The Bomber That Ate The Dakotas

The Strategy Page ^ | 12/05/2009 | The Strategy Page

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The U.S. Air Force is expanding its Powder River Training Complex, from 3.8 million acres (1.53 million hectares) of air space, to 20.3 million acres (8.2 million hectares), with the new range covering parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana. Most of the land below is privately owned, but the air force is obtaining permission from the FAA to ban all civilian traffic from the complex when warplanes (particularly the B-1) are using the area for training. The expanded complex is a little larger than the training area around Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The enlarged Powder River facility is needed to allow pilots to train in terrain similar to Afghanistan. As big as the complex is, only two or three B-1s can train there at the same time. Heavy bombers now use more electronic equipment to find targets, and direct bombs to them. While no real bombs are dropped during Powder River exercises, electronic systems accurately track where simulated bombs would impact. The high speed of the B-1, and all the new electronic bombing gear, translate into the need for a larger training area. Some local ranchers oppose the expanded training range, because they use single engine aircraft to keep track of widely dispersed cattle herds, or to hunt coyotes. Sometimes, the B-1s fly below a thousand feet, where the ranchers can fly even when training is going on. There have never been any collisions, but there have been some close calls. Some rural residents also complain of the noise.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Interesting.

[Erik Latranyi]

How would you like to be buzzing along in your Cessna 172, looking for your cattle herd, when a B-1 blasts past you?

[benewton]

Or a Piper Tomahawk.

Couldn’t even keep up with a Huey going into Hartford CT...

[familyop]

Hmmm...B-1 loads for Afghanistan? LOL! Here it comes.

[familyop]

"How would you like to be buzzing along in your Cessna 172, looking for your cattle herd, when a B-1 blasts past you?"

That would be cool!

[Dixie Yooper]

What good is a thread like this without at least one picture?

[Dixie Yooper]

One more.

[Mister Da]

If it passed close by the Cessna, the wing vortices from the B-1 would cause the Cessna to flop around like a feather in a tornado.

And even if the Cessna pilot could see the B-1 coming, how does a snail avoid an elephant charge? Surely an “oh shiite” moment.

[PIF]

“Some rural residents also complain of the noise.”

The sound of freedom.

[ASOC]

Bad to the B ONE!

[ASOC]

I was stationed at Nellis AFB for years.

Once in a while a tourist would complain about the noise uprange

I used to tell them the the USAF had run a series of tests and measurements

The result of these test prove that an F16 is far less noisy than a Russian bomber blowing the(*)#%()&*#% out of your city.

[Dixie Yooper]

Bad to the B ONE!

Mach 1 at sea level or where the deer and the antelope play...

[CARTOUCHE]

I used to weather brief the OB crews flying the loops out in those parts back in the early-mid 70s from my SAC base in Indiana.

[VOA]

“
The result of these test prove that an F16 is far less noisy than
a Russian bomber blowing the(*)#%()&*#% out of your city.
“

Your reply reminds me of one of my favorite features in “MAD”
Magazine: “Snappy Comebacks To Dumb Questions”.
(or observations as in the present case)

[ASOC]

LOL

YOu are correct, likely the part of the rag.

Been years since I looked at Mad or even NatLampoon

[VOA]

Hmmm...interesting bit of text:

“
The enlarged Powder River facility is needed to allow pilots to
train in terrain similar to Afghanistan.
“

Maybe some valleys occupied by the Taliban are just about to be
bombed to BEFORE The Stone Age.

(maybe training runs for an adversarial nation boardering on Afghanistan???)