[Scan-DC] B-52 flyover at Arlington later this week?

[Bruce Harper]

On Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 3:49 PM, Andrew wrote:

> Last fall when I was golfing at East Potomac, a B52 flew directly
> overhead, coming from the direction of Andrews. That was super cool.
> Eight engines.
>

We get all manner of fly-overs here in Blacksburg, some scheduled and some
impromptu, with a variety of aircraft. Because of the Corps of Cadets, there
has been a pretty steady stream of fly-overs at the openings of Virginia
Tech football games, with an alumni connection where possible. The flight,
weather permitting, typically goes from north to south crossing the campus
then the length of Lane Stadium, timed to hit just as the National Anthem is
being completed by the marching bands. In some cases, usually the military
training flights that are one-shot deals, they just "wing it" (pardon the
pun) on their approach and timing. But last October, there was a B-25 bomber
from the Tri-State Warbird Museum in Batavia, Ohio, that was also on display
the Friday before the game. There were several test runs made the Friday
afternoon before the game, with the unicom channel for the Virginia
Tech/Montgomery Regional Airport used for communications as the plane
circled around Blacksburg several times to time how long it would take to
get from a certain point to just the right place over the stadium. The other
flights are a variety of transient aircraft that seem to take either a
planned or unplanned course that just happens to take them in the vicinity
of Blacksburg. Sometimes there might be a one- or two-circuit circle of the
campus, sometimes not. The aircraft include a variety of helicopters,
transports, fighters, and an occasional bomber. Sometimes there might be
mention of their being in the area on the unicom channel but often not.

Bruce in Blacksburg