C130's over Oamaru

[flaming_moe]

Does anyone know what is going on in Oamaru? Theres been a few RNZAF, RAAF, Singaporean and French Herc's buzzing around low level, and doing para drops over the last couple of days...

MOE :ok:

[Ex Douglas Driver]

Air Force Hits the Mark on Exercise Skytrain

10 April 2006

Seventy five metres above the ground at a speed of 350 kilometres per hour, a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) C-130 Hercules on Exercise Skytrain weaves through valleys to avoid detection.

The 50 tonne aircraft is on a mission to deliver a 16 tonne load within seconds of a given time and within metres of a target on the ground.

Exercise Skytrain is an RNZAF 40 Squadron exercise focusing on tactical low level flying, involving aircraft from New Zealand, Singapore and New Caledonia.

An Iroquois from RNZAF 3 Squadron will provide helicopter support.

Up to 250 aircrew, maintenance and support personnel from the RNZAF will be assisted by soldiers from the New Zealand Army.

Exercise Skytrain will be conducted out of Oamaru Airport from 18 - 28 April 2006.

ENDS

[empacher48]

Quite impressive watching them fly around my part of the world, about 50 to 100 feet off the deck, following roads, powerlines, Hydroelectic canals, rivers and whatever else our Air Force needs to follow to navigate. We don't get to see all that much in the way of Heavy Metal down here except for the odd Boeing passing overhead!

[Pass-A-Frozo]

350 kilometres per hour

188 knots?? poofs :}

[Runaway Gun]

I suspect that poofy speed is with the ramp down. Limitation perhaps?

[pakeha-boy]

50 tonnes?...makes em double-poofs

[Pass-A-Frozo]

I suspect that poofy speed is with the ramp down. Limitation perhaps?
Nah.. that's 150 knots... so they are just poofs :p