What the heck was that?

[Tail_Gunner]

About a week ago, we saw an aircraft doing many practice approaches and landings at the former air base, now airport that I work at.

This wasn't anything I've seen before. It looked similiar to an E-8 Joint Stars

except it did not have the "canoe" looking thing under the fuselage, but instead had a large, black blister on top of the fuselage ahead of the wings.

Anybody have any idea what the hell it was?

 

[WD40]

Looks like it may belong to the Georgia Air Guard.
Doug

 

[Dogman]

TG we have had some crazy looking planes flying out of MacDill AFB lately. I think one was a new prototype refueler. It looks a lot bigger then what there using now. I think it was here for the big shots to see.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Looks like it may belong to the Georgia Air Guard.
Doug

What was flying around here didn't have any markings to speak of. Pretty much all white, except for the black bubble on the top of the fuselage. For the reason it had virtually no markings, I think it was some sort of Boeing test flight.

A couple of weeks earlier, we had the latest Boeing 747 come in on a test flight. I think it was this same airplane:

They landed, taxied back to the other end, and picked up a box of Pasties.
We heard that the week before, the same plane went to New England and picked up a bunch of lobsters!!

 

[dpantazis]

its too bad they got Lawries, Joe's are better.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

its too bad they got Lawries, Joe's are better.

I've never heard of them. But maybe if Ironwood's airport had a 12,000 foot runway, Joe's might have got the business.
Recently the local TV station did a thing where people could vote for the best pasty in da U.P. The winner was a place in Iron River, but Lawry's was one of the finalists.

 

[JLDickmon]

wasn't SOFIA, was it?

 

[Tail_Gunner]

wasn't SOFIA, was it?

Nope, it wasn't a 747 airframe, more like a 707, similar to the first picture above.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

I finally figured it out

It was an E-6B Mercury, a command and control aircraft. From what I can tell, its a Navy aircraft.

 

[WD40]

Wow, big ole dude.
Doug