Yes, There’s a Plane You Probably Haven’t Seen Before Flying Around Owensboro

Tuesday afternoon, I took a break from work to get an hour of tennis in over at Centre Court. It was a gorgeous day and, since it had rained for like four days straight, I wanted to take advantage of the sunshine. As we were playing, I kept noticing a really large plane circling the area. See, Centre Court is on Bittel Road in Owensboro, really close to the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport and MidAmerica Jet.

As it turns out, the plane I was noticing is one I have never seen before- a USMC KC-130J.

Now, full disclosure. I didn't know what kind of plane that was until my friend Chris Conley, who's a local aviation fan and professional air show photographer, shared it on social media. He knew the plane was going to be in town and went to the airport to grab some photos of it. As usual, Chris' pics are incredible.

He captured the plane roaring down the runway.

He snapped this photo as the plane took off.

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Plus, he got a couple of photos of the plane in the air.

According to Chris, this particular 'bird' is from the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing VMGR-252 in Cherry Point, North Carolina. As I mentioned, Chris is an aviation enthusiast and says, it's "pretty cool seeing one of these in our airspace."

I was struck by how the big this plane is. You may have noticed that too as it flew around yesterday afternoon and Wednesday morning. Thanks to the tanks under its wings, this model (C-130) can actually refuel other aircraft.

So, why is the plane here?  Chris said it's being used for training. "New pilots get time to do landings and different pattern work. Our airport is not busy and we have a long runway for the military to practice on."