3 Military aircraft over Willamette Valley today

[Cedar]

Don't normally see 1, let alone 3 all traveling together. Cane from the North, kinda low, heading SE and out over the coast range, and I presume the ocean?

I am guessing they were Navy, as they were light grey. Guessing C5 or C17s.

Anyone else see them? Can properly ID? I presume it was just an exercise, but got all our attention since we were outside at work.

Cedar

[Smurf Hunter]

If there were indeed C-17, those have a range > 2400NM.  But that's without refueling.  So they theoretically could have come from Alaska, Hawaii or anyplace really.  Or they could have taken off from McChord AFB in western WA and are just making a big loop for giggles.

[CharlesH]

I’ve never seen military planes that big flying in formation.  Were they one following the other or were they actually in a fighter aircraft type of formation? I think all the C5 and C17 aircraft are Air Force.

[LVWood]

Don't normally see 1, let alone 3 all traveling together. Cane from the North, kinda low, heading SE and out over the coast range, and I presume the ocean?

I am guessing they were Navy, as they were light grey. Guessing C5 or C17s.

Anyone else see them? Can properly ID? I presume it was just an exercise, but got all our attention since we were outside at work.

Cedar

Need some more data.
Low or high
Prop or Jet
Close or staggered

[Cedar]

I am not sure how dark grey versus light grey the USA and Navy are, but looked light to me. They were not green. They didn't have windows exceot the cockpit area. I am not sure if wings tipped, but I didn't notice that they did. I noted things seemed "more rounded", than say a 747 passenger plane. I could not see ID marks, although maybe because of the sun.

THEY WERE LOW. A bit lower and i might have seen the pilot. It has been the talk of my community this afternoon. They made things rumble on the ground.

Kinda staggered like below [I'll see if this works]


X
           X
     

                      X

I guess I need to study my aircraft more next winter. I made a call to my USFA guy, and he walked me though what they might be.

Cedar

[LVWood]

Sounds like 3 Air Force transports on a low level training mission.
If they had props, they would have been C-130's
If they were jets they likely would have been C-17's

C-130's



C-17's

[Cedar]

Need some more data.
Low or high
Prop or Jet
Close or staggered

Very low. Lower than a normal 2 seater. Could almost see pilots I'd think. Was rumbling things on the ground. Don't laugh but I didn't have any good comparison, and not sure how large they would be on the ground. But if I put two fingers in the air, they were 3-4" long each between my fingers.

I remember seeing engines on each side, on the wings, but not the number, or like a USAF 'star' Nothing i noted about the tail, other than it had one.

Front two closer, and more diagonal than not. See the diagram I sorta did above. The 3rd was lagging a bit.

I have one pic as they were almost gone, as I had to collect things at work which was scattering due to the planes.

Sorry I have a sketchy ID. I'll work on it.

Cedar

[Cedar]

Sounds like 3 Air Force transports on a low level training mission.

I think more like these.

The last one might have been 'lagging' as they were all making a good turn.


I just googled another pic of the C-17, and yes, that is it. The rounded nose, and the windows are right.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:C-17_test_sortie.jpg if the pic didn't work.

I don't remember the tips of the wings being up, but I don't remember they weren't. The first thought was "holy cats" WTH? And then "Cool"!, then "um, should I be concerned, this is highly unusual for here?", then "what should I be doing if I need to be doing something?"

Cedar

[LVWood]

Nothing to be concerned about, they're out of Tacoma on a low level training mission.

[Cedar]

Nothing to be concerned about, they're out of Tacoma on a low level training mission.

Thank you for your info. I forgot to say that earlier. It's nice to know where they came from. I was not really concerned, but then for a second I wondered if I ought to be. Lol.

It was the highlight of our community for the day though. We just dont see large planes that low, let alone more than one. My daughter got to see them, and she thought they were as big as her school. (She might be correct in that assessment).

Cedar

[LVWood]

She's right, they are big.

[Cedar]

Like what is the equivalent of elephants or something that they can haul, that i can tell her?

Cedar

[Smurf Hunter]

My best guess was they were out of JBLM (joint base lewis mcchord) which is south of Tacoma, WA

[LVWood]

Like what is the equivalent of elephants or something that they can haul, that i can tell her?

Cedar

15 African Elephants

C-17 maximum payload is 180,000 pounds
African Elephant is 12,000 pounds

[Smurf Hunter]

Years ago I got to witness one of these monsters land and take off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225_Mriya

[LVWood]

They are huge, it was the same for me "Years Ago" one landed at McCarran in Las Vegas.
What a monster.

[Applejack]

We have had coast guard doing training here a lot in past and we had one of their helocopters land in our front yard. Coast guard got a lot of complaints because it was about 10 pm at the time they did it. It was so loud that a lot of children got woke up and parents were not happy. I thought it was cool.

[Cedar]

15 African Elephants

Thanks. She is pretty excited 45 elephants could have flown over her head. 

Cedar

[LVWood]

Heads Up

[Cedar]

Thank ypu.

Cedar

[LVWood]

Check this out..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DqiWG61Nzs