Extremely low altitude military plane flyovers up north?

Does anybody know the frequency/schedule the military uses to fly their 4 prop blacked out cargo planes what seems like only a couple hundred feet over the tree lines up north? (Aitkin/Millacs area)

This Wednesday afternoon we were chilling in our cabin watching a movie when all of a sudden everything started to shake and this crazy wind sound filled our cabin and scared the living $hit out of everyone, we looked out the window to see a huge 4 prop military cargo plane banking hard left over our lake’s tree line…

We’ve seen them fly low over our lake before but never directly over our cabin, it was just crazy (very cool too!) You dont hear anything until they pass ya…then it shakes the organs inside your body!!!

Anybody know how often they do it and if there’s anyway to know beforehand so I can get my phone ready to record it!

No clue on schedule but I have seen it a few times, it’s the camp Ripley boys having some fun buzzing the lake. Had them do it to us out ice fishing one time. Very cool

I highly doubt it’s public record, so it would take someone in the know or a routine flight schedule (ie every other month on the first full weekend). And the low flyers are even more rare than their routine runs. We used to see them often at the cabin on Platte Lake. And now I see them regularly at the Air National Guard airport in MSP/Bloomington. They also do touch and go’s occasionally which is pretty cool too.

Likely training and there is no set schedule for that. Down here in Rochester I get C130s flying over my house weekly as well as the occasional Rivet Joint and Globemaster. Also have had some Blackhawks and Chinooks on occasion. All completely random.
About 50% of time they don’t even show up on Flightradar or ADSBexchange.

Theres been alot of movement of big cargo planes lately. They rarely fly over my house now but used to all the time when I lived on the Red River. But the last two weeks on heavy cloud cover days several very large prop aircraft that sounded familiar flew over in pairs. They dont have to be very low to look and sound like they are only a few feet away. The big choppers are even louder.

They fly just south of our place, at least 3 times a week… typically late afternoons. Usually 3 C130’s or something close to them.

Here was a Rivetjoint from a couple weeks ago as well as a Chinook last year.

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One time a few years ago we were the only boat fishing in a large bay and finally saw them coming from a ways out so we were ready…. they gave us quite a show with a super hard bank to the side right above us… They were flying so low that I looked right at the pilots face and gave the thumbs up and he did the same back… just friggin awesome!!!

Similar to the OP I’ve seen more fixed wing Air Force planes in the past week than I’ve seen in the previous 5 years combined from my place in southeast Minnesota. I’ve been pointing it out to my wife every evening.

I’m not alarmed by any means but generally curious. June thru August means annual training for Guard and Reserve units so that’s about the only guess I have.

We get the F16’s from the 148th over us a couple times a week. On a clear day you can watch them shoot flares and do evasive maneuvers. Fun to watch. We are up on Whiteface. Matter of fact they were doing it earlier today.

We live right by MSP and it’s pretty common for the C-130’s out of the air national guard base to do touch and go’s. Sometimes as many as 4 at a time.

In the 90’s I lived in Omaha not far from Offutt AFB. They flew a lot of cool aircraft out of there including the two looking glass planes.

If they have White stars on them don’t worry they’re ours!!

I see the C130s flying from MSP to Ripley a handful of times a summer.

In the early 80s we would see fighter jets near Deer River (from Duluth?) or Alexandria (from Grand Forks) while duck hunting. They would drop down and fly very low over the lakes we hunted. Usually in pairs.

Those were unarmed RF-4’s out of Duluth. Their only means of protection was to fly low and fast. All this while they were taking pictures of ground targets.
At that time the 148th was a photo recon outfit.

Netguy wrote:

I see the C130s flying from MSP to Ripley a handful of times a summer.

In the early 80s we would see fighter jets near Deer River (from Duluth?) or Alexandria (from Grand Forks) while duck hunting. They would drop down and fly very low over the lakes we hunted. Usually in pairs.

they still fly over where we are at 27 miles north and west of deer river.

They’ve literally rattled the dishes in the cabin cupboards. I remember once sitting in my spearhouse and one flew over actually had ripples on the water.

There’s a good sized hill close, they practice trying to fly under radar is what we’ve been told.

Joe I live on Cedar lake up on the north end. I used to see them alot. I look at it like thats the sound of freedom. Military use a different sqauk frequency than civilian aircraft. There are lots of apps out there but none for military a/c. See on the lake. The july 4th parade is coming up.

The FCC designated military frequency bands are unclassified.

I’ve had a couple deals like that. Was 20 miles east of Rapid City and saw the huge B1B Bomber circling to the south of I-90. Watched him go around and he’s coming at me from the north at almost ground level. And I’m like I bet I was in the cross-hairs for a practice run.

I grew up on a farm in North Dakota not far from the Grand Forks Air Force Base. In the 60’s B52s from the GFAFB would practice low level missions right over our farm. It was exciting to see and just a little bit frightening for a kid but it was common at the time. My Dad even found a fairly large door from some sort of military plane in one of our fields one time. He notified the Air Force and they came and got it.

We see fighter jets doing the flare thing at the cabin quite frequently. They are not too close to the ground though. BUT, they are moving like a million miles per hour and when the hit the afterburners after launching the flares its something to see.

wkw wrote:

I’ve had a couple deals like that. Was 20 miles east of Rapid City and saw the huge B1B Bomber circling to the south of I-90. Watched him go around and he’s coming at me from the north at almost ground level. And I’m like I bet I was in the cross-hairs for a practice run.

Yep we’ve had B1/stealth bombers “practice” on us while hunting in SE Montana a few times. Just when you think you’re getting the jump on a muley…

Dad used to say they were testing their infrared imaging or something along those lines but not sure on that. Badass though and good terrain for it.

If they were large 4-prop cargo planes than they were likely C-130s out of Camp Ripley. They’re not stationed there, but air (and ground) units from all over the country come to Camp Ripley for certain training detachments. Our cabin is on a lake not too far from Ripley and we get to see them all the time. Not just Cargo Planes, but Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters and occasionally a fighter plane or two. Why the increased frequency? Well, Ripley was leveraged heavily during the cold war because the terrain was so similar to the forests of Northern Europe–where America though it would eventually have to fight the Soviets. While unlikely, We’re now in a situation where that scenario has once again entered the realm of possibility, so best to be ready. They can simulate all kinds of joint air/ground scenarios there. We hear the artillery over the lake all the time. Some don’t like it but I think it’s pretty awesome.

A lot of C-130s do instrument testing out of the Rochester airport. They usually fly in 2’s and do touch and go’s. Our home is about 15 miles from the airport. Those big ol C-130s need a lot of room and if the wind is right they’ll fly almost overhead here at the house making their very wide turns.

I was at a baseball tournament in Brainerd and heard thunder. Not a cloud in the sky. A local said that’s the artillery from Ripley.

Dan wrote:

Similar to the OP I’ve seen more fixed wing Air Force planes in the past week than I’ve seen in the previous 5 years combined from my place in southeast Minnesota. I’ve been pointing it out to my wife every evening.

I’m not alarmed by any means but generally curious. June thru August means annual training for Guard and Reserve units so that’s about the only guess I have.

Tough to tell if it’s routine or amped up training for sure. When we were in Hawaii the fighter jets were out in 4’s and 6’s many times, and I ran into an Air Force guy who said that was not routine for them…I’ve heard the same is happening at a couple other bases that house the fighter jets in the continental 48 too. Who knows, but I’m thinking of just calling it my hat now, and taking off the tinfoil label

Netguy wrote:

I was at a baseball tournament in Brainerd and heard thunder. Not a cloud in the sky. A local said that’s the artillery from Ripley.

Oh yeah, Ripley is loud! At night when they launch the flares it is quite the spectacle too!

Heard lots of booms on saturday from Ripley… I think they were qualifying the howitzers and small rifles this weekend.

IDK about everywhere but, when I was living near Hinckley 2-4 C130’s would fly over, going WNW, everyday around 6-7pm like clock work. Weird thing is I NEVER saw them going east. Must take a different route when going back to wherever they came from.

We have the occasional Chinook and frequent Blackhawk fly over our house. THere is a base here in STC that services the blackhawks so that explains that.