Road Trip Radio Report - A Foggy Jacksonville Road Trip; December 2024

I recently took a road trip down to Jacksonville, FL to visit the Jacksonville Zoo and do some military aviation watching. Unfortunately, the weather was not conducive to good military aviation watching or listening. A thick fog persisted for much of the time, as evidenced in this photo looking across the St Johns River from Huguenot Park towards NS Mayport illustrates. The trip didn't turn out, however, to be a complete bust on the radio side of things. From where I was staying on the north side of Jacksonville, I could hear plenty of railroad and port communications.

The fog during this road trip to Jacksonville was so thick that I could barely see the ships at NS Mayport from across the St Johns River at Huguenot Park

Road Trip Radio Report - Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach; 23-25 November 2024

Over the weekend, I took a road trip down to Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach, FL. I left Savannah on Saturday morning and returned on Monday morning. It was a beautiful Autumn weekend for a road trip - cool in the mornings, but particularly on Sunday afternoon, warming up just into short sleeve weather. On Saturday, I enjoyed taking a boat tour around Amelia Island and Cumberland Island followed by a trolley tour of historic Fernandina Beach and a walk around the Fernandina Beach Historic District. On Sunday, I caught the sunrise on the beach, then visited Fort Clinch State Park, Fernandina Plaza Historic State Park, Kingsley Plantation, and Huguenot Park. 

I enjoyed some good radio listening during the trip. Even though it was a weekend, I still heard some MilCom (including a terrific catch at NS Mayport). I caught some FedCom from the US Coast Guard (Sectors Charleston and Jacksonville) and National Park Service. There was a good mix of conventional and trunked public safety communications.  I heard Marine VHF/Port communications from Fernandina Beach down to Jacksonville and even though I could hear train horns throughout the weekend, I only heard a bit of railroad communications. 

US Navy DDGs (Guided Missile Destroyers) moored in the basin at Naval Station Mayport, FL

Road Trip Radio Report - Columbia, SC 20-22 October 2024

This road trip was supposed be in Upstate South Carolina to visit the Cowpens and Kings Mountain battlefields and take in the Autumn foliage, but unfortunately both Cowpens and Kings Mountain are still in the process of removing dangerous fallen trees from Hurricane Helene. Since the two parks were closed in the week before I left, I changed plans and visited Congaree National Park in Hopkins, SC, Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, SC, and Poinsett State Park in Wedgefield, SC on Sunday and Monday and returned to Savannah on Tuesday. Sunday, on the way up, I used I-95, but to get a bit different view and hear different things, I used US-321 to return to Savannah on Tuesday morning.

This road trip was across two beautiful Autumn days with the leaves in Midlands South Carolina beginning to turn. 

71st FS F-22As and 7th FTS T-38s are Back at the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center/Air Dominance Center

The 71st Fighter Squadron and 7th Fighter Training Squadron are back at the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center/Air Dominance Center (CRTC/ADC) for the third time this year (previous visits were in January and May). They seem to be conducting a Sentry Savannah type exercise in the SEALORD controlled special use areas off the coast along with tanker support. This is the second week they've been here, but due to my work schedule I was unable to listen last week with the exception of Friday (and on Friday, weather kept the fighters on the ground). Last week, a 434th ARW KC-135 provided tanker support from Hunter AAF and today two 916th ARW KC-46s provided tanker support, coming from their home base at Seymour-Johnson AFB. 

This post was updated after activity on 17 September 2024

This post was updated/corrected on 23 September 2024

916th ARW KC-46As, 6th AMW/927th ARW KC-135Rs, ATAC Hunters and a Kfir, and 7th FTS T-38As during the afternoon of 17 September 2024

Road Trip Radio Report: Warner Robins; 12/13 August 2024

On Monday and Tuesday I took an overnight road trip to Warner Robins, GA to visit the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB. I visit several times a year to see what's new and how they're progressing on their B-17 plus I wanted to pick up some new museum T-shirts since I've lost so much weight over the past year. Unfortunately, he notes from this trip aren't as in depth as usual because I ran into a radio issue during the trip; more on that later. I was surprised that I didn't hear more MilCom than I did; on Monday afternoon on the way up and Tuesday morning on the way down, I didn't catch any Bulldog MOA activity and while visiting the museum on Monday afternoon, I only heard and saw a C-130 doing a test flight out of the Robins ALC. Public Safety busy both days, particularly from Dublin to Warner Robins and from Metter to Savannah, and some Amateur Radio QSOs helped make up for the lack of MilCom activity on Monday. 

KF4LMT Mobile and one of the Museum of Aviation's F-15s

Coastal Georgia Tropical Storm Debby Radio Report (What there is of it...)

Some readers may have come here during and after Hurricane/Tropical Storm Debby looking for radio updates, but I was working midnights all week down in Brunswick and didn't have many chances to listen much less post anything. Down in Brunswick, we didn't seem to get hit as hard as areas up toward Statesboro and Savannah did. As I traveled up I-95 yesterday morning, standing water on the side of the road was noticeably higher in Bryan and Chatham counties. I did do some listening when I got back home in Savannah yesterday and heard some Debby related communications:

Chatham County helicopter EAGLE 02 (MD-369E, N102CQ, Chatham Co) doing surveys around the Ogeechee River in the southern part of the county due to river flooding after TS Debby

• Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham, and Effingham County fire departments were busy with flooding and water rescue type calls as a result of flooding, especially around areas where the Ogeechee and Savannah Rivers are rising. Quite a few of those water rescues sounded like they were caused by people driving around barricades and onto flooded roads. For what to listen to, check the RadioReference SEGARRN page.
• Yesterday morning, Chatham EMA personnel were active checking areas and passing flooding reports to the Chatham County EOC on the CEMA 1 SEGARRN talkgroup.
• Chatham County's helicopter EAGLE 02 (MD-369E, N102CQ, Chatham Co) was up several times yesterday doing what seemed to be aerial surveys of the flooding along the Ogeechee River in the southern part of Chatham County. I didn't hear any air-to-ground communications with them, but I did hear them on 125.975 with Savannah Tower and 124.975 with Hunter Tower.

The National Guard has been assisting in Bulloch County but I haven't heard any related communications. I saw on the news last night that other areas have requested National Guard assistance, so I'll be listening out over the next few days and will update if I hear anything. 

Admin Note

Personally, I like dark themes more than light themes, so I've changed the palette of the blog because I think the light text on the darker background is a bit easier on the eyes than dark text on a light background. When I made the change, it messed up some of the formatting on older posts, so some of them may look a bit odd. 

Road Trip Radio Report: Midland and Pee Dee South Carolina History - Columbia, Camden, and Darlington, SC; 10-13 June 2024

From Monday, 10 June through Thursday, 13 June, I took a road trip through Columbia, Camden, and Darlington, SC visiting some historic sites while staying in Cayce, just east of Columbia. In Columbia, I visited Historic Columbia and toured some of their historic homes and gardens. In Camden, I visited the Historic Camden living history park. In Darlington, I visited the museum at Darlington Raceway (maybe not everyone would consider Darlington a historic site, but a motor sport fan surely would). Along the way, I made stops in Sumter to visit Thomas Sumter's grave, in Eutawville to visit the Eutaw Springs battlefield, in Pineville to visit Francis Marion's grave, and in Walterboro to visit the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial. It was also an interesting trip radio-wise; there was a lot of activity from both Shaw AFB, McEntire JNGB, and Fort Jackson; the Palmetto 800 system was busy with public safety communications from the region; and railroads were quite busy, especially in and close around Columbia. I also discovered that the VHF TRS at Shaw AFB was no longer a stand alone system, but now part of the USAF 57C system. Unusual for me, I also had a few amateur radio QSOs along the way.

Historic Columbia's hub - the Robert Mills House in downtown Columbia, SC

Sentry Savannah 2024 Final Report

It sounds like we can tie a bow on Sentry Savannah today. This morning I caught some 71st FS F-22s, 7th FTS T-38s, and 157th FS F-16s departing Savannah to head home. Just as I turned on the radios, I also heard something that sounded like F-35s (I never heard their callsign) with Atlanta Center getting cleared direct to Montgomery, so the 100th FS F-35s may have departed this morning as well. In one piece of good fortune this morning, I was also able to finally ID who HECKLER is; they're the 103rd ACS, CT ANG. A social media post about the exercise linked to this article, which tells how the 103rd ACS worked with the Georgia ARNG to "successfully deploy and execute a cloud-based radar and radio connection of the Tactical Operations System-Lite (TOC-L)."

Here's a final report on what I heard when I was able to listen.

Air Combat Exercise Sentry Savannah 2024 Underway at Savannah-Hilton Head IAP

Note: Updated after the 9 May 2024 morning sorties

Sentry Savannah 2024, an air combat exercise, got underway in Savannah on Monday. Described as "the National Guard Bureau’s premier counter air exercise specializing in fourth and fifth-generation fighter tactics,” it is held at the Georgia Air National Guard's Combat Readiness Center/Air Dominance Center at Savannah-Hilton Head IAP. This year's participants include F-22As and T-38s from the 71st FS and 7th FTS at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, F-35As from the 100th FS at ANGB Dannelly Field, and F-16CMs from McEntire JNGB. So far, they've been flying morning and afternoon sorties out to the SEALORD controlled Special Use Areas off the South Carolina/Georgia/Florida coast. Tanker support has been from 185th ARW KC-135Rs flying out of Hunter AAF and 157th ARW KC-46s flying out of Myrtle Beach. Intercept control is being provided by HECKLER, a callsign I've not heard before.

Aerospace History, a SpaceX Night Launch, and Wildlife - Space Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 26-28 April 2024

This past Saturday was Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Family Day, and a friend invited me along for a base tour; since it coincided with my weekend off, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I left Savannah on Friday and came back on Sunday. In addition to the Cape Canaveral SFS visit, I was able to visit the Merritt Island NWR and take in my first in person night launch when SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 on Saturday night. And as always, a trip to the Space Coast makes for interesting radio listening. It was a truly enjoyable road trip that in the end seemed all to short.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday night, 27April 2024. The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) can be seen on the right, and LC-39B, lit up for work, can be seen to the left of the launch.

Fort Fremont and Naval History in Port Royal; Mini Road Trip Radio Report; 6 April 2024

After having breakfast with some of the Coastal Amateur Radio Society crew yesterday morning, I drove roughly hour and a half from Savannah up to the Port Royal Sound area of South Carolina to visit the Fort Fremont Preserve on St Helena Island. It's a place that I've had on my want to visit list for several years, but since their visitors center is only open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and I work most weekends, I hadn't yet found the opportunity to visit. Since I was off, had no plans, and the weather was beautiful, I made a last minute decision to visit. On the radio side of things, it was a beneficial visit because it uncovered a flaw in my radio programming.

History and Nature in Lowcountry South Carolina - Charleston Overnight Road Trip Radio Report; 24/25 March 2024

On Sunday and Monday, I took an overnight road trip to Moncks Corner and Charleston, South Carolina to visit some of the area's historic sites. On Sunday I visited the Biggin Church Ruins and Old Santee Canal Park near Moncks Corner and visited Boone Hall Plantation on Monday before returning to Savannah. I didn't plan it this way because I planned this trip before I read the book, but I just finished reading John W. Gordon's South Carolina and The American Revolution: A Battlefield History before the trip, so Sunday's portion of the trip gave me the opportunity to walk the ground of some of the skirmishes and battles I read about around Biggin Church and at Fort Fairlawn.

Of course, I took the radios along and listened to MilCom/Aviation, FedCom, Public Safety, Marine VHF, and Railroad communications during the trip. As usual, there was no shortage of something to listen to in the Charleston area. VHF and UHF Amateur Radio was more active on Sunday than on Monday (the SCHearts linked repeater network was linked together for the weekend) and I've included a list of repeaters that I heard active during the trip.

Update on 71st FS Training at the Savannah CRTC/ADC

I had a good opportunity to monitor yesterday afternoon's 71st FS activity out of the Savannah CRTC/ADC at Savannah-Hilton Head IAP. Based on what I heard, it sounds like this week's activity is a Sentry Savannah exercise. Unlike last week, when they flew in the afternoon and evening, yesterday the flew in the morning and the afternoon. VMFAT-501 F-35Bs and VFC-12 F/A-18s also participated yesterday, both flying out of MCAS Beaufort. Here's an updated list of frequencies and callsigns in use:

71st Fighter Squadron Training at the Savannah Air Dominance Center

When I returned home from my Space Coast Road Trip, I discovered that some visitors had arrived at the Savannah Air Dominance Center at the Savannah-Hilton Head IAP. It turned out that they were 71st Fighter Squadron (FS) F-22As. They didn't fly over the weekend or on the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, but they did start flying on Tuesday. More visitors arrived during the holiday on Monday: 7th Fighter Training Squadron (FTS) T-38As. On Tuesday, the 71st FS F-22As flew during the afternoon and evening, joined by 7th FTS T-38As during the afternoon. During the evening flights, the F-22s were joined by a 434th ARW KC-135R for aerial refueling operations. Afterwards, the KC-135 landed at Hunter AAF, where it may remain for more aerial refueling with the F-22s throughout the rest of the week. 

Space Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 8-13 January 2024

Last week I took a road trip to Florida's Space Coast to take in nature and wildlife at the Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island NWR and the past, present, and future of space travel at the Kennedy Space Center. Throughout the week, I also enjoyed listening to the wide variety of communications in the Space Coast area - aviation and Military communications, NASA and federal communications, private space company communications, and more. I also took a boat tour of the Banana River and Port Canaveral while I was there and that yielded a wonderful surprise. The weather was somewhat uncooperative on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, but it still turned out to be a terrific trip. Some excellent meals were had at restaurants along the way, including a great meal with friends. Overall, it was a wonder, enjoyable trip - one that is becoming an annual thing.