OCR Text |
Show Air Force Will Begin Low-Level Bomber Runs Ove r SE Utah The largest jet bombers in the United States Air Force will soon be making low level practice runs in a southerly direction in the Moab vicinity, it was revealed this week. Commencing April 30, next Tuesday, Strategic Air Command Com-mand B-52 and B-58 jet bombers bom-bers and Tactical Air Command Com-mand aircraft will start flying fly-ing low-level bombing missions mis-sions against simulated targets tar-gets near Holbrook, Ariz. Starting in a southerly direction direc-tion from a point directly south of Green River, Utah, the aircraft will fly in a straight line passing over Lake Powell, near Kayenta, Ariz., and turn southeasterly near Oraibi, Ariz. The aircraft air-craft will continue, passing near Hibbart, Ariz., to a corridor cor-ridor termination point near Sncwflake, Ariz. Radar bomb scoring equipment equip-ment at an Air Force facility near Holbrook will use radio and radar signals to measure accuracy of the simulated bomb drops. The SAC B-52 Stratofort-resses, Stratofort-resses, B-58 Hustlers and TAC aircraft will fly at subsonic sub-sonic speed along a center-line center-line of a lO-mile wide corridor at only 800 to 1.3,10 feet above the ground during these training train-ing missions. The aircraft do not caiTy bombs on these missions. All trrpet and route selections selec-tions have been coordinated in advance with the Federal Aviation Administration. Areas Ar-eas of population, poultry farming concentrations and heaviest air traffic are avoided avoid-ed whenever possible. The RBS facility is designed to inject realism in SAC and TAC training programs by providing crews with a wide range of unfamiliar targets and routes. Approximately 80 Air Force personnel will man the site .t Holbrook. These are radar and electronic plus personnel needed to maintain the facility facil-ity and furnish other support. Aircraft will approach Inn beginning point of the run at' around 20,000 feet altitude. Near Green River, they will drop to the low level of 800 to 1500 feet off the ground l begin the hard to detect low level run into Arizona. When SAC aircraft fly low altitude missions they remain at least 500 feet above the terrain at all limes and fly at subsonic speeds, which cause no sonic booms, the Air Force said this week. A SAC - Federal Aviation Administration agreement assures as-sures maximum safety during dur-ing low-altitude flying, since civilian aircraft are informed which planned routes are in use by SAC bombers. Durtfig bad weather, no civilian aircraft air-craft are cleared along or through the routes while they are being used by the bombers. bomb-ers. There was no indication as to how long the training mission mis-sion over Southeastern Utah and Northeastern Arizona. |