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Fly Over

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 12:22am — Bert

Anyone else getting repeatedly flown over by an airplane tonight?

It must have flown over near my house almost 20 times now. Seems to be getting lower too. What's up with that?

bert

Comments

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 5:48pm — OlyDowntowner

Maybe they're practicing for "CROWD CONTROL"

Last month, it was military police suppressing protest at the Republican National Convention.  And a couple of news sources have referenced this lately: Three to four thousand soldiers have been deployed domestically since October 1, good-by Posse Comitatus. To protect us from terrorists.  And you know, terrorists these days include people who oppose the war, people who serve on Boards with old yippies, people who stand on the sidewalk or in the street and unnerve shoppers, graffiti artists, and well, just about anybody the conservatives don't like.  Read the liberal interpretation of this development here, or the military spin on it ("Homeland Tours!"), here.

We all know western Washington is a hotbed of "terrorism," soy lattes, and backpacking.  Maybe those Ft. Lewis flyboys are getting their Seattle battle rattle on, just in case some tree-huggers decide to express their discontent over the bailout in a nonverbal way.  

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 7:25pm — OperaGirl

After a few passes my

After a few passes my husband went out to look.  He said he thought there were two different planes and the one he saw looked kind of like one of the old warbirds they have at the Oly flight museum.  It was hard to see as they had no lights and it was pitch black out.  He didn't think they sounded like jets.   Who knows!

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. ~Ludwig van Beethoven

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Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. ~Ludwig van Beethoven
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 1:43am — SMASH

Mystery solved!

They're spraying barium aerosol in a grid pattern to allow RF 'ducting' for the military's Radio Frequency Mission Planner terrain simulation program. 

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 8:02pm — Laurian

Maybe the Air force is figuring out how to drop Ice cream treats

over Olympia next summer.

 it was military police suppressing protest at the Republican National Convention.

Care to source this assertion?

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 8:05pm — The Fire Inside

They probably weren't...

He didn't think they sounded like jets.

Someone earlier suspected a C-130, which is probably right considering the unit involved was the 2nd Ranger Battalion.

A random aside, but according to Wikipedia James Earl Jones was Ranger tabbed ("tab" is for completion of Ranger School; a "scroll" is Ranger Battalion. Virtually all who wear a "scroll" are "tabbed." However, only a small percentage who are "tabbed" also wear a "scroll.")

Fri, 10/10/2008 - 6:22pm — chad360

serious or BS?

what up FRESH? you joking? got links?

chad360

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 9:18pm — OlyDowntowner

I heard about this from

I heard about this from someone who was there, so I can't actually provide a link. But there are numerous pictures and videos of National Guardsman policing St. Paul in their desert camo fatigues all over flickr and youtube.
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 1:51am — SMASH

With RNC protesters being tried as terrorists under the Pat Act

...what you say is literally now true. I'm honestly surprised that more people don't find it alarming.
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 5:11am — Laurian

Yea I noticed that too...

Sounded like a two engined turbo prop.
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 5:47am — Laurian

Our Lewis county neighbors are talking about planes as well

From the Centrailia Chronicle's comments section.
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 6:35am — Sarah

fly overs

One possibility is that the plane is doing an aerial survey, that is why the plane keeps returning to the same pattern.
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 7:05am — Rick

Pretty annoying...

...when you're trying to talk on the phone.


Beware the terrible simplifiers.
Jacob Burckhardt
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Beware the terrible simplifiers.
Jacob Burckhardt
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 8:08am — emmettoconnell

Always check with Ft. Lewis when you hear weird sounds

From here (pdf file)

U.S. Army Rangers from 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based at Fort Lewis, Wash., are conducting a military exercise Sept. 29 through Oct. 10 here and at Yakima Training Center. Soldiers will use training ammunition and other training devices to make the exercise as realistic as possible.

To conduct this training, a number of different aircraft that belong to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and the Air Force Special Operations Command will be used. There will be periods of increased air traffic, to include low-flying aircraft - both helicopters and airplanes - during hours of darkness. Increased air traffic and noise may be associated with a large airborne operation involving the Rangers, as well as training activities involving only Special Operations aviation units conducting nape-of-the-earth flights (flying low to the ground) and aerial refueling.

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full disclosure

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 8:12am — Rick

Know-it-all.

;)


Beware the terrible simplifiers.
Jacob Burckhardt
—

Beware the terrible simplifiers.
Jacob Burckhardt
Thu, 10/09/2008 - 10:05am — emmettoconnell

C-130

I was about to jump out of bed to post around 10p last night, but the noise stopped in my neighborhood and I was tired.

It was likely a C130.

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full disclosure

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 10:14am — chad360

word

me too...but I grew-up near the bases in Pierce County so this is "par for the course"...

...I have pondered looking into the flight school out at the airport, and hanging out there more often (I'm very interested in flight), as I used to hang at Sea-Tac alot (my dad worked there).

I also noticed many small/light aircraft over my 'hood, and I wonder if it is the State Patrol coming/going to the airfield.

chad360

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 9:08am — chad360

I noticed as well

Nice work tracking down the info Emmett =)

chad360

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 9:36am — Bert

Military Aircraft

I had a feeling that it was military. It had unusual lights; it didn't have a blinking red light. The only lights it had were the green starboard / red port lights, and two white fueselage underbelly lights. So it looked weird.

It was also nearly indistinguishable from the background sky. It must have been painted black, I could see light reflecting off it from certain angles, but mostly it was very hard to pick out, and would have been almost impossible without the lights.

I found it to be quite creepy.




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Thu, 10/09/2008 - 10:11am — einmaleins

The Russians!

Putin was rearing his head! 

mathias

einmaleins

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mathias

einmaleins

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 10:14am — emmettoconnell

yeah, but the Germans coaxed them into it

n/t

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full disclosure

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 11:40am — The Original Yoda

I heard several passes overhead, too.

They did it a few nights ago, too.

I had the baby monitor on - which usually sounds like white noise as long as everything is quiet - but (maybe because of the low rumble) when the planes pass over our house, the baby monitor gets real quiet (ie: almost no white noise) until ze plane is gone.

Weird...