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Fighters over Upper Red


MWard4400

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Last Friday about 12:30 PM did anyone else see the 4 F-22 Vipers come over Red Lake. They were Hustling probably above 300 mph and no less than 500 feet off the deck. It was absolutely awesome . It was so cool that the hair on my arms stood up, about 1/2 hour later they came back the other way.

If you looked where the sound was coming from... the aircraft was about 1/2 mile in front of it.

It made up for the slow Crappie fishing!!

Mark

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Yes, they were loud, and was awsome. I wonder what they were doing? Well besides using up are tax dollars on fuel. Maybe the canucks needed some atittude adjustments grin.gif

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Probably training runs or shuttleing aircraft from Grand Forks to Duluth.

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We had the same thing happen while ice fishing this year.....my buddy still makes comments on how cool that was!! cool.gif

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We seen them three years ago ice fishing. It was awesome. They were actually shooting some sort of flares at each other.

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They practice flying around this area and we see them pretty often nipping at the canopy. I know one thing; don't get caught napping in the boat when they crack the sky...that was a pair of shorts.

Many years ago they used to pratice bombing a little lake north of the main lake with dummy bombs.

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I was stalking a herd of pronhorns years ago in NW Wyoming when a B-1 bomber came over just off the deck. It didn't do my stalk any good and I almost needed a change of shorts. I'll bet those fighters are even faster. blush.gifblush.gif

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I heard they were working on a TIP call. They do that from time to time to help protect the resource from poachers and other nearby "Nations". smirk.gif

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I spent 10 in the service doing all kinds of crazy things. Shooting down bad guy planes and helping escort good guy planes was another day sailing the 7. The thing that makes our boys the best is the amount of time they spend with air under their butt. The only way to get good if you're a pilot is to fly, pushing the envelope. Now that I'm older and not sailing the 7, I still appreciate looking up from time to time and seeing the guys flying overhead, protecting my kids.

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Good point Boilerguy. Would rather have 'em practicing now than practicing with someone chasing them with missles. grin.gif

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I want to use one of those birds to fish for pike! Cold front smold front, your coming out of the water fishy!

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You should get one and set it up for trolling Jonny. grin.gif

Could you imagine the electronics already on it.

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Now that would be speed trolling!

I've seen them in the winer before... Low enough that you could easily make out the pilots. Pretty darn cool!

My buddy was fishing Superior once when they came by. It was a fairly calm day for Superior... He said the planes were flying at VERY low level. So low that the planes were actually leaving a wake in the water behind them! Good thing they weren't in a no wake zone... Can you imagine the ticket! grin.gif

Good Luck!

Ken

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That is really cool isn't it! Being an Air Force veteran I still look up every time and think my years in the service were the best years of my life!!! Being memorial day and all next time you see one of our boys or girls flying overhead stand up in the boat and give them a salute, they are up there for us

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Blacksheep I am with ya on this one. I do have a correction on the F-22 however.

I think they were F-16 "Fighting Falcon" also known as the "Viper". The F-22 is known as the "Raptor", I suck at Aircraft ID.

I believe the DNR owes several of the F-16's at this time for Detection of Illegal Game.

The following is a small list of the stuff they could have been packing.

Armament

Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan gatling gun, 511 rounds

Rockets: 2¾ in (70 mm) CRV7

Missiles:

Air-to-air missiles:

6× AIM-9 Sidewinder or

6× AIM-120 AMRAAM or

6× Python-4

Air-to-ground missiles:

6× AGM-65 Maverick or

4× AGM-88 HARM

Anti-ship missiles: 4× AGM-119 Penguin

Bombs:

2× CBU-87 cluster

2× CBU-89 gator mine

2× CBU-97

4× GBU-10 Paveway

6× GBU-12 Paveway II

6× Paveway-series laser-guided bombs

4× JDAM

4× Mk 80 series

B61 nuclear bomb

And Last but not least it can carry 4x 1800 BTD (Boat Tracking Device) Radar pod Missiles WITH the optional IFDR (illegal Fish Detection Radar).

At the time of the fly by on Saturday there was no launch of the missiles which meant everyone on Upper Red lake was in Compliance.

Congratulations to every on the lake at that time..... you weren't taken out!

Mark

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If I am not mistaken weren't the last F-16's just phased out of MN and ND about a month or so ago.

These must the DNR milsurp anti poaching conversions. Used to record data and identify the crappie movements under the surface for in house info only. The weapons pods are being held in reserve only if Jon P.'s anti sub tactics that he uses in the search for "RED OCTOBERS" fail.

Foster's seal's don't know what they are yet until they launch their revenge invasion up the river to interdict the flow of our life sustaining nectar at the West Wind.

It could get ugly folks but the DNR is covertly preparing for the worst we don't even want to get into the bears, moose, deer and all the other URL 5th columnists. wink.gif

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I work as an air traffic controller for the army, out of camp ripley. Actually the area over red lake is know as BEAVER MOA. It is a military operations zone and able for use by any fighter or military aircraft that has proper permission. So it isnt an uncommon thing to see them, and i think that duluth still has 16's in their arsenal.

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I got to jump off the deck of CVN-70 USS Carl Vinson one time in a mail plane. Not as fancy as what flew over head but boy was it a rush. You go from 0-100+ knots in a few seconds. Better than any roller coaster ride I've ever been on.

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They made an appearance both Thursday and Friday! Pretty wild watching them do their moves! Worth the price of admission anytime they fly by!!!

Good Luck!

Ken

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Could they have been on a seal hunt to keep them from getting out of control???? shocked.gif

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