Do military planes still go to KSTL?

[Joseph29]

I was just curious if military planes still fly to KSTL? I have a lot of military planes going there (I already removed the old 131st Fighter Wing) and I am thinking about fixing some flightplans and sending them to whiteman AFB.

[MIKE JG]

If it's a new Hornet or Strike Eagle, then yes that's still a real world possibility as they still build both of them at the Boeing plant located at KSTL (I think).

Those are new builds though, not sure about any of them coming back for maintenance.

[phantomfreak]

One place to look would be airliners.net. Should have some current photos of aircraft around KSTL.

[BadPvtDan]

I'm always seeing all kinds of planes at KAUS. C-17, C-130, F-18, T-45....point being...you can see almost any aircraft at any airport!

[Jake G]

flew through last week and saw 4 E-2's and 6 AV-8B's at the FBO. When i was based in STL
(2009-2011) i saw military aircraft EVERY day. huge military transit field.

[Joseph29]

Thanks for the info guys. Guess I will keep the plans the way they are. I just recently got the Taxi2gate scenery of KSTL and I need to add military parking.

flew through last week and saw 4 E-2's and 6 AV-8B's at the FBO. When i was based in STL
(2009-2011) i saw military aircraft EVERY day. huge military transit field.

So military planes park at the FBO? Why wouldn't they park at the ANG base that is there?

[MIKE JG]

The ANG base at KSTL is long gone, the buildings are still there, but that unit got closed down several years ago. Military transient aircraft generally don't park at the local ANG unit's facilities if there is an FBO on the field.

[Joseph29]

The ANG base at KSTL is long gone, the buildings are still there, but that unit got closed down several years ago. Military transient aircraft generally don't park at the local ANG unit's facilities if there is an FBO on the field.

Thanks for that info. I knew the F-15's that were based there left a few years ago, but I figured the base itself would still be open for military planes to park at when they are passing through.

[MIKE JG]

I wish. I got a front row seat of those Eagles taking off several times on my flights through there when I flew for the airlines. Even inside our cockpit, with David-Clarke headsets on, those things were still crazy loud as they departed in full burners. Very cool to watch from that close up! I always wondered what the passengers must be thinking when they heard that.

[LEBTowerGuy]

I miss the Eagles, used to have them when I was stationed in New Orleans. Launches would set off car alarms all over the base, it was awesome One day I am going to have to drive down to Westfield, MA to see the 101st birds depart.

[DeepSea-Two-One]

So military planes park at the FBO? Why wouldn't they park at the ANG base that is there?

Most ANG or AFRES bases are not setup for servicing and supporting transit aircraft. A great many normal AFB or NAS are also not setup for transit aircraft of multiple types.

For example - Whiteman would not be a base with many transit aircraft. "SAC" bases were never big as stops for transit aircraft, especially from other services. Scott AFB would be much more likely to take some of the traffic from KSTL than KSZL which is on the other side of the state.

It may be surprising for many, but there are very few US military aircraft where security considerations would keep them from stopping at a normal civilian airport FBO.

One Sunday morning a few years ago, I went out to KAFW north of Fort Worth Texas to meet Adam Sereika (some of you remember him from PAI - he was in USAF primary flight training at the time in the T-6 - he is now flying C-17s based in Charleston).

There were over 50 military aircraft on the flight line at the civilian FBO. The lounge and flight planning area in the FBO looked like an aircraft carrier getting ready for an exercise. Most of the aircraft were T-6, T-38, T-37, T-1 from the USAF training bases in Texas and Oklahoma, but there were Navy T-34 and T-2 birds, USMC AV-8 and F-18s. Even a C-130 and a C-12.

At nearby Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth KNFW - they had only four transit aircraft that weekend. All USN F-18s, because they had an F-18 squadron at the base. (KNFW is great to watch the F-16 and F-35 birds on their first flights from the plant on the other side of the runway).

I see that pattern repeated.

There are some FBOs across the US which actively cater to US military transit aircraft, and make a good business of the practice. And it saves the US military money by using those FBOs rather than having to staff military bases for extra transit aircraft.

[Joecoastie]

There are some FBOs across the US which actively cater to US military transit aircraft, and make a good business of the practice. And it saves the US military money by using those FBOs rather than having to staff military bases for extra transit aircraft.

It would be neat if we could get a list of them. More AFCADS, additional traffic!
I know KCHO is used quite frequently by the Navy and USMC helos, and occasionally by the Coast Guard for practice approaches.

[Victory103]

We hardly go to an AFB/NAS as mentioned due to the logistics of having an open FBO with rental cars and better duty ours. Most military transit line crews have set duty hours and limited off-duty service.

Photo site Fencecheck has a thread on transits, I was surprised how much traffic head to Ft. Smith Regional KFSM, having an ANG unit doesn't matter as they never park there, also a good half way point for USN/USMC aircraft going East/West.

[Joecoastie]

Well there's one that needs an AFCAD with expanded FBO parking !

[phantomfreak]

Where I am at KMEI, there is always steady traffic of T-1's and T-6's from Columbus, the T-45's from NAS Meridian; T-39's and T-6's from Pensacola; and the occasional pair of F-18's passing through on the weekends.

[MIKE JG]

Ft. Smith and Williams-Gateway in Arizona are the two that come to mind. Also El Paso sees a lot of stuff.

[LEBTowerGuy]

New Orleans Lakefront also gets a lot of trainers. Of course in New England, Bangor and Pease get a ton from overseas.