My absolute fav plane. I was scheduled to do an incentive flight on one the few that had 2 seats but I got really sick and had to be discharged love me an A10
I wasn't 100% if I'd worked with you before, but this video confirmed it! I was a Red Air GCI with VFC-13 while you were conducting this SFARP. Always love seeing aerial footage of fighters in Fallon!
I know that feeling all too well. During my last year flying for the Army we had our daughter, and I became distinctly aware of what I was risking. I remember the exact flight and moment I realized the same things you did. I was at a similar timeframe in my career as well, about 7 years in. I ended up making the choice to leave tactical flying behind, and I'm sure I'll miss it someday. But that last year was rough. Good on you for pushing through it and thank you for making this video.
@@softailfun suddenly, dying changes literally everything, because it will alter the course of your childs life forever, when before, it's generally other adults who will be affected (parents, siblings, partner) and adults grieve, but can handle it, a child needs you alive significantly more than anyone else. Easy to see how, what's strange is when it happens to you, how it feels.
I have almost 3,000 hours in Marine Corps A-6Es. We lived down there very close to the ground and normally flew our low levels at 480 knots. Single ship a lot of time was at 100' AGL or so daytime. Night time normally around 1,000'. Sometimes in perfect conditions a little less than 1,000'. The fastest I ever flew at that altitude was 580 indicated. It was in a perfectly clean aircraft in my WTI training at Yuma. An F-4 chasing me gave up because he would have had to tap burner and he didn't have the fuel. We had an acroynm RTFBOOBAG = Run The F-ing Bastards Out Of Bullits And Gas. It worked in that case. Great video and narration for the uninitiated. It brought back really nice memories to this old man. Thank you Mover. Hog out.
Joined the USAF in 1976 right out of High School. My HS Physics teacher was a retired USAF pilot. Told him I wanted to work airplanes. Paraphrasing what he said, "Don't know that is the best idea. You would be on the flight line when it is over 100 and below 0. Those planes need to fly." He recommended computers. I saw his point and here I am a retired MSgt working for Intel Corp. Those were perhaps the best years of my life. The only flying I did was on a C-141 (on web jump seats, Coffin case at our feet, and a solid rocket motor in back taking my 5 year old son to see Grandparents in the states) and in a C-5. Both trans-atlantic from England to the US; Mildenhall. And another C-5 hop from Dover to Ramstein. Ran into the base nurse's husband doing load master duty on the flight to Germany. What a great time.
Fantastic video, Mover. Takes me back to flying the CF-18 in the 80s and early 90s. We were authorized to 100' AGL; I flew hundreds of hours doing ground attack. In Northern Quebec (near Bagotville), the hills made it really tough to maintain 100' AGL. When we went to Maple Flag in Cold Lake, or Red Flag at Nellis, there were times my Radar Altimeter would go off (I had set it at 60'), and I was feeling quite comfortable. Turns at 4 to 5 G at 100' and 510 kts groundspeed were exercises in looking straight ahead through the HUD, watching the velocity vector closely. When we deployed to Lahr and Baden, West Germany, the 500' limit that was the rule at the time seemed like nose-bleed territory. In a single-seat fighter, low level flying is VERY dangerous. Looks like you did a great job respecting your personal limits and ensuring you didn't become a statistic, like too many of my close friends.
@@KutWrite Cool. You even spelled colour correctly. :) I have some BW 3/4'' HUD tapes as well! My favourite USAF low-level training video (quite old) included a quote "I looked out and got a close-up on a cactus; that's how I knew I was too low." Loved it!
Dan, agree about the difficulty flying @ 100' in hills. Flew recce Phantoms and we too were cleared to 100'...was a piece of cake at Maple Flag and some areas at Red Flag. Chuckled that at 500' you were getting nose bleeds...know the feeling. Did GCA's at Lahr and Soellingen back in the day and your controllers were the best in USAFE.
Oh man I just flashback and saw that woman looking at us passing by in our T-37 at very low altitude. That happened in Colorado, USA. We went there in a x-country out of Reese AFB , TX.
What you do is so awesome, I am a 12 year veteran of USAF security forces and spent a lot of time guarding the F16 and other air craft, I spoke to a lot of the pilots as the passed through the ECP and always wondered what it was like flying one of these jets.
Lol I bet lots make the same mistake. Most General aviation pilots are coming over to smart watches as they link up with their iPads that they get issued from the various companies, the younger ones especially. When I was in the military I just wore my trusty G10 issued watch. Gave me the time n days n that’s it. I did get a middle of the road g shock later in my career but never used it to it’s full potential, don’t think many do, as long as it’s reliable n that’s pretty much most watches n can be accurate that’s really all I ever needed. I did know guys who used to go high end but most didn’t. I personally would not be happy to spend loads on a watch n then get it all screwed up as it will get I promise. Just get a watch that u don’t mind scratching n won’t fall off ur wrist n your good 👍
Good ol' analogue G-Shock. It is super accurate. The timer is handy and it is easy switch to Zulu time as well. That is all you need for flying. All my nav is done on an android tablet, mach7 for GA and XCsoar for glider (free on Google play). You don't need the expensive stuff unless you are a snob. For GA, put your money into a good headset with active noise reduction thought, your hearing will be thankful for it, and ATC as well for not having to repeat stuff.
Even in an airliner, a watch takes a beating in a cockpit. Always moving your hands around and the watch beats against stuff. Lots of guys still wearing a g shock tho. I’ve had lots of watches through the years, but a watch with a sapphire crystal face is going to last a lot longer. If you are constantly changing time zones, it’s nice to have a watch that ties to the Bluetooth of your phone. I have never seen one of these that I like, so stick with a regular watch and change the time on the face to local for layovers.
Let me just tell you that there is ABSOLUTLY NOTHING in this world that makes me more jealous and envious than watching this video. In July of 2001 I joined the Navy to be a fighter pilot. Fast forward 10 years I became a damn good AM (Airframe Structural Mechanic.) Never made it in the cockpit unfortunately. It is so awesome watching you fly. Thanks for posting.
This movie is so cool. It reminds me of my Low Altitude Let down Training back in the middle 80's flying in the Rhino! Making a 4 G level turn for 180 degrees was harder than it seemed without climbing. That was a objective my instructor stressed in our learning phase. It is amazing that this became so comfortable after continuous training and maintaining that skill level. Low level flying up in Goose Bay CA was the ultimate in my flying career. Thanks for the memories! Ross
Totally reminiscent of a cross-country flight in a 172 between Dallas and Ardmore, Ok, where that beast of a thrust machine topped out at a blistering 112 knots whilst crunching earth at about 500 agl over the ranches...I was gleefully humming Ride of the Valkyries...that is as close as I dare expect getting to your level of badassedness, CW! Thanks for sharing this incredible video and for your service! You always have complimentary beignets and coffee up the road here in Red Stick!
Mysterious MrX Only after Chuck Norris materialized in the backseat...he flew us to Lukla solely on his concentration and shot a night time approach with his powerful roundhouse...
I can’t imagine being on one of those trails you can see on the mountaintops, just walking through nature then a pack of Hornets come screaming over you at 200’. It would be an experience.
Really interesting, honest analysis of the flight. Working up in the Scottish highlands in a previous career, I used to see RAF Tornados, Hawks and Typhoons screaming past at low level. I realised I would never be satisfied working on terra firma for the rest of my life. In my 30s, I was too old to get into the Air Force but eventually got to flying 320s for a major airline. Still have a huge respect for the kind of flying you’re doing in this video, and really brings back memories seeing fast jets up close, doing just what you’re doing here. First time I was ever uncomfortable in an aircraft was flying little PA28s over terrain in the south of Spain in the middle of summer, while in flight school; crazy turbulence in a small aircraft and really uncomfortable. Not even close to the same safety margin as you’re flying with here, but a big realisation that there’s only one person in that aircraft who’s going to take it home. You really learn to respect the environment in which you’re flying and the comfort zone you have at that point in your experience. Top work!
In 2009, my unit out of Hialeah, FL spent a week out at MCMWTC in Bridgeport. We did a lot of humping in those mountains with full pack up in those ridges. On one of those returns legs back down to base (which is down in a flat valley) we were coming off a high ridge from somewhere in the direction of White Mountain when one of your F-18 cohorts (I'm guessing out of Travis in the west or Fallon in the east) blasted over us at low level. If you've never experienced this, for a split second, it feels like you are being hit by a lightning strike or like the air is coming out of you. Of course, the aircraft isn't that low but its almost a psychological/physiological effect up on a high ridge from the sheer suddenness of the sound wave. None of us heard him coming so I'm guessing he was supersonic but that thing shook us off our feet and we watched him, astonished, as he dipped down below us and into the valley before gracefully pulling up and out. That was VERY inspiring to us. It was almost like he knew we were up on that ridge (which of course was not the case). That was the most extraordinary moment I ever had on a hump. I just found your channel on UA-cam and I think you already stopped flying Hornets but please let folks in your circles know that these low level flights do a lot for morale among Marines on the ground.
This is incredible. Thank you for putting this out. I've seen several of these low level videos but I've always been curious about what's going through the pilot's head. Your narration really scratches that intellectual itch for me.
This content, your skill, professionalism as a pilot/aviator and thr manner in which you present and reveal where it's at in a post modern fighter is sensational, enthralling, inspiring, lump in the throat stuff. As an Aussie, I'm proud to be celebrating 100 years of the RAAF! At 59 I've been into military aviation all my life and this forum just rock's. Thank you for the articulate and totally aware and switched - on presentations of the subject matter.
Love these videos man... I live in Reno and hunted bighorn sheep out by the Fallon Naval Air Station. One day I was heading over a Ridgeline and a jet came right over me from behind. One of scariest, yet exhilarating things Ive ever experienced.
A pair of hornets buzzed me riding my motorcycle through Death Valley on my 2012 road trip out west. First one flew over my right shoulder and pulled some high G turns across the road showing me the top of the aircraft then straightened back out on his original flight path. The second one flew over the same shoulder with the hammer down chasing his lead, had to have been Mach .999999999999. Erection lasted more than 4 hours so I had to call a doctor 😂 💥🇺🇸’MERICA!🇺🇸💥
Same type of thing happened to me back in 2013. I was in my truck though.. Still.. What a sight. I had a grin on my face for hours. Hey, ya think they might like messing with drivers? 😆
I've done that route in an EA6B, as a back seater, when the exercise was over, the CO of the EA6B squadron, the pilot, pushed inverted, ,military power in the EA6B's more powerful engines chased down the A6 we were providing electronic interference for and chased him down to the deck! Thanks so much for the memories!!!
I was a Range Control Officer in AZ and one day a Norwegian AF Pilot asked to cross at 100' AGL, and I approved him. Stepped outside the tower having to look down at him zooming by with a rooster tail of dust behind him. He was closer to 50' and I was jumping up and down like a little kid! I bet he was just as stoked as I was! Can't do that in Europe where he normally flies!
"-Would be cool to be in a car on the highway seeing two hornets flying by at 250 feet" This line was funny to me. Dude.. you are doing all the cool stuff😁
Pretty low pretty fast. Spent some time in the Army with the 14 ACR in Ft Lewis, Wash back in RVN days. Was with the Defending Force of our Brigade on a ridge about 30 feet over a plain where the aggressors (Army Training Test) were advancing towards us. The aggressors were led by a company of tanks and we were standing in the middle of the Tank Company in defense on the small ridge. I was standing with our Brigade's TACP (an AF Major). We had a group of F4s out of Mountain Home playing with our side that day and they were doing low level passes across the advancing forces on the plain from my left to my right. I know they were less than 500 feet, more like 200 feet. One of the F4s made a pass that was so low that the AF Major and I swore we were looking down into his cockpit. I promise his remaining 4 or 5 passes were considerably higher than any that had come before. That trip must have been uncomfortable flying all the way back to Idaho.
Great stuff Mover! I need you to swing by the office next time you have a layover in Phoenix and I'll get you in the VR Hornet. I noted you had the HSI on the LDDI and not MPCD, common for low level to keep eyes out of the guts of the cockpit?
@@teedee9393 I'd really love mover gets together with Matt Wagner to show him the correct way to using the VR, it also would be amazing to see mover again flying the dcs hornet version but this time in the perfect way, and why not, maybe mover could be part of a virtual squadron someday. 👌
There's just something about the Hornet. My uncle worked on them at PAX River Naval Base since I was a kid. The shape of the aircraft screams precision and power. Add the Blue Angels markings and it's the best looking aircraft I've ever had the privilege to see in service. Thanks, C.W. to you and your fellow pilots for what you have done and continue to do for our country. You are appreciated even more than you know.
Yeah, AWESOME vid, wow. Turned 59 yrs old YESTERDAY (Oct. 18) and I’m going “Man, what I’d give to experience this ride!” Ha ha ha. Flew piston helos back in ‘04-‘06 and THAT granted, was nothing I know ( BUT it was great in & of itself & I wouldn’t trade THAT experience)
Hello Mr. Mover!. Very nice of you being humble and admiting publicly that you were sort of scared. IMHO the ultimate stage of greatness is being humble and caring with other people. I think your a nice and great guy. Keep on and thanks for your videos!
Awesome video, thank you for sharing. The video shows the ride is very bumpy at times. Looked like your helmet almost hit the canopy at about 19:44 in the video. I was driving east on I-10 one September afternoon approaching Phoenix, AZ & two F/A-18 aircraft came across above & in front of me flying high speed just above the ground from my left to right. It was very thrilling to see!! Lt Lemoine, this is my favorite of your videos.
A high school friend of mine did a cross service tour with the German air force, he sent me a picture looking up at the side of a church steeple at 500 knots!
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I have had a great career as a maintainer (USAF and civilian) , but love to get a peek into the exciting life of a fighter pilot. What an amazing life you have had. Thank you for serving. I have a great deal of respect for your intellect and skill.
Seeing fighters go over - or under - from the ground never gets old. We were riding dirt bikes in the Mountains in ID a few years back and had stopped up high on a logging road near the top of a point in a wide valley and had our helmets off to take a couple pictures in front of this valley... I was like, "I hear jets..." and about two seconds later a pair of 'hawgs (from Boise I assume) went whizzing past BELOW where we were standing and then on down the valley. That was so very awesome. I could definitely use more of that in my life hah.
I had something similar happen in Breckenridge. We were up on a hillside just hiking around, when I look down the mountain and see a C-17 just flying through the valley. Definitely an odd feeling to look down on a plane.
I had a surreal experience when hiking in Wales UK in freezing conditions. I was standing on top of a 500 foot near vertical ridge when an F111 came from behind with no warning, just easing up over the ridge, it passed overhead at no more than 50 feet which was a bit of a shock, but the amazing thing was the way it changed my environment. For a few seconds I was standing behind a giant, kerosene powered space heater, lovely and warm! Quite lucky it didn't blow me off the ridge in hindsight! Great days, saw lots of very low level stuff in Wales in the 80's, much of it below me, as I lived on a mountain that was used as a turning point so I got a wave from the pilots on some occasions whilst I was checking the sheep!
Very entertaining. This was my goal in life to be a navy fighter pilot but back surgery wen I was 16 ruined my dreams. Ty for your service man. Appreciate all our military vets
Taking away the whole war and death part of that job, flying those machines must be the best thing ever... that is some amazing life experience you got there! Closest I'll ever get is a VR sim :D
When the flight overflew that highway, I was just thinking how cool it would be to be driving on that highway when that's exactly what Mover said! He mentioned in the "battle damage" check, were they check for popped open panels due to high G. I experienced this in a limited, civilian scenario while riding second seat with a flight instructor doing aerobatics in a Citabria - we were doing inverted spins and other high G maneuvers (not as intense as F18, obviously) and when we landed all the aluminum wing inspection panels were missing... oh, I agree with Jarret, thanks for not ruining this video with music.
Mover, your channel and videos are the best! My favorite channel I subscribed to! You've now inspired me to return to school and try to become a fighter pilot myself. Great content, keep it comin.
That sound of you guys flying over head is the greatest sound ever before you drop that pay back....just to know you guys were up there made things on the ground much easier. Thank you brother.
Mover,my hands were actually sweating while I was watching this video.If you did not have those thoughts of mortality there would be something wrong.The speed,altitude,gravitational pull,a hyper vigilant flight that puts wear and tear on the physiological and psychological aspects of flying that low.It takes only one tiny hair of a mistake.I could see the sand grains as you were passing over some areas.I don`t mean to sound raw, but I think most people would have had to bring along an extra pair of jockey shorts!!Thank you for your training and skill.My brother`s life was saved by Navy pilots coming in,flying low level and dropping some presents on the Vietcong,during his tour.Another story........My highest respect...Jan
ScotSpeed - I know, but I figured it wouldn’t take long for some yokel to comment about it. My son just left for Lackland AFB for basic. My dad was an Army Air Corp pilot in WWII. I’m a hang glider pilot and a Private Pilot. THIS video is flying!!
I know the feeling. I had that realization of mortality moment when my daughter was born, so I sold my 2 sport bikes without hesitation even though riding was my life. I knew it was real bc I wrecked pretty bad before, twice near death and didn’t have a thought about giving it up then. But when my daughter was born I just knew I had more to live for than my own pleasures. I’m thinking about getting another bike soon bc I miss riding but I will definitely have more respect for the killing machine I mount, for the road, and the ppl on it. No more reckless speeding, wheelies, and not using turn signals. Always keeping my head on a swivel and riding defensively. Thank you Mover for your service, and your UA-cam channel sharing your experience. I’m 24 and aspiring fighter pilot. USMC vet and starting school at Embry Riddle soon. Hopefully I can make the 29 year cut off and clear all the medical hurdles. Keep up the awesome videos!
C.W. Lemoine I have always wondered this...... On long trips in a car do you ever think that you are going super slow? Because of the fact you could be there in a min if you were in the F18.😊
Thank you for putting out these videos. I tried so hard to go to Annapolis with the hope of becoming a pilot, but never got the opportunity. The F-18 is by far my most favorite jet, and I am very grateful that you have video from the cockpit to give me a glimpse of what that life is like. Please continue to make these videos as they are truly inspiring.
Watching the hornet from the ground is something I’ve done ever since my junior year of high school and to this day the super hornet is my favorite. I don’t live near military airbase so I don’t see them much. So it was quite a surprise when 4 of them came over the house to land at the airport for refueling. My house is directly in the flightpath so when they took back off they had their after burners lit, and they did a low-level flyby on the way out. My stupid next-door neighbor tried to call the airport and complain about it, but they just laughed in her face and said “Sorry, but we’re a military hub and the pilots can do whatever they want.” And it’s not like they could’ve done anything anyway because they were departing. I don’t know how listening to something like that could ever get old because even when a passenger airplane flies by I still listen to it even if I’m inside. On occasion I do get pretty lucky and hear a military aircraft land or takeoff here in when I do it’s always exhilarating
@@stripiestwig3361 Ehhhh! I'll disagree with you on that. When participating is anything that has the potential to take your life, there is a threshold as Mover spoke to in this video where your brain clicks and says, "this is for keeps." Eighty-five mph in the mountains on on a sport bike or 500 kts 250' in the air, dead is dead and your brain knows it. I would assume the same level of concentration is there and required for both. One wrong move in either endeavor and .........splat!
Thanks. I was USMC TACP, 1986 at Fallon. Navy F-18 was never cleared hot. It was the only day I had ever had civilian reporters with me. It was a Charlie Foxtrot, I mean a CLUSTER F&CK. Now that I see why you see, I dunno.....more forgivable in a way. He still should not have dropped without clearance, but it was a new jet back then, and I dunno...I hated it for years, but kind of understand now.
I really need to go to the Air Races again. Fond memories. Got to sit an A-10 and wear a helmet and mask when i was a kid! Dayton Just isnt the same, the static displays aren't as good.
Nice video! Hey Mover, do you use inverted flight so that you only get positive G when adjusting altitude after a ridge? I do that all the time in DCS and someone chastised me for it but if I was in the real deal I would prefer that to pushing the stick forward and getting negative G!
I thought flying low level in a helicopter when I was a crew chief was a thrill. I have to admit this has that beat. Keep up the good work, enjoy them all.
I typically wore ACCES ear plugs and the helmet had hearing hearing protection built in as well. Not loud wearing all of that, but loud enough if you took it off.
@@Mrparangos3 Thanks man, I fly occasionally on DCS! I played Lock-On religiously for a long time too, just been too busy to commit to learning the Hornet or the new F-14 yet!
Great video, Mover. Your comments about how you felt during this flight reminded me of a conversation I had with my brother once. He was on the ordnance crew for VMFAT 101 (The Sharpshooters) stationed out of El Toro. After time he got to know a few of the piots. During one of our visits one weekend, I said something along the lines of "man, those fighter pilots must not think about anything other than their aircraft, how it's performing, how they're performing, and having every nerve aware planning ahead for every possible scenario they might encounter". He told me that although a lot of that is true, fighter pilots are more human than you think. They deal with everyday life just like you and me, and they take on the responsibilities that come with flying a fighter in the military too! A special breed for sure. Never had anything but respect for you guys. Hats off to you!
Jay Dunn I’m a corporate pilot Jay. I’m also not a fan of heights. There is no sense of height like climbing a ladder for me. The only time I felt that was in a open cockpit Biplane. Wasn’t bad, just felt different. You should go to your local flight school and take a introductory flight. I think you will be surprised.
I worked at Fallon NAS before going to Nellis AFB and Groom Lake. There were many sad days when we saw JP5 burning up on the side of a mountain or on the valley floor. We had tracking cams on our 3D equipment and I witnessed many final scariest moments.
Very interesting seeing a fighter pilots perspective on 250' AGL versus an AH-64 pilot's perspective on the same altitude. When we get down to 25' and 130 knots while bumping over telephone poles, the feeling is mutual.
Been watching your channel for a bit now. First of all Thanks for your service. From a former Ground pounder. Anyway, its interesting to watch and listen to you talk about these things. When you guys are overhead and we are screaming at you for help overseas....it looks nothing less than professional. I would have guessed the low level flight is something you do in pilot training the way they flew that stuff in combat. Its pretty neat to see your videos and be reminded that you guys are human just like we are.....your emotions get to you just like ours do. I wouldn't mind seeing a video of your combat experiences and just the experiences you felt when trying to support us and trying to change a battle for us. Thanks again for the videos. Love it.
I explained it in the video. Scariest in that it was a realization at that point in my life while flying a fairly intense sortie with minimal training for the first time.
@@adambydand1214 I know, and Mover knows what I'm talking about, as he said he already had a bunch of emo crap rattling around in his bucket while trying to concentrate on not screwing the pooch, then to have her bitchin in his ear that he's about to have a bad day multiple times over a circuit fault, and all at an altitude that he's a heart beat away from lawn darting the brown stuff. It's enough overload to piss off even the most level headed slick driver. Which is what he's talking about, even though he didn't actually say it.
Nothing emo about it. There is nothing wrong with realizing what's important in your life at the time and not wanting to give that up. Also, there was no bitching betty screaming in my ear the entire time.
Lost a friend in low level training in a t-45, they was on x/c from home base nas meridian up in Tennessee doing low levels, RIP Tank Vt7, couple guys from Vt-7 did a fly over for his family last weekend in New Orleans, nice video love the channel.
I’ve flown in a Cobra (don’t ask) on the deck and that was a seat sucker flight. Couldn’t imagine being a first timer, first year, 250ft/500kts. Flight Equip is gonna have to super clean that O2 and Compression pants.
When I lived in North Yorkshire UK. I live in a small town Burnt Yates at a start of a 20 mile valley. Tornado GR1 fighters used to fly over my house maybe 200 or 300 feet and enter the valley. The valley road was about mid way up the valley wall going to Patly Bridge. You would be driving down the road and jets would be fly below you. One of the coolest thinks I have ever seen.
Fantastic Video CW..!! There is nothing like blasting thru the mountains of Nevada and California in a F-18. Way back in the fall of 1983 I was driving a Mercury station wagon from Las Vegas to Mammoth CA. I took a short cut off of 95 on route 266 in Nevada and then 168 in CA thru the White Mountain range. In the distance I saw 3 jets doing wild turns at the mountain crest. All of a sudden something was in my rear view mirror.. and then thunder... Another F-18 came up behind me and dusted me at approx 100 feet and doing over 600 mph. All I saw was the 2 engine flames and then a huge dust cloud. The car shook but I kept it straight on the high desert road.. I wondered if the pilot was LOL..??
What impressed me was sustaining that pucker factor for that long. I heard a story from a guy flying an F4 in Germany. He entered a canyon and the bottom dropped out. With full burner he only barely cleared the trees at the base of the canyon.
This is so cool, because it's perspective I was obviously clueless about. I'm an Army Infantry vet, and got to work with A10 drivers a lot. I took for granted, and obviously assumed that these guys flew more low level than they actually do. (Disclaimer: not meant in anyway to detract from their obvious skills). Really really cool video. Oh yeah... thanks for no cheesy music! Enjoying the aircraft is all the music needed.
@C.W. Lemoine , One of your best videos. Your honesty, straightforward way of thinking, on top of a true passion for flying and a "by the book" character. I'm in the process of buying and downloading all the books you've written. Though envious...I'm a big fan. Thank you for this channel.🖖
What I love about these videos you do, is that to a normal person this seems like far beyond the craziest thing we would ever do. That we would not be capable of this and it gives us appreciation. However seeing you constantly looking left and straight, back left, checking the mirrors, rolling over for a view of the terrain. Explaining how you are going about this crazy thing logically. I almost found myself thinking, you learn to drive a car when your dad (like a flight lead who’s done it before) takes you out on a route he knows. Has you make some turns, maybe has you park the car and then you turn around and go home. This is more or less the same thing but just in a fighter jet at 800mph where you die instead of get into a fender bender.
This gives me a whole new appreciation for the A10 pilots doing runs for us in the mountains.
It’s like crop dusting , but for ppl 🤣
@@leefithian3704
Hahahahahahahaha
PPL specialized in bombings 😂
My absolute fav plane. I was scheduled to do an incentive flight on one the few that had 2 seats but I got really sick and had to be discharged love me an A10
A10 are more slow and maneuverables
@@brunodavidferreira5781 True but doing what they did in the mountains for us was amazing.
Thanks for not adding music to this
ditto
Aw come on...don't you miss "highway to the danger zoooone!" just a little bit? ;)
Dirt Flyer not an F-14
@@gmcjetpilot We wanna feel the immersion
Mighty Wings, by Cheap Trick
I wasn't 100% if I'd worked with you before, but this video confirmed it! I was a Red Air GCI with VFC-13 while you were conducting this SFARP. Always love seeing aerial footage of fighters in Fallon!
Mover needs to see this!
For a fraction of a second I thought to myself..he should close those mirrors for better FPS. Too much DCS for me.
I have had these moments....
Hidalgo House it sounds like you could do with a PC upgrade my friend lol 😜
Its 30-60fps anyways ;)
Hilarious... yessir
lol!
I know that feeling all too well. During my last year flying for the Army we had our daughter, and I became distinctly aware of what I was risking. I remember the exact flight and moment I realized the same things you did. I was at a similar timeframe in my career as well, about 7 years in. I ended up making the choice to leave tactical flying behind, and I'm sure I'll miss it someday. But that last year was rough. Good on you for pushing through it and thank you for making this video.
sbuzzkill o
Strange how have a baby changes your view on life, often without you even realising it! Respect.
@@softailfun suddenly, dying changes literally everything, because it will alter the course of your childs life forever, when before, it's generally other adults who will be affected (parents, siblings, partner) and adults grieve, but can handle it, a child needs you alive significantly more than anyone else. Easy to see how, what's strange is when it happens to you, how it feels.
I have almost 3,000 hours in Marine Corps A-6Es. We lived down there very close to the ground and normally flew our low levels at 480 knots. Single ship a lot of time was at 100' AGL or so daytime. Night time normally around 1,000'. Sometimes in perfect conditions a little less than 1,000'. The fastest I ever flew at that altitude was 580 indicated. It was in a perfectly clean aircraft in my WTI training at Yuma. An F-4 chasing me gave up because he would have had to tap burner and he didn't have the fuel. We had an acroynm RTFBOOBAG = Run The F-ing Bastards Out Of Bullits And Gas. It worked in that case. Great video and narration for the uninitiated. It brought back really nice memories to this old man. Thank you Mover. Hog out.
Mondays with Mover have become a Tuesday ritual for me. (Australian time zone). Great video, thanks mate!
Joined the USAF in 1976 right out of High School. My HS Physics teacher was a retired USAF pilot. Told him I wanted to work airplanes. Paraphrasing what he said, "Don't know that is the best idea. You would be on the flight line when it is over 100 and below 0. Those planes need to fly." He recommended computers. I saw his point and here I am a retired MSgt working for Intel Corp. Those were perhaps the best years of my life. The only flying I did was on a C-141 (on web jump seats, Coffin case at our feet, and a solid rocket motor in back taking my 5 year old son to see Grandparents in the states) and in a C-5. Both trans-atlantic from England to the US; Mildenhall. And another C-5 hop from Dover to Ramstein. Ran into the base nurse's husband doing load master duty on the flight to Germany. What a great time.
Everything you have done, for a career, nothing but respect, stay blessed and thank you for all of your service....
Fantastic video, Mover. Takes me back to flying the CF-18 in the 80s and early 90s. We were authorized to 100' AGL; I flew hundreds of hours doing ground attack. In Northern Quebec (near Bagotville), the hills made it really tough to maintain 100' AGL. When we went to Maple Flag in Cold Lake, or Red Flag at Nellis, there were times my Radar Altimeter would go off (I had set it at 60'), and I was feeling quite comfortable. Turns at 4 to 5 G at 100' and 510 kts groundspeed were exercises in looking straight ahead through the HUD, watching the velocity vector closely. When we deployed to Lahr and Baden, West Germany, the 500' limit that was the rule at the time seemed like nose-bleed territory. In a single-seat fighter, low level flying is VERY dangerous. Looks like you did a great job respecting your personal limits and ensuring you didn't become a statistic, like too many of my close friends.
I produced training videos for TOPGUN 'til 1991. We loved to show your guys' colo(u)r HUD videos. Ours were very shaky B&W recorded on 3/4" cassettes.
@@KutWrite Cool. You even spelled colour correctly. :) I have some BW 3/4'' HUD tapes as well! My favourite USAF low-level training video (quite old) included a quote "I looked out and got a close-up on a cactus; that's how I knew I was too low." Loved it!
Dan, agree about the difficulty flying @ 100' in hills. Flew recce Phantoms and we too were cleared to 100'...was a piece of cake at Maple Flag and some areas at Red Flag. Chuckled that at 500' you were getting nose bleeds...know the feeling. Did GCA's at Lahr and Soellingen back in the day and your controllers were the best in USAFE.
Oh man I just flashback and saw that woman looking at us passing by in our T-37 at very low altitude. That happened in Colorado, USA. We went there in a x-country out of Reese AFB , TX.
@@jcheck6 Pretty sure Dan is Canadian so saying "your" controllers were the best in the Usaf makes no sense
What you do is so awesome, I am a 12 year veteran of USAF security forces and spent a lot of time guarding the F16 and other air craft, I spoke to a lot of the pilots as the passed through the ECP and always wondered what it was like flying one of these jets.
I spent all this money on a pilots watch, and a real pilot wears a digital G Shock. 🤦♂️
Curtis Lenox like military.....I spent all money on military watch ....marathon gsar, luminox, and real soilder wear gshock lol
Lol I bet lots make the same mistake. Most General aviation pilots are coming over to smart watches as they link up with their iPads that they get issued from the various companies, the younger ones especially. When I was in the military I just wore my trusty G10 issued watch. Gave me the time n days n that’s it. I did get a middle of the road g shock later in my career but never used it to it’s full potential, don’t think many do, as long as it’s reliable n that’s pretty much most watches n can be accurate that’s really all I ever needed. I did know guys who used to go high end but most didn’t. I personally would not be happy to spend loads on a watch n then get it all screwed up as it will get I promise. Just get a watch that u don’t mind scratching n won’t fall off ur wrist n your good 👍
Good ol' analogue G-Shock. It is super accurate. The timer is handy and it is easy switch to Zulu time as well. That is all you need for flying. All my nav is done on an android tablet, mach7 for GA and XCsoar for glider (free on Google play). You don't need the expensive stuff unless you are a snob. For GA, put your money into a good headset with active noise reduction thought, your hearing will be thankful for it, and ATC as well for not having to repeat stuff.
I feel better about my old rubber G Shock now. :)
Even in an airliner, a watch takes a beating in a cockpit. Always moving your hands around and the watch beats against stuff. Lots of guys still wearing a g shock tho. I’ve had lots of watches through the years, but a watch with a sapphire crystal face is going to last a lot longer. If you are constantly changing time zones, it’s nice to have a watch that ties to the Bluetooth of your phone. I have never seen one of these that I like, so stick with a regular watch and change the time on the face to local for layovers.
Let me just tell you that there is ABSOLUTLY NOTHING in this world that makes me more jealous and envious than watching this video. In July of 2001 I joined the Navy to be a fighter pilot. Fast forward 10 years I became a damn good AM (Airframe Structural Mechanic.) Never made it in the cockpit unfortunately. It is so awesome watching you fly. Thanks for posting.
This movie is so cool. It reminds me of my Low Altitude Let down Training back in the middle 80's flying in the Rhino! Making a 4 G level turn for 180 degrees was harder than it seemed without climbing. That was a objective my instructor stressed in our learning phase. It is amazing that this became so comfortable after continuous training and maintaining that skill level. Low level flying up in Goose Bay CA was the ultimate in my flying career. Thanks for the memories! Ross
Totally reminiscent of a cross-country flight in a 172 between Dallas and Ardmore, Ok, where that beast of a thrust machine topped out at a blistering 112 knots whilst crunching earth at about 500 agl over the ranches...I was gleefully humming Ride of the Valkyries...that is as close as I dare expect getting to your level of badassedness, CW! Thanks for sharing this incredible video and for your service! You always have complimentary beignets and coffee up the road here in Red Stick!
Wings fall off when you flew inverted?
Mysterious MrX Only after Chuck Norris materialized in the backseat...he flew us to Lukla solely on his concentration and shot a night time approach with his powerful roundhouse...
Quality comment.
I once got a 152 up to 115 knots!! Nyah! ;-)
@@70snostalgia ... hope you pulled out of the dive in time!
An author a fighter pilot an airline pilot and an officer. What do you do with your other 40 hours in the day?
Haha
puke their guts out
Sit here and watch other people be awesome, then go to bed.
Try and find trousers big enough...
He got a girlfriend...she keeps him happy.
I can’t imagine being on one of those trails you can see on the mountaintops, just walking through nature then a pack of Hornets come screaming over you at 200’. It would be an experience.
Really interesting, honest analysis of the flight. Working up in the Scottish highlands in a previous career, I used to see RAF Tornados, Hawks and Typhoons screaming past at low level. I realised I would never be satisfied working on terra firma for the rest of my life. In my 30s, I was too old to get into the Air Force but eventually got to flying 320s for a major airline. Still have a huge respect for the kind of flying you’re doing in this video, and really brings back memories seeing fast jets up close, doing just what you’re doing here. First time I was ever uncomfortable in an aircraft was flying little PA28s over terrain in the south of Spain in the middle of summer, while in flight school; crazy turbulence in a small aircraft and really uncomfortable. Not even close to the same safety margin as you’re flying with here, but a big realisation that there’s only one person in that aircraft who’s going to take it home. You really learn to respect the environment in which you’re flying and the comfort zone you have at that point in your experience. Top work!
In 2009, my unit out of Hialeah, FL spent a week out at MCMWTC in Bridgeport. We did a lot of humping in those mountains with full pack up in those ridges. On one of those returns legs back down to base (which is down in a flat valley) we were coming off a high ridge from somewhere in the direction of White Mountain when one of your F-18 cohorts (I'm guessing out of Travis in the west or Fallon in the east) blasted over us at low level. If you've never experienced this, for a split second, it feels like you are being hit by a lightning strike or like the air is coming out of you. Of course, the aircraft isn't that low but its almost a psychological/physiological effect up on a high ridge from the sheer suddenness of the sound wave. None of us heard him coming so I'm guessing he was supersonic but that thing shook us off our feet and we watched him, astonished, as he dipped down below us and into the valley before gracefully pulling up and out. That was VERY inspiring to us. It was almost like he knew we were up on that ridge (which of course was not the case). That was the most extraordinary moment I ever had on a hump. I just found your channel on UA-cam and I think you already stopped flying Hornets but please let folks in your circles know that these low level flights do a lot for morale among Marines on the ground.
This is incredible. Thank you for putting this out. I've seen several of these low level videos but I've always been curious about what's going through the pilot's head. Your narration really scratches that intellectual itch for me.
This content, your skill, professionalism as a pilot/aviator and thr manner in which you present and reveal where it's at in a post modern fighter is sensational, enthralling, inspiring, lump in the throat stuff. As an Aussie, I'm proud to be celebrating 100 years of the RAAF! At 59 I've been into military aviation all my life and this forum just rock's. Thank you for the articulate and totally aware and switched - on presentations of the subject matter.
No music. THANK-YOU!
Love these videos man... I live in Reno and hunted bighorn sheep out by the Fallon Naval Air Station. One day I was heading over a Ridgeline and a jet came right over me from behind. One of scariest, yet exhilarating things Ive ever experienced.
Haha I lived in Fallon and was looking for sheep when a jet flew up the canyon and I was looking down into the cockpit. Awesome
A pair of hornets buzzed me riding my motorcycle through Death Valley on my 2012 road trip out west. First one flew over my right shoulder and pulled some high G turns across the road showing me the top of the aircraft then straightened back out on his original flight path. The second one flew over the same shoulder with the hammer down chasing his lead, had to have been Mach .999999999999. Erection lasted more than 4 hours so I had to call a doctor 😂 💥🇺🇸’MERICA!🇺🇸💥
LOL
thats so cool
I bet when you told the doc what happened, he got an erection too.
Same type of thing happened to me back in 2013. I was in my truck though.. Still.. What a sight. I had a grin on my face for hours. Hey, ya think they might like messing with drivers? 😆
Great experience, better ending to the comment. Nearly wore my morning coffee!
I've done that route in an EA6B, as a back seater, when the exercise was over, the CO of the EA6B squadron, the pilot, pushed inverted, ,military power in the EA6B's more powerful engines chased down the A6 we were providing electronic interference for and chased him down to the deck! Thanks so much for the memories!!!
Aircraft videos from a real deal fighter pilots like CW Lemoine's are really satisfying videos. This is really nice videos beginning to end!
I was a Range Control Officer in AZ and one day a Norwegian AF Pilot asked to cross at 100' AGL, and I approved him. Stepped outside the tower having to look down at him zooming by with a rooster tail of dust behind him. He was closer to 50' and I was jumping up and down like a little kid! I bet he was just as stoked as I was! Can't do that in Europe where he normally flies!
"-Would be cool to be in a car on the highway seeing two hornets flying by at 250 feet" This line was funny to me.
Dude.. you are doing all the cool stuff😁
Pretty low pretty fast. Spent some time in the Army with the 14 ACR in Ft Lewis, Wash back in RVN days. Was with the Defending Force of our Brigade on a ridge about 30 feet over a plain where the aggressors (Army Training Test) were advancing towards us. The aggressors were led by a company of tanks and we were standing in the middle of the Tank Company in defense on the small ridge. I was standing with our Brigade's TACP (an AF Major). We had a group of F4s out of Mountain Home playing with our side that day and they were doing low level passes across the advancing forces on the plain from my left to my right. I know they were less than 500 feet, more like 200 feet. One of the F4s made a pass that was so low that the AF Major and I swore we were looking down into his cockpit. I promise his remaining 4 or 5 passes were considerably higher than any that had come before. That trip must have been uncomfortable flying all the way back to Idaho.
12:46 "The seatbelt light would definitely be on in the airliner."
**is almost fully banked, entering a valley**
LOL! Great timing. xD
Great stuff Mover! I need you to swing by the office next time you have a layover in Phoenix and I'll get you in the VR Hornet. I noted you had the HSI on the LDDI and not MPCD, common for low level to keep eyes out of the guts of the cockpit?
I live in Phoenix and I am an aspiring 17 year-old pilot. Is this VR Hornet you speak of open to the public? I would be thrilled to try that out!
Yeah. I did it so as not to be looking down when cross checking the route.
@@evanhasson6032 it's the DCS Hornet, not some super expensive simulation cockpit. Matt Wagner is the producer for DCS.
Such a shame that they didn't make it possible for him to try VR on the other video (with bananimial)!!! Its a potential game-changer for simulation
@@teedee9393 I'd really love mover gets together with Matt Wagner to show him the correct way to using the VR, it also would be amazing to see mover again flying the dcs hornet version but this time in the perfect way, and why not, maybe mover could be part of a virtual squadron someday. 👌
There's just something about the Hornet. My uncle worked on them at PAX River Naval Base since I was a kid. The shape of the aircraft screams precision and power. Add the Blue Angels markings and it's the best looking aircraft I've ever had the privilege to see in service. Thanks, C.W. to you and your fellow pilots for what you have done and continue to do for our country. You are appreciated even more than you know.
Loved the video . I used to fly low level a lot on my F16 Falcon simulator. You are living the life.
Nice and professional. No extra talk, no bragging. Love it
Yeah, AWESOME vid, wow. Turned 59 yrs old YESTERDAY (Oct. 18) and I’m going “Man, what I’d give to experience this ride!” Ha ha ha. Flew piston helos back in ‘04-‘06 and THAT granted, was nothing I know ( BUT it was great in & of itself & I wouldn’t trade THAT experience)
Hello Mr. Mover!. Very nice of you being humble and admiting publicly that you were sort of scared. IMHO the ultimate stage of greatness is being humble and caring with other people. I think your a nice and great guy. Keep on and thanks for your videos!
I think you won over the DCS crowd Mover! Ibet we're becoming your best customers! ;) Love your videos man, thanks for making 'em!
Awesome video, thank you for sharing. The video shows the ride is very bumpy at times. Looked like your helmet almost hit the canopy at about 19:44 in the video. I was driving east on I-10 one September afternoon approaching Phoenix, AZ & two F/A-18 aircraft came across above & in front of me flying high speed just above the ground from my left to right. It was very thrilling to see!! Lt Lemoine, this is my favorite of your videos.
A high school friend of mine did a cross service tour with the German air force, he sent me a picture looking up at the side of a church steeple at 500 knots!
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I have had a great career as a maintainer (USAF and civilian) , but love to get a peek into the exciting life of a fighter pilot. What an amazing life you have had.
Thank you for serving. I have a great deal of respect for your intellect and skill.
Seeing fighters go over - or under - from the ground never gets old. We were riding dirt bikes in the Mountains in ID a few years back and had stopped up high on a logging road near the top of a point in a wide valley and had our helmets off to take a couple pictures in front of this valley... I was like, "I hear jets..." and about two seconds later a pair of 'hawgs (from Boise I assume) went whizzing past BELOW where we were standing and then on down the valley. That was so very awesome. I could definitely use more of that in my life hah.
I've had the same thing happen at Anderson Ranch in ID :)
Mano, Hawgs don't "whizz" by. F-18's, 16's and Phantoms do though. :-)
I had something similar happen in Breckenridge. We were up on a hillside just hiking around, when I look down the mountain and see a C-17 just flying through the valley. Definitely an odd feeling to look down on a plane.
I had a surreal experience when hiking in Wales UK in freezing conditions. I was standing on top of a 500 foot near vertical ridge when an F111 came from behind with no warning, just easing up over the ridge, it passed overhead at no more than 50 feet which was a bit of a shock, but the amazing thing was the way it changed my environment. For a few seconds I was standing behind a giant, kerosene powered space heater, lovely and warm! Quite lucky it didn't blow me off the ridge in hindsight!
Great days, saw lots of very low level stuff in Wales in the 80's, much of it below me, as I lived on a mountain that was used as a turning point so I got a wave from the pilots on some occasions whilst I was checking the sheep!
@@boisecityplanes usually right before hunting season
Very entertaining. This was my goal in life to be a navy fighter pilot but back surgery wen I was 16 ruined my dreams. Ty for your service man. Appreciate all our military vets
Taking away the whole war and death part of that job, flying those machines must be the best thing ever... that is some amazing life experience you got there!
Closest I'll ever get is a VR sim :D
When the flight overflew that highway, I was just thinking how cool it would be to be driving on that highway when that's exactly what Mover said!
He mentioned in the "battle damage" check, were they check for popped open panels due to high G. I experienced this in a limited, civilian scenario while riding second seat with a flight instructor doing aerobatics in a Citabria - we were doing inverted spins and other high G maneuvers (not as intense as F18, obviously) and when we landed all the aluminum wing inspection panels were missing... oh, I agree with Jarret, thanks for not ruining this video with music.
Mover, your channel and videos are the best! My favorite channel I subscribed to! You've now inspired me to return to school and try to become a fighter pilot myself. Great content, keep it comin.
Do it! Make them tell you no! (And I'll be making a video with exactly that title at the end of the month)
How friggin' cool for you to be able to show your children and grandchildren this! Great flying!
That sound of you guys flying over head is the greatest sound ever before you drop that pay back....just to know you guys were up there made things on the ground much easier. Thank you brother.
20:15 I'm glad you mentioned the dcs version :)
I really liked this video, it was awesome!!
Mover,my hands were actually sweating while I was watching this video.If you did not have those thoughts of mortality there would be something wrong.The speed,altitude,gravitational pull,a hyper vigilant flight that puts wear and tear on the physiological and psychological aspects of flying that low.It takes only one tiny hair of a mistake.I could see the sand grains as you were passing over some areas.I don`t mean to sound raw, but I think most people would have had to bring along an extra pair of jockey shorts!!Thank you for your training and skill.My brother`s life was saved by Navy pilots coming in,flying low level and dropping some presents on the Vietcong,during his tour.Another story........My highest respect...Jan
Awesome video and narration, CW! Thank you for not dubbing in the “Top Gun” soundtrack!
C'mon now, that's Navy.
FCS reset? I would've ditched the aircraft then and there.
ScotSpeed - I know, but I figured it wouldn’t take long for some yokel to comment about it.
My son just left for Lackland AFB for basic. My dad was an Army Air Corp pilot in WWII. I’m a hang glider pilot and a Private Pilot. THIS video is flying!!
I know the feeling. I had that realization of mortality moment when my daughter was born, so I sold my 2 sport bikes without hesitation even though riding was my life. I knew it was real bc I wrecked pretty bad before, twice near death and didn’t have a thought about giving it up then. But when my daughter was born I just knew I had more to live for than my own pleasures. I’m thinking about getting another bike soon bc I miss riding but I will definitely have more respect for the killing machine I mount, for the road, and the ppl on it. No more reckless speeding, wheelies, and not using turn signals. Always keeping my head on a swivel and riding defensively. Thank you Mover for your service, and your UA-cam channel sharing your experience. I’m 24 and aspiring fighter pilot. USMC vet and starting school at Embry Riddle soon. Hopefully I can make the 29 year cut off and clear all the medical hurdles. Keep up the awesome videos!
Another good one. Never had a favorite youtuber until now. Love your content, and am looking forward to reading Spectre Rising.
Beyond "altitude is your friend" I think "don't hit the rocks" is great advice. Thanks for posting.
C.W. Lemoine
I have always wondered this...... On long trips in a car do you ever think that you are going super slow? Because of the fact you could be there in a min if you were in the F18.😊
@@Dwight511 Einstein - that you ?
Thank you for putting out these videos. I tried so hard to go to Annapolis with the hope of becoming a pilot, but never got the opportunity. The F-18 is by far my most favorite jet, and I am very grateful that you have video from the cockpit to give me a glimpse of what that life is like. Please continue to make these videos as they are truly inspiring.
MONDAYS WITH MOVER! HOORAH!
So cool! I'm very proud of all you men that protect us with your flying skills.
Hard for the enemy to see you when you re hugging the terrain. I did this at ten feet in Black Hawks and other helicopters but at 120knots
Watching the hornet from the ground is something I’ve done ever since my junior year of high school and to this day the super hornet is my favorite. I don’t live near military airbase so I don’t see them much. So it was quite a surprise when 4 of them came over the house to land at the airport for refueling. My house is directly in the flightpath so when they took back off they had their after burners lit, and they did a low-level flyby on the way out. My stupid next-door neighbor tried to call the airport and complain about it, but they just laughed in her face and said “Sorry, but we’re a military hub and the pilots can do whatever they want.” And it’s not like they could’ve done anything anyway because they were departing. I don’t know how listening to something like that could ever get old because even when a passenger airplane flies by I still listen to it even if I’m inside. On occasion I do get pretty lucky and hear a military aircraft land or takeoff here in when I do it’s always exhilarating
I agree with your friend. This is an incredible thing to watch SOMEONE ELSE do. It looks so damn stressful. Very impressive stuff though.
I view it as a lot like riding sport motorbikes in the mountains. Continuous concentration with zero room for error.
@@Bananimal65 yeah, there is no one living by the second like a fighter pilot in low altitude maneuvers.
@@stripiestwig3361 Ehhhh! I'll disagree with you on that. When participating is anything that has the potential to take your life, there is a threshold as Mover spoke to in this video where your brain clicks and says, "this is for keeps." Eighty-five mph in the mountains on on a sport bike or 500 kts 250' in the air, dead is dead and your brain knows it. I would assume the same level of concentration is there and required for both. One wrong move in either endeavor and .........splat!
Thank you for your service!!! With a due respect you guys are nuts and it’s fun to watch!!!
Geez I don't think I saw the flight lead until about 25:00...pretty cool, Mover. I'm enjoying Spectre Rising!
amen to that i spent most of the video scanning the horizon with no luck til that point!
23:52 saw a fleeting glimpse. Was a struggle. That stupid smudge on the canopy wasn't helping.
Thanks. I was USMC TACP, 1986 at Fallon. Navy F-18 was never cleared hot. It was the only day I had ever had civilian reporters with me. It was a Charlie Foxtrot, I mean a CLUSTER F&CK. Now that I see why you see, I dunno.....more forgivable in a way. He still should not have dropped without clearance, but it was a new jet back then, and I dunno...I hated it for years, but kind of understand now.
Shit I currently live in Reno, I love watching Hornets zoom across the sky when you fly over. :)
I really need to go to the Air Races again. Fond memories. Got to sit an A-10 and wear a helmet and mask when i was a kid! Dayton Just isnt the same, the static displays aren't as good.
Your content is something we just can't find anyplace else.Thank you.
Nice video! Hey Mover, do you use inverted flight so that you only get positive G when adjusting altitude after a ridge? I do that all the time in DCS and someone chastised me for it but if I was in the real deal I would prefer that to pushing the stick forward and getting negative G!
I thought flying low level in a helicopter when I was a crew chief was a thrill. I have to admit this has that beat. Keep up the good work, enjoy them all.
Is it loud in the cockpit? You can never really tell from watching videos.
I typically wore ACCES ear plugs and the helmet had hearing hearing protection built in as well. Not loud wearing all of that, but loud enough if you took it off.
C.W. Lemoine Very cool 😎. Thanks for replying and thanks for your service!
Wow. Pucker factor. Huge respect sir. Thank you to you and all for your service ! 🇺🇸
I’m a new subscriber. I’ve Really been enjoying your content Mover. I wish I would have joined, a service. I miss flying. Your videos are great!
you can still fly a hornet in dcs world, it is an amazing sim, just check it out: ua-cam.com/video/hREnIUublLg/v-deo.html
@@Mrparangos3 Thanks man, I fly occasionally on DCS! I played Lock-On religiously for a long time too, just been too busy to commit to learning the Hornet or the new F-14 yet!
Great video, Mover. Your comments about how you felt during this flight reminded me of a conversation I had with my brother once. He was on the ordnance crew for VMFAT 101 (The Sharpshooters) stationed out of El Toro. After time he got to know a few of the piots. During one of our visits one weekend, I said something along the lines of "man, those fighter pilots must not think about anything other than their aircraft, how it's performing, how they're performing, and having every nerve aware planning ahead for every possible scenario they might encounter". He told me that although a lot of that is true, fighter pilots are more human than you think. They deal with everyday life just like you and me, and they take on the responsibilities that come with flying a fighter in the military too! A special breed for sure. Never had anything but respect for you guys. Hats off to you!
“Scariest flight of my career”...I can fly that in my sleep! #inmydreams
Just watching made me nervous. Much respect and thank you for your service, Sir!
when you get to be about thirty years old i think your mortality starts to whisper to you.
Really enjoy finding these low level videos but it’s the walk-through commentary on this one that sets it apart! Great video
Why are yours MFD's flashing like that? I love your channel. I always wanted to be a pilot, but I am scared of heights.
Refresh rate is out of sync with the frame rate of the camera.
Thanks. That's what I thought.
Jay Dunn I’m a corporate pilot Jay. I’m also not a fan of heights. There is no sense of height like climbing a ladder for me. The only time I felt that was in a open cockpit Biplane. Wasn’t bad, just felt different. You should go to your local flight school and take a introductory flight. I think you will be surprised.
Thanks for taking us alongside in this epic journey Mover.
Flash? I thought his name was Sparky.
Flash is what I called him in the Fightersweep article haha. Neither of which is his real callsign. Good catch.
His real callsign is "Bolt"
I worked at Fallon NAS before going to Nellis AFB and Groom Lake. There were many sad days when we saw JP5 burning up on the side of a mountain or on the valley floor. We had tracking cams on our 3D equipment and I witnessed many final scariest moments.
Not sure I'd be flying upside down like that.... Oh Wait! All I do is play youtube videos! carry on...
Very interesting seeing a fighter pilots perspective on 250' AGL versus an AH-64 pilot's perspective on the same altitude. When we get down to 25' and 130 knots while bumping over telephone poles, the feeling is mutual.
Had to put my G-suit on just watching this!
Been watching your channel for a bit now. First of all Thanks for your service. From a former Ground pounder. Anyway, its interesting to watch and listen to you talk about these things. When you guys are overhead and we are screaming at you for help overseas....it looks nothing less than professional. I would have guessed the low level flight is something you do in pilot training the way they flew that stuff in combat. Its pretty neat to see your videos and be reminded that you guys are human just like we are.....your emotions get to you just like ours do. I wouldn't mind seeing a video of your combat experiences and just the experiences you felt when trying to support us and trying to change a battle for us. Thanks again for the videos. Love it.
I'm guessing the "Scariest flight of my career" is hyperbole. But I get what you're driving at.
I explained it in the video. Scariest in that it was a realization at that point in my life while flying a fairly intense sortie with minimal training for the first time.
@@CWLemoine Well, it certainly didn't help the situation any that you had bitchin betty screamin in your ear fucking with your chi.
@@Rob_Moilanen Her name is Leslie Shook, and she's saved dozens of Naval Aviators who may have erred. ;)
@@adambydand1214 I know, and Mover knows what I'm talking about, as he said he already had a bunch of emo crap rattling around in his bucket while trying to concentrate on not screwing the pooch, then to have her bitchin in his ear that he's about to have a bad day multiple times over a circuit fault, and all at an altitude that he's a heart beat away from lawn darting the brown stuff. It's enough overload to piss off even the most level headed slick driver. Which is what he's talking about, even though he didn't actually say it.
Nothing emo about it. There is nothing wrong with realizing what's important in your life at the time and not wanting to give that up. Also, there was no bitching betty screaming in my ear the entire time.
Lost a friend in low level training in a t-45, they was on x/c from home base nas meridian up in Tennessee doing low levels, RIP Tank Vt7, couple guys from Vt-7 did a fly over for his family last weekend in New Orleans, nice video love the channel.
24:40 is where he begins talking about the scariest part of the flight
I’ve flown in a Cobra (don’t ask) on the deck and that was a seat sucker flight. Couldn’t imagine being a first timer, first year, 250ft/500kts. Flight Equip is gonna have to super clean that O2 and Compression pants.
I wish I had a race car that would do 500 knots lol
I've nearly finished one that's capable of going there but I fly the Rockies at about 50.
500 knots in a race car would be insane!!! it'd cool as hell though!
@@nzsaltflatsracer8054 926 kph on wheels? That'd be Thrust SSC level lol
@@rolfbjorn9937 Nah that'd be a shakedown run for them, it went 1227 kph.
Cool images and very nice explanations
When I lived in North Yorkshire UK. I live in a small town Burnt Yates at a start of a 20 mile valley. Tornado GR1 fighters used to fly over my house maybe 200 or 300 feet and enter the valley. The valley road was about mid way up the valley wall going to Patly Bridge. You would be driving down the road and jets would be fly below you. One of the coolest thinks I have ever seen.
Thank you CW for taking us along.
Fantastic Video CW..!! There is nothing like blasting thru the mountains of Nevada and California in a F-18. Way back in the fall of 1983 I was driving a Mercury station wagon from Las Vegas to Mammoth CA. I took a short cut off of 95 on route 266 in Nevada and then 168 in CA thru the White Mountain range. In the distance I saw 3 jets doing wild turns at the mountain crest. All of a sudden something was in my rear view mirror.. and then thunder... Another F-18 came up behind me and dusted me at approx 100 feet and doing over 600 mph. All I saw was the 2 engine flames and then a huge dust cloud. The car shook but I kept it straight on the high desert road.. I wondered if the pilot was LOL..??
What impressed me was sustaining that pucker factor for that long. I heard a story from a guy flying an F4 in Germany. He entered a canyon and the bottom dropped out. With full burner he only barely cleared the trees at the base of the canyon.
This is so cool, because it's perspective I was obviously clueless about. I'm an Army Infantry vet, and got to work with A10 drivers a lot. I took for granted, and obviously assumed that these guys flew more low level than they actually do. (Disclaimer: not meant in anyway to detract from their obvious skills). Really really cool video.
Oh yeah... thanks for no cheesy music!
Enjoying the aircraft is all the music needed.
@C.W. Lemoine ,
One of your best videos. Your honesty, straightforward way of thinking, on top of a true passion for flying and a "by the book" character.
I'm in the process of buying and downloading all the books you've written.
Though envious...I'm a big fan.
Thank you for this channel.🖖
@C.W. Lemoine,
I acquired 3 targets, the first 3 from the Spectre Series.
I just hope the Kobo app is good.
All the best.
Respect to you sir, for your service, also for getting us from point A to point B safely.
great video, really shows that 250 is much lower than expected! Cant wait to get my hands on Spectre Rising
What I love about these videos you do, is that to a normal person this seems like far beyond the craziest thing we would ever do. That we would not be capable of this and it gives us appreciation.
However seeing you constantly looking left and straight, back left, checking the mirrors, rolling over for a view of the terrain. Explaining how you are going about this crazy thing logically.
I almost found myself thinking, you learn to drive a car when your dad (like a flight lead who’s done it before) takes you out on a route he knows. Has you make some turns, maybe has you park the car and then you turn around and go home. This is more or less the same thing but just in a fighter jet at 800mph where you die instead of get into a fender bender.
Great flying thanks for taking us along for the ride hello from Australia