Stream of Navy airplanes land at Hilo airport yest

[birdmove]

I like to hang out at Reeds Bay beach when in Hilo. I have medical appointments daily at 9:00. After that, I often hit Starbuck's for a latte, then head over to Reeds Bay. While I was there yesterday, I saw at least 8 white Navy multi jet engine planes go in to land. These seem to be about the size of the old DC-8's the Flyng Tiger Lines used for cargo when I worked ramp service there in the late 70's, early 80's.

Anyone else see this procession landing? Just wondering what's going on there.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[PaulW]

Could it have been the same plane, practicing landings?

[randomq]

FEMA supplies for the hurricane?

[Carey]

to further explain PaulWs response:
Hilo`s ITO field is used for pilot touch-n-gos hours from our Pacific fleet pilots...
Often the same plane will do multiple TnGs series with multiple pilots...
So if there was a lag of ~5-10 minutes (to fly around & reset landing approach) it most likely was the routine TnGs
If they were more frequent (a minute or few spaced) & you could hear the engines power down, could be asset spacing for the storm..

[birdmove]

Sounds plausible. One plane appeared to have messed up, and was going in way to high. I assume it went back up for another try?

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[TomK]

I see this all the time for my office, Carey is correct about the Navy using Hilo Airport for training. The only thing I'd disagree with is that it's rare they do touch and goes but usually practice approaches then go around well before the runway threshold before coming around again for another practice approach. That might explain why one approach looked higher than normal. The time between approaches is typically around 5 to 10 minutes which ties in with what you saw.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

it's rare they do touch and goes

My brother-in-law flew F-15s in the Air Force. He told me the reason they don’t completely touch down on the runway is so less experienced pilots can build up their practice hours, including near landings and takeoffs, without wearing out the tires.

I asked if he was serious, and he assured me it’s true.

Up until 1972, General Motors blended whale oil in transmission fluid for its cars. -Spying on Whales

[TomK]

That makes some sense. I asked an airline pilot friend of mine once about aircraft tires and he told me they typically change them every six months or so and each tire can cost up to $50K to $100K each depending on aircraft type. Maybe Obie can confirm?

[Obie]

Most main wheel tires cost around $5000.00.The tires cost that much when new but they are recapped over and over to save costs.

[My 2 cents]

I'm not an aircraft designer but I have often wondered why the planes aren't equipped with a small motor at each wheel to bring the rotation up to landing speed so that it doesn't have to skid into rotation on every landing. Seems like this would extend the life of the tire dramatically.