Michigan ANG A-10s to land on Michigan highway

Started by Lyon Wonder, July 30, 2021, 06:54:13 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Lyon Wonder

The US Air force and Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Wing is going utilize Michigan state route M-32 as part of a training exercise for A-10 Warthogs.  I think the Air Force wants to know if it's viable to use highways as makeshift airstrips for its aircraft and they chose the A-10 since it can handle takeoffs and landings from improvised runways.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/41760/a-10-warthogs-are-about-to-operate-from-a-u-s-highway-for-the-first-time



Max Rockatansky

If a roadway has a sufficient load capacity and is relatively well maintained I don't see why this wouldn't be a breeze.  It isn't totally unheard of for private/commercial planes to land on an active roadway.  I actually watched someone emergency land once on AZ 87 in Rye back around 2010.  The road wasn't an issue, the surprised traffic was. 

mgk920

Well, as long as the A-10s don't belch before they try landing.

:-o

Mike

triplemultiplex

There better be video of this. (Still a day away.)

A good show of force for all those militia kooks they have up around Alpena. :-D
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

catch22

#4
From MSP's Twitter feed.

"You don't see this everyday on a Michigan highway."

https://twitter.com/mspnorthernmi/status/1423272981783003137


Also, "No speeding citations were issued during the exercise."

https://twitter.com/mspnorthernmi/status/1423274076706062338

MDOT Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/MichiganDOT/status/1423276766626525184

kphoger

In other news, MSP doesn't know the difference between "every day" and "everyday".
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

NWI_Irish96

I hope the pilot submits his travels in TravelMapping.
Indiana: counties 100%, highways 100%
Illinois: counties 100%, highways 61%
Michigan: counties 100%, highways 56%
Wisconsin: counties 86%, highways 23%

triplemultiplex

That's pretty cool!
Gives one a sense of scale for a plane like that.  Even moreso than seeing one at an air show, since there's no context for scale.

It also reminds one of the urban legend about interstates being designed with straight stretches to serve as ad-hoc airstrips.  This demonstration shows pretty well why it is just that: an urban legend.  A two-lane interstate carriageway is just simply too narrow to land any military plane built in the last 50 years.  That four-lane undivided cross section the A-10 is using looks a little claustrophobic.  An A-10 is a relatively small plane and even that seems oversized for the road/runway.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.