Florida man arrested after trying to cross Atlantic in hamster wheel

[psneeld]

Rescue costs by the USCG are often handled within the normal budget and really don't cost extra. They may be assigned a vslue for documentation purposes though.

 

[OldDan1943]

Training exercise?

 

[psneeld]

Training exercise?

No, unlike the military services, the USCG budget (at least used to be) is based on day to day operations.

The military had/has to primarily balance training against more training if not at war.

The big USCG ops like Katrina rescues get additional funding..... but many rescue ops just trade other mission hours (and all associated costs)...training being a prime target mission.

Whether you hoist for practice of for real, it counts towards calendar minimum requirements for currency in specialty. That is applied many ways across all USCG specialties.

 

[dannc]

I keep a couple of browsers up that track aircraft such as, https://globe.adsbexchange.com/.

I usually watch from central NC and SC and out to sea.

Lots and lots of commercial aircraft which are not really that interesting. What catches my attention is the medical helicopters, blimps, drones, military aircraft and USCG aircraft.

The USCG and US military seem to train during the week, especially Tuesday to Thursday. EWACS and tankers will fly in from various bases in the US to the coastal area, contract fighters will be up and about, and every once in a while, a US fighter might pop up for a short time before disappearing.

Military copters and transports will be flying all through the week, day and night. Right now a C17 is crossing NC and I am guessing heading to Charleston which houses those planes. Very unusual, an E6 is flying SE over Spartanburg SC.

You can tell when the USCG is training, as well as other services, because of their patterns. The USCG C130's out of Elizabeth City will fly a race track pattern somewhere, usually off the coast. Sometimes USCG copters will fly patterns or just go fly the Outer Banks. They don't seem to be on a mission just flying/training. Other times you will see the USCG copters and C130 flying close to each other near Elizabeth City. I would guess they are practicing rescues. There is a balloon/blimp at Elizabeth City that shows up as a copter but just sits in one place a few times a week.

A USCG copter just disappeared from the tracking site near North Myrtle Beach. It disappeared before I could zoom in to see more details. It could have landed at a hospital or the Grand Strand Airport. That is a bit different. It just showed up as on the ground at the airport.

Later,
Dan

 

[Larry M]

I agree with Scott. This was 24 miles east of Fort Lauderdale a few years ago with a visit from USCG. They were out there “working”.

 

[psneeld]

I keep a couple of browsers up that track aircraft such as, https://globe.adsbexchange.com/.

I usually watch from central NC and SC and out to sea.

Lots and lots of commercial aircraft which are not really that interesting. What catches my attention is the medical helicopters, blimps, drones, military aircraft and USCG aircraft.

The USCG and US military seem to train during the week, especially Tuesday to Thursday. EWACS and tankers will fly in from various bases in the US to the coastal area, contract fighters will be up and about, and every once in a while, a US fighter might pop up for a short time before disappearing.

Military copters and transports will be flying all through the week, day and night. Right now a C17 is crossing NC and I am guessing heading to Charleston which houses those planes. Very unusual, an E6 is flying SE over Spartanburg SC.

You can tell when the USCG is training, as well as other services, because of their patterns. The USCG C130's out of Elizabeth City will fly a race track pattern somewhere, usually off the coast. Sometimes USCG copters will fly patterns or just go fly the Outer Banks. They don't seem to be on a mission just flying/training. Other times you will see the USCG copters and C130 flying close to each other near Elizabeth City. I would guess they are practicing rescues. There is a balloon/blimp at Elizabeth City that shows up as a copter but just sits in one place a few times a week.

A USCG copter just disappeared from the tracking site near North Myrtle Beach. It disappeared before I could zoom in to see more details. It could have landed at a hospital or the Grand Strand Airport. That is a bit different. It just showed up as on the ground at the airport.

Later,
Dan

That would be some great jumps in assumptions from the days I flew in the USCG.

Unless the aircraft are putting out a specific IFF "squawk", hard to tell what they might be doing....can't recall what code we usually used on SAR missions.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Look, in defense of the great state of Florida, it's getting pretty crowded.

It proves that intelligence is finite. As the population increases, there is less to go around.

 

[Cargile]

Why does it not surprise me that it is from Florida???

You couldn't resist it, could you? Sour grapes per chance? Anyhow, "Florida, where freedom lives!"

 

[OldDan1943]

So the USCG does not take action and the dude dies, then what?

 

[dannc]

That would be some great jumps in assumptions from the days I flew in the USCG.

Unless the aircraft are putting out a specific IFF "squawk", hard to tell what they might be doing....can't recall what code we usually used on SAR missions.

If one watches the websites, one sees the patterns of behaviors, and one will see the same flights at about the same time. And as I described, the routes are usually just kinda flying around, not really going anywhere, nor hanging around in one area. Sometimes they do, but when I have seen that happen it is right off Elizabeth City. There could be a rescue needed at that point but would it require a helicopter and a C130 that close to Elizabeth City?

They were certainly doing something because the copter stayed in the same area for quite some time and the C130 was doing VERY tight turns around the copter. Those are the only flights that I have seen that were not just flying around over the outer banks with the helicopter(s) or race tracks over large areas with the C130(s). I will see USMC C130s doing large race tracks offshore as well.

This morning the only military aircraft I see around NC are a bunch of C17s flying this way and that. Though some UH60's are up in Norfolk and one just popped up at North Myrtle Beach.

Later,
Dan

 

[Larry M]

Off shore on the east coast of Florida, we’re use to the USCG fly overs. When we get buzzed, I have called them on the vhf. By the time I have, I think they just wanted me to confirm what they already know plus give them the number of people onboard and our nationalities. It beats getting boarded.

 

[Old Sea Dog]

Thank you Cargil

 

[psneeld]

If one watches the websites, one sees the patterns of behaviors, and one will see the same flights at about the same time. And as I described, the routes are usually just kinda flying around, not really going anywhere, nor hanging around in one area. Sometimes they do, but when I have seen that happen it is right off Elizabeth City. There could be a rescue needed at that point but would it require a helicopter and a C130 that close to Elizabeth City?

They were certainly doing something because the copter stayed in the same area for quite some time and the C130 was doing VERY tight turns around the copter. Those are the only flights that I have seen that were not just flying around over the outer banks with the helicopter(s) or race tracks over large areas with the C130(s). I will see USMC C130s doing large race tracks offshore as well.

This morning the only military aircraft I see around NC are a bunch of C17s flying this way and that. Though some UH60's are up in Norfolk and one just popped up at North Myrtle Beach.

Later,
Dan

Eluzabeth City is but one USCG AirStation and not like many others as it is THE major aircraft repair facility.

While your experience might be pretty accurate guesses, for the other 24 or so USCG Irsta's, they would be sketchy guesses at best. In my opinion.

 

[dannc]

eluzabeth city is but one uscg airstation and not like many others as it is the major aircraft repair facility.

While your experience might be pretty accurate guesses, for the other 24 or so uscg irsta's, they would be sketchy guesses at best. In my opinion.

Yep, I am just "watching" Elizabeth City.

Things did get more active later in the morning. Tankers flew into the coast and some T38 and contract fighters are offshore east of Norfolk.

What I think is a USCG 130 took off from Elizabeth City, flew around near Havelock and the USMC Air Station at Cherry Point. USCG aircraft seem to have a C as the first character of the call sign. Most of the time at least. One would think if they were on a rescue mission they would have made taken a straighter course to where they did circles in the sky.

I did not zoom in, wish I had, but it looks like they might have been doing touch and go landings at Cherry Point. Some parts of the loops line up with one of the runways, and the runway I often see planes land.



Had more to post by the forum is not making it easy....

Later,
Dan

 

[dannc]

The same C130 took off from Elizabeth City, at least the call sign was the same, and it looks like it is about to land again. It has been doing circles in the sky in the sound. They must be dizzy after this flight.:lol:



Later,
Dan

 

[rgano]

This guy in the hamster wheel probably got thwarted in this hopeless idea by a loved one calling the USCG and who would have raised bloody hell if the USCG had not pulled him out and sunk his craft as a nav hazard.

If he was serious about any sort of safety and wanted to be allowed to run himself ragged in that bubble at 12o degrees F, he would have arranged for a support boat like the swimmers who cross various straits. Then the USCG could have had a good excuse to back off and tell the person who called it in that he was being looked after.