they were doing special training. The A-10s used to visit far more often when they based out of Burlington, but they switched to F-35s. The A-10s are known for running at low elevations up the valleys in the whites. I have also seen, from the vantage point of the Knife Edge at BSP a couple A-10s buzz Chimney Pond and then go near vertical up and over the summit.

The air force has been desperately trying to dump these planes for a couple of decades but the congress keeps them flying as the army loves them for close ground support. Nothing like it to replace them but they do not take well to modern shoulder fired heat sinking missiles. Nevertheless, they are slowly being phased out.

 

[skiguy]

This type of training goes on multiple times a year and from different squadrons from different locations. Back in June a group was here from North Carolina. The terrain in The White Mountains is unique and is a designated airspace for this use. Back in the 70's and 80's you would see similar missions in The ADK High Peaks Region as SAC was flying out of Plattsburg. Below is a news piece from the June Missions. Also, if you are on FB there is a lot of videos from the most recent flights in the Whites. The Canadien Air Force trains out of Fryeburg airport just over the border in Maine with Helicopters annually. They actually land at previously undisclosed peaks like The Baldfaces during their training. The noise can be a nuisance to some but exhilarating for others. If your an aviation fan like myself the latter is true. Fighter jets roar across New Hampshire skies as North Carolina pilots undergo training

 

[JustJoe]

I was on Lafayette when they were staying low. As soon as I got back into the woods on the Skook, they were right overhead. There were 3. This is the best I could do with my phone camera.

 

[ChrisB]

I have seen a pair of big ole C 130s pop over Artist Bluff and head down the Notch at very low altitude. Great howls coming from those 4 turbo prob engines.

Here is some nice footage from Wales taken on the Machynlleth (Mach) Loop. A frequent site for low altitude practice for NATO members.

Note the deadly Osprey at 1:13 in.

 

[tomcat32]

The F35s I see in the ADK are usually pretty high but you see them dropping chaff or flares occasionally. I hear the booms every couple months.
I am originally from PA and I’d routinely see A10s fly between Willow Grove NAS and Ft Indiantown Gap.
I would hear them on Reading Approach/Departure when I flew out of Reading and they used the call sign UGLY. Always fun to hear that on the radio.

 

[peakbagger]

I was hiking the AT near Indian Town Gap in PA and there were a couple of A-10s flying low and must have been shooting either live or blanks as we would hear a very loud BRAP from the Gattling gun after they did a very low approach over the ridge.

 

[JoshandBaron]

Photographer captures training in Franconia Notch

 

[TechAdmin]

Photographer captures training in Franconia Notch

Some really neat photos.

 

[Barbarossa]

best I could do with my phone camera

Great capture

 

[hikeritz]

I spotted them Tuesday from 93 on my way home from Waumbek. Years ago I encountered A10s on a hike in the Whites. Where they were practicing low level flying, I didn't hear them until they popped up over the ridge. Kinda startling, but I thought it was cool.

 

[JustJoe]

Photographer captures training in Franconia Notch

For some reason her best photo is not in that group. This is also by Caroline Alden.

 

[Grey J]

That is an excellent photo, Joe. Is that Lafayettte?

 

[JustJoe]

That is an excellent photo, Joe. Is that Lafayettte?

First just to be clear, that's not my photo as I said. I'm thinking that's Lincoln from somewhere between Little Haystack and it.

 

[sierra]

I was off the Kanc yesterday and they were buzzing by multiple times in the afternoon.

 

[kltilton]

They were flying low when I was at Elbow Pond yesterday.