Plane spotters-what are these? | FerrariChat
Buy

Plane spotters-what are these?

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by GuyIncognito, Jul 25, 2010.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 30, 2007
    99,792
    #1 GuyIncognito, Jul 25, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I spotted this squadron of planes (there were at least six of them, in the process of taxiing out so maybe more?) at a local airport (Spirit of St Louis, SUS).

    two passenger, single prop but all were decked out in USAF livery.

    anybody know what these are, what they were doing there, etc?
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  2. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
    Moderator Owner

    Mar 20, 2004
    7,674
    Full Name:
    Mike
    #2 wrxmike, Jul 25, 2010
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2010
    Looks like a Pilatus PC-21


    Edit

    More like a Pilatus PC 9 (Beech Pilatus PC-9 Mk.2 )
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilatus_PC-9

    and
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-6A_Texan_II
     
  3. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 30, 2007
    99,792
    #3 GuyIncognito, Jul 25, 2010
    wow, that was fast! thanks! gotta love Fchat :)

    so are these active USAF planes, or some sort of vintage warbird club?
     
  4. Blue@Heart

    Blue@Heart F1 Rookie

    Jun 20, 2006
    3,889
    Yellowknife, NWT
    Full Name:
    David
    #4 Blue@Heart, Jul 25, 2010
    I'm not 100% but I would think that they are advanced trainers for the USAF :)
     
  5. alexm

    alexm F1 Veteran

    Sep 6, 2004
    5,223
    Coast up from Sydney
    Full Name:
    Alex
    #5 alexm, Jul 25, 2010
  6. MarkPDX

    MarkPDX F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Apr 21, 2003
    15,111
    Gulf Coast
    #6 MarkPDX, Jul 25, 2010
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2010
    Those are T-6 Texan IIs and are a current (and fairly new) training aircraft. The are a bunch of them in the inventory and they are based at a bunch of places and it's not unusual to see them flying around the countryside. There is (or at least a couple years was) a USAF demo team that flew them and put on a pretty good show.
     
  7. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    39,166
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    #7 tazandjan, Jul 25, 2010
    Mark is correct. The T-6A Texan II is the new basic trainer for the USAF, replacing the Cessna T-37, which is retiring after being the USAF's primary trainer since the mid-1950s. Next to go with be the supersonic Northrop T-38, which first saw service as the USAF's advanced trainer in 1961.

    The T-6A is based on the Pilatus PC-9, like Mike said above. You will see them cross-country at airfields with military aircraft all over the US.

    Taz
    Terry Phillips
     
  8. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 30, 2007
    99,792
    #8 GuyIncognito, Jul 26, 2010
    thanks guys.

    so most likely this was some form of training mission? or could it have been a recruiting tool?

    I'm just curious about them being at this particular airport-there is an AF base (Scott) and an aviation college (Parks) in Southern IL, about 50 miles away, so I was surprised to see them at a random general aviation field.

    maybe the Marines filled the tanks and they ran out of gas :D:D:D
     
  9. rydermike

    rydermike Formula Junior

    Mar 27, 2010
    416
    Spring Hill,FL
    Full Name:
    Mike Donohue
    #9 rydermike, Jul 26, 2010
    Navigational training or perhaps just relocating them?
     
  10. Gatorrari

    Gatorrari F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 27, 2004
    16,461
    Georgia
    Full Name:
    Jim Pernikoff
    #10 Gatorrari, Jul 26, 2010
    And what will replace them? IMO, the best choice is the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle, developed in conjunction with Lockheed Martin.

    http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/t50/index.html
     
  11. 10boom

    10boom Karting

    Jan 5, 2005
    162
    WA
    #11 10boom, Jul 27, 2010
    These guys are from Vance AFB in Enid, OK as referenced by the tail code on the airplane. My guess is they were doing a formation sortie mixed in with a cross country.
     

Share This Page