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A sampling of some of the emails we've been getting yesterday and today:
Okay, first a battery of F-15s goes over, followed by what looks like a cargo plane, flying LOW from Red Hook towards the Slope; then it banks right and heads south. Five minutes later, another small cargo craft coming from Queens in a southerly direction.Luckily, we're 99% sure we know why: It's Fleet Week. Hot sailors in uniform: Not scary. But F-16's swooping in formation: Scary as anything, especially as we remember how the skies were immediately after September 11.
I assume the presence of military fighter planes means it's legit, but DAMN, those planes were flying too low for my taste. Any other leads on that shit?
......
I live in the UWS. Woke up to a huge plane sound going over our building headed North around 9:15am. The plane was tailed by 6 fighters.Since then, there have been fighters and two planes that look like civilian planes but are flying very low and are green circling extremely low around here.
I'm sure you've heard other reports by now, but just in case. No news outlets seem to have this yet. What is going on?!?
.....
What do you know about all the military helicopters, F-16s, etc. that have been flying around Manhattan in the past 15 minutes? Especially looks like north up the Hudson, but these three choppers followed by about five single-rotor helicopters came low over midtown before crossing the East river at Willliamsburg and continuing south over Brooklyn.
You can find many Fleet Week activities here. And do you know where the Fleet Week parties are supposed to be? However, if these fighter jets and military helicopters are not part of the Fleet Week festivities (they don't seem to be listed...), then it can only be one other thing: New Jersey is finally attacking us.
Top photograph from janelle gunther on Flickr (she took it with her cameraphone!); bottom photograph from Mark Lennihan/AP
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I saw a lovely formation of F-16s while downtown - those suckers really do fly low.
There is a list of participating Aircraft on
the Fleet week site you've linked.
I want to hear that C130 lumbering with the Blue angels. The mix of turbo prop and jet engines.
Beautiful sight.
The Blue Angels are going to be at Jones Beach Saturday and Sunday for the airshow, and were in Annapolis, MD for the past couple of days for Commissioning Week activities (they should fly over graduation tomorrow at the Naval Academy if the weather holds and it's outside). But that was them! They are fantastic (although even I was a bit scared when I first heard them roaring overhead)!
I've lived in the Annapolis area all my life. Seeing the Blue Angels fly over the Naval Academy was an annual event. This is my first spring in NYC and seeing the jets fly over the roof deck at work was a pleasent suprise. Pretty fucking awesome. They fly a lot lower in MD, though.
fyi these aircraft are modified F-18 hornets--not F-15s or F-16s. the large cargo plane is a c-130. just a simple display of our quite impressive airborne military.
you beat me to it, gg. and f-18s are just gorgeous planes.
they had a whole bunch of jets and helicopters flying around downtown yesterday. there was even a v-22 osprey (and i'm half surprised they didnt' manage to crash it.)
They flew right over the UWS while I was walking into the subway. Scared the shit out of me because it was eerily reminiscent of 9.11, and I couldn't tell if something was really happening.....
Thanks for the clarification.
PARTIES, yes, someone tell me where I can meet some seamne, please.
People, people, people. The Navy flies F-14s and F-18s. The Air Force flies F-15s and F-16s.
Get your airframe types correct, hm?
Actually, the Navy no longer flies F-14s, John. They retired the last combat wing a few months ago. No more Tomcats. Only Hornets.
Anyone know whether those are the new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets..?
Was Major Nelson or Maj Healy flying any of those jets?
The Blue Angels don't fly the Super Hornets yet.
Thanks...
They look like they are bad as***
They flew over Long Island City at 10:08 this morning.
Major Nelson & Maj Healy were probably flying Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs or the McDonnell F-4 Phantom
Why do we let them advertise war in our skies?
"cocobeach" was being facetious.
But damn if it doesn't make one feel old to have the once "state of the art" fighter aircraft that you watched go into service finally retired as obsolete.
Meanwhile, the positively ancient B-52s keep rolling along...
brightliner - i think vf-31 flies super tomcats. who else would be flying these yesterday?
More like a battery of F/A-18 Hornets called The Blue Angels.
"Beautiful sight." Not flying that low when civilians don't know WTF is going on, it ain't.
Those are Cats allright...
There is a group of 5 planes that seems to be doing laps around the city about now. This is the third time they've flown over DUMBO. It looks like a big cargo plane, an F/A-18, and A-10 and two smaller jets.
Low? you don't know what Low is?
Maverick requests a fly by.
That's freedom up there.
Now let love lift us up where we belong.
I'm with timbnyc on this one. Planes ARE an amazing & beautiful demonstration of science, engineering & vision.
But these ones were only created to kill. We COULD get all teary-eyed and talk about them defending our freedom, but we all know they were last used to invade Iraq under false pretences. And drop Napalm.
Watch the the Discovery Military Channel (ch. 112 on TWC) for 24 hours and you can view a repeat of a documentary on the Blue Angels. Those guys are the shit. It would be cool to run into them around town. Holy crap! The same formation literally just flew by in Brooklyn as I typed the period at the end of my prior sentence! That is weird.
hewins - from here (battery park) it looks like they are (from back to front) an a-10, f-15, f-16, p-51 (or some other prop fighter), c-130. now, why the air force is flying on fleet week?
The Tomcats were retired from active duty. What you saw was a ceremonial flyby to commemorate those planes' long history. VF-31 pilots have yet to retrain on Hornets, but they completed their last active duty deployment in Tomcats in March. You won't find any aircraft carrier with F-14s onboard. Nowadays, those VF-31 pilots fly the Tomcats strictly to fulfill flight time requirements and to keep their skills from getting rusty. They're officially not combat aircraft anymore. The only reason VF-31 hasn't transitioned yet is because their new Super Hornets are still on the production line.
I love Fleet Week - it's such an awesome NY event. However, I got really freaked out last year when I heard and saw what looked to be a commercial plane flying over my office in Dumbo. This was very early in the week and several of my coworkers who witnessed 9/11 and had forgotten it was Fleet Week were visibly shaken. It's just still too real. I worked at the WFC at the time and I took off running like many of those poor people. You would think that the military could be a little more sensitive.
The early posts are correct. These are F-18 fighters and C-130 cargoes flying accompaniment.
And they were fun and diverting this morning, very impressive (seriously) and a nice salute to NYC from USN... but it's 3:00 and they just flew by me on the 23rd floor again and... cut it out. Enough with planes close to buildings.
Its funny that we get a fabulous display of airborne might on the same day that our current rail technology (AMTRAK-Penn Station NY) had a major screw-up and trapped hundreds of people underground for hours.
I think what's baffling about the fly overs is that Fleet Week happens every year. And this is the first year I can recall where there have been this many flyovers... Heck, I can't even recall ANY flyovers from past years at all...
It's quite unnerving to wake up in the morning to see a bunch of Chinook and Apache helicopters fly over Brooklyn. That's the same aircraft people saw flying all over the place after 9/11...
There's something just weird that this year they decided to flex some muscle in the sky during fleet week. What's next? Parades of missles and tanks down Broadway.
I'm leaving for the weekend tomorrow afternoon, so please, please enjoy this for me.
The USO of Metropolitan New York is proud to invite you to the annual Fleet Week Kick-Off Party. The party is free admission for ladies with RSVP and uniformed armed forces personnel.
The party will be held at New York's premier nightclub, Webster Hall.
*125 East 11th Street
*Between 3rd & 4th Avenues
There will be free food, alcohol and entertainment until 10:00pm.
Please RSVP to this email before 2pm on Friday with first and last names. For more information please contact the USO @ 212-695-6160 from 10:00am to 8:00 pm.
What's the e-mail address to RSVP to the sailor party?!
I just called the USO- the woman was very sweet, but not particularly helpful about the e-mail address to RSVP to. Give it up, Sara!
I teach on the UWS. The kids were terrified -- convinced that we were indeed under attack. Way too reminiscent of 2001! Yeah, yeah planes/weapons are cool and impressive, but do we really need the reminder of how mighty our overtaxed military is?
FUCK THIS "YAY FOR FLEET WEEK" SHIT! There is nothing "impressive" about a bunch of killer aircraft flying south-tower-impact low over Manhattan THREE times!!
And I highly doubt that any of those fresh-faced mid-western numbnut sailors give 2 shits about it either, when all they really want is to lose their virginity to a fat, suburban, "I Love a Man in Uniform" groupie slut!
SO THERE!
I'm with timbnyc, Interlard, Jack, Snowflake, and Mahatma on this one. Too close to 911. Too close to buildings. War toys suck hard.
I can't wait for more flyovers.
that would be on July fourth,
God bless America,
HUAAAAA!
Heard, understood, acknowledged.
It’s always nice to have the fleet in port during this time of year. Fighter Jets, ships etc, all pretty cool. Its also a huge boon for the Local Economy plus its a great way to honor the troops, So suck it up please.
Perhaps they did go overboard with the Low flying fighter Jets, but you really should expect this type of thing around Fleet Week correct?
And It’s the ARMY is taxed Snowflake, but the Navy and Air Force are in pretty good shape and they seem to have a lot of time on their hands. That’s why they’re here in force.
I am most certainly NOT with imbnyc, gizmo, Interlard, Jack, Snowflake, and Mahatma on this. These guys were good enough to ceaselessly patrol your skies when you were afraid after 9/11, but suddenly they're not good enough for you anymore because they took part in a war you just happened to disagree with?
Those guys and girls out there are flying for you, and everybody else around you. They don't get to choose where they want to go to, or how long they want to spend there, they just sign up to defend and protect the United States and to carry out the orders of whichever government the American people have elected.
But yeah, it's SO intelligent and superior to suddenly hate them for just doing their jobs in a place you didn't agree with. How pathetic.
"Actually, the Navy no longer flies F-14s, John. They retired the last combat wing a few months ago. No more Tomcats. Only Hornets."
Wrong, the USS Theodore Roosevelt's Fighter Squadron Three One "Tomcatters" still has F-14's in their wing. They're waiting for the deployment of F-18E/F's to replace them.
Fighter Squadron Two One Three just retired the F-14D's in their wing which they were based on the Theodore Roosevelt as well.
The official date for the Tomcats to be out of service is September 2006.
"Why do we let them advertise war in our skies?"
Oh jeez, I guess all those damn air shows are just bad now are they? We should pass a damn law to illegalize any showing off of military planes like the FA-18 Blue Angels and F-16 Thunderbirds.
Heck, that B-1B Lancer that flew over the Rose Bowl 2006 is just wrong too!
First, let me say that I am not a supporter of Bush's wars. I do not support the Bush agenda overseas. I must say, though, that we should not freak out about military planes flying overhead. I've lived in two other cities where military flyovers were commonplace. Of course, there was a base near one of the cities, and the other city had an Air National Guard unit stationed there. But, the fact is that our country has a military and they make their presence known. Just because they fly overhead does not mean there is an attack happening. Without them we would have been attacked long ago. I think everyone here needs to stop living their life in fear and not freak when they see a plane flying overhead. Remember, 9/11 involved commercial planes, so do you freak out when you see a commercial plane flying overhead?
I was out last night, as were a bunch of military personnel in uniform, and honestly they kind of make me feel like a schmuck standing next to them in their dress uniforms with all those medals while I'm wearing, well, whatever. Some drunken middle-aged fool started loudly deriding three guys in uniform saying that they were all upper-echelon hacks who earned all their medals by sending young kids to their deaths. My friend convinced his friend to go over and ask what, exactly, these guys won their medals for and he returned to say that they were Marine combat pilots. That's not a safe job. Having to listen to two middle-aged lawyers from Jersey deride the contribution of a bunch of guys who risk their lives on a regular basis to serve the U.S., whether one agrees with mission or not--they don't make those decisions--made me physically ill, and actually I stepped away after a few minutes. God I hate stupid loudmouthed drunken idiots.
Dave:
That's a hell of a story....I bet those guys are lightning rods for all sorts of praise " let me buy you guys a round!" or other peoples political points of view no matter how nasty. They are people who are doing their jobs, risking their lives, and when the commander and chief says jump, they jump..It's not their position to ask were, or what...
They are all brave and make me ashamed I've never been in the military
i have to second jack: are there just way more flyovers than ever? i don't remember this happening in the last four years. of course, this is also my first year of being self-employed, so perhaps the tall, soulless, corporate cubicles i used to work in just insulated me from the noise.
"Those guys and girls out there are flying for you, and everybody else around you."
Actually let me clarifiy this one a bit. I grew up in NYC. And am very aware of aircraft in the sky. Not out of fear. But fascination since I was a kid. At one point as a kid I could tell the difference between different types/makes of helicopters in the air.
And I have always found aircraft to be fascinating and cool.
But these flyovers? After talking to other friends who grew up here as well, I can not EVER recall this many flyovers of various aircraft in this city EVER.
The Blue Angels flying overhead? Makes sense. C-130s and F-18s flying LOW? I can NEVER recall that ever happening in years. And the only time it came close were the days after 9-11.
Like I said before, Chinooks and Apaches flying LOW over Brooklyn seem very odd. And it has NEVER happened before.
This is no statement on what soldiers do or don't do, but for 30 plus years I can assure you that it's not a common occurance. And the excuse of "It's Fleet Week!" doesn't hold water since this has not happened during any other fleet week I can recall. And it really does come off as some demonstration of force more than anything else.
i don't recall this many flyovers this year, but i was working in midtown instead of around battery park, so i wouldn't have seen as much previously.
Fleet week is about patriotism, national pride, and recognizing our sailors and appreciating their sacrifice.
Instead of complaining about war and fly-bys we should be graciously thanking every person in uniform we see on the streets this week for serving in the military and protecting our freedom.
I could have sworn at 10pm a commercial jet was deselerating over my third floor apartment. You know that sound a plane makes when it is decreasing the speed before it hits the runway. The airport is at least fifteen miles southeast of me. Seemed as though the sound was to close. It was out of no where and I've don't recall ever hearing it before.
You mean reverse thrusters?
aye aye ensign.
I'll grant that I was completely oblivious to the fact that it's Fleet Week, and I give props to our Armed Forces, regardless of my feelings about this war. However, I nearly had a full-on panic attack when I saw a group of fighters herding or chasing a commercial plane at skyscraper level outside of my office window yesterday, passing behind the Met Life building.
I think it's inexcusable to perform these aerial maneuvers directly over NYC at this point. 9/11 is only five years ago, and still fresh in my mind; I know this is the case with many other NYCers.
Aerial shows in the suburbs are fine -- keep them there. Let's find ways to pay respect to our troops that don't panic civilians.
mokopa, you're brainwashed. yes there have been legitimate wars that were fought to reestablish peace in the world. but that is hardly the current paradigm, i grew up between el salvador and the states but finally left because the war devastated our country. war and guns and shooting people has been our bread and butter for too long. i am with Mahatma more than ever on this one. THERE IS NO WAY TO PEACE, PEACE IS THE WAY. but the patriotism! the boys in uniform! the stars and stripes! etc etc etc I have one thought for you: try to raise your children in a war zone. the wars you fight will have to be absolutely essential after that. and one last thought: i was not among the scared after 9-11. yes my wife and i were close enough in the village to be scared on that morning. it still brings tears to my eyes. like everyone i walked around in a daze for days trying to figure it out. but we blew our chance to galvanize the world for positive good. I'm most certainly with the peacemakers (as in blessed are the...) not with the Orwellian Peacemaker missiiles. You had me at Hello, why'd you have to go bomb the fuck out of everyone?
I believe they were superhornets.....or at least i know one of them was, as my brother was the pilot :)