How Landing on a Highway Helps Avoid Potholes

In case an air force base is bombed, the US military does whatever it can to restore the operation of its aircraft; anything from using highways to land airplanes to detonating explosives on the already bombed airfields! But what they would do the latter, is #NotWhatYouThink #NWYT #longs
Music:
Turnaround - Tigerblood Jewel
Shangri-La - Basixx
Tiger Beat - Tigerblood Jewel
Serious Development - Blackout Memories
Mr Marshall - Imprismed
Footage:
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US Department of Defense
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[@AndyDoodle]

Lmao as someone from Michigan he nailed our roads. They are basically a patchwork nightmare

[@rogerwilco2]

This is because you have too many roads to maintain them. You need to get more people in public transport, on bicycles and walking so you need less roads. If everyone drives a car, you can never build enough roads and never raise the taxes needed to maintain them.

[@nautica8745]

All the road commission money goes to the roads around Lansing, and the rest disappears. But we also have incredibly harsh winters with tons of freeze/thaw cycles that can shred a road in less than 5 years.

[@MrDank132]

Can confirm. I went down a country road when we were exploring and ended up on a road that was essentially made of sand. Was a miracle we didn’t get stuck.

[@jimk8520]

@@rogerwilco2 if they had only one road it would still look like that after a couple of winters. In that part of the country the weather does most of the damage.

[@PETE243]

Come to Minnesota it's bad here to

[@oicfas4523]

0:08 The US highway system isn't only designed for automobiles. The original plan had requirements around straight and level sections specifically to enable planes to land. Edit: just realized the highway in the video isn't an interstate, so what I said doesn't really apply.

[@CarbideSix]

Look up Eisenhower Highway System. That is exactly what the program is that you speak of.

[@unironicaluser1867]

you can delete comments you know

[@lukey666lukey]

yea you should just delete the comment

[@oicfas4523]

@@unironicaluser1867 It's still mostly relevant. I just don't know for a fact whether that particular state highway had similar design ideas.

[@adphoenix600]

It kind of it is because any kind of large strip of road can be a landing strip or planes can take off or land so you’re technically right and also wrong at the same time maybe but usually all roads are designed for stuff like that it can be any kind of road, but the requirement is nice long strip of land or nice long strip of road is large enough for large planes, but not too small for a small planes.

[@PAcifisti]

This happens pretty regularly in the Nordic countries, we've always had roads that can and will be used as ad-hoc runways for military purposes. Sometimes purpose built with extra road strips on the side to help facilitate plane refueling & ammo loading.

[@MrDosonhai]

Nordic countries always have to deal with the Russian threat so I sympathize with your situations.

[@Quiet704]

The US highways were meant to be flat and straight every so many miles for emergency runways.

[@Pyhantaakka]

Some even have the ability to do cable landings in case part of the runway is out of order.

[@adamalfredsson373]

I actually know of highways in Sweden that are extra wide to allow military aircraft to land and takeoff

[@cc0767]

Yeah as a german I wanted to say "You mean your entire country is not one giant runway?"

[@warwizard1309]

I love that they did a walk away from an explosion like an action movie.

[@TurboHappyCar]

Like a boss 😂

[@rogerwilco2]

Sweden has designed its whole air force around highway landings? The entire Swedish military is designed for the kind of scenario that Ukraine find itself in. It has been preparing for a Russian invasion for two centuries.

[@defenestrated23]

That entire country is like, "We don't need NATO, we have FAFO"

[@BeeTriggerBee]

Was*, we don't build wide roads anymore and most (at least down south) of the "hangar" pockets on the old highways are in disrepair/destroyed.

[@protonjinx]

Not preparing for two centuries. For the first 100 years it was probably russia preparing for a swedish invasion.

[@-sturmfalke-]

Especially finland too

[@kalle5548]

It's called BAS90 and is still in use, I don't know about the condition of the hangars, but a fair share of roads sometimes seem oddly straight and well maintained, and Swedenn has more air power than Finland because Finland are preparing to stop a ground invasion, whilst Sweden has Gotland that needs airpower to protect (its also easiest to help Finland with airpower)

[@ericcsuf]

ALWAYS well researched. Always professionally narrated. Always subtle humor to make a point, but never too much. My favorite military channel.

[@Sgt_Fishtitty]

Save for one little detail. It wasn't highway 32. It was 28.

[@Perseus7567]

​@@Sgt_Fishtitty And that the US highways system wasn't designed "only for automobiles"> And that it wasn't the first time, even in "modern" history, that a military plane has used a highway as a back-up military airstrip. And the fact he didn't know the names of the heavy machinery. Plus some other stuff probably. His videos are ALWAYS terribly researched. I've not seen one of his videos that isn't terribly inaccurate or extremely biased. May I also add he had that whole starting segment about landing planes on highways but then never brought that back in again. Totally a waste of time to lengthen the video - had nothing to do with why they blow up their own runways. You'll notice he does this a lot was well, useless waffling about stuff only "vaguely" similar.

[@fulcrumR6]

@@Perseus7567 He said, in the video, the first time in modern U.S. history that a military airplane has landed on a public highway in use, that was only used for automobiles.

[@ssuchanek]

There wasn't only one Autobahn strip in Western Germany prepared for acting as an emergency airfield, but twenty of them. They had the area between the two groups of lanes alread paved with concrete (instead of the gras and shrubbery usually to be found there in Germany), quickly removable saftey barriers at the side and "rest areas" that could be turned into aircraft servicing areas. Almost half of them still exist today. (Theoretically, at least - I guess, the airfield part of those installations isn't actively maintained any more...)

[@Ruhrpottpatriot]

There was never an "airfield" part on those strips of autobahn. It was always intended as lowtech emergency landing strips where everything needed would be put there when actually needed.

[@markuspietrek1060]

@@Ruhrpottpatriot Yeah, but the infrastructure to install radar and communication was present as well. And civil roads couldn´t be built, e.g. bridges across the autobahn to connect two villages on both sides.

[@michaelbayerl1683]

As a former resident of Detroit and Southeast Michigan, your view of the roads is 100% accurate.

[@spartanhockey1380]

Absolutely right about the potholes in Michigan. The worst one near where I live is weirdly a manhole cover set 5 inches into the road.

[@garyhoff2178]

Do you know why manhole overs are round? Because manholes are round!! Bwahahaha

[@fearthehoneybadger]

Blowing up your airfields is a sneaky way of getting new ones.

[@jesserice7777]

🤫🤫🤫🤫😈

[@DuelJ007]

Tf are you on?

[@coryg1109]

Between Seoul and Osan AFB is a highway that has a section built specifically for aircraft to land in the event of war. SK has some seriously well designed defenses and fall back positions.

[@muhammad_haruna]

Wow, the warthog is actually bigger when a person stands next to the runway

[@n_tas]

A10s are actually massive, and I have no idea why that was surprising to me when I first saw one given that we all know how big the gun they're built around is

[@secondsein7749]

@@n_tas I was surprised as well, mainly because I didnt research about their size. It wasn't until you know about their size you realize they are essentially flying buildings. We dont see them as big because most humans don't get to see them up close. That and we tend to associate big with tall and not long. Aeroplanes are longer than they are tall (eventhough they are still giants in the tall department) so our brain goes "eh, they are not that big," This is used by people that hate giant mecha/robots stating that their size is unrealistic. The funny thing is, the prominent example of giant mecha, Gundams, their size is actually taken from fighter jets who have around 16-20m sizes. But because gundams are taller than they are long, people thought that gundams are bigger than fighter jets.

[@nrwinner]

I got a “not my problem blower” from Home Depot last year. My neighbors are thrilled in fall 🍁

[@karandonga9326]

3:46 the bird gets hit by the shockwave

[@Blade_Of_Heaven]

Perfectly cut.

[@NotWhatYouThink]

Good eye!

[@karandonga9326]

@@NotWhatYouThink Thanks 😊. Didn't expect a reply from you. Good content every time I see a new video popup from your channel. Also, when are you doing a face reveal??

[@NotWhatYouThink]

All body parts will be revealed before we get to the face 😜

[@Blade_Of_Heaven]

@@NotWhatYouThink ... Hold on.

[@ronansmith9148]

Actually, the first time highways were used as airfields was WW2, as the German Luftwaffe used straight sections of the Autobahn as airfields. American GI's were bewildered when they discovered a section with Me-262 jet fighters.

[@reginaaviation]

In cases where an air force base is bombed, the US military may resort to extreme measures to restore the operation of its aircraft. One such measure is the use of explosives to create makeshift runways on damaged airfields. This technique is called crater repair, and it involves detonating explosives to fill in bomb craters and smooth out the damaged surface. While it may seem counterintuitive to use explosives in a damaged area, it can be a highly effective way to quickly repair an airfield and get aircraft back in the air.

[@jamesadamiak6214]

This is even older than the Cold War. Germany created the autobahn in the 1930’s to transfer troops from one side of the country to another. During WW2 the Germans used the autobahn as airstrips. After the war General and then President Eisenhower created the highway interstate system from what he learned in Germany.

[@RobertDavis-rq8sl]

That wasn't the first time it was done in the US. The first time it was done in the US was in Wyoming in 2020 at rally in the rockies for which I help plan and execute the exercise. The 327th pilots and load masters for the c130j out of little rock for which I am a part of the same group landed their c130 on a highway in formentioned state. It happened in Sept of 2020.

[@Perseus7567]

There were probably times before that too, I swear I've seen US Fighters land on interstates in videos many times before. Not What You Think usually has pretty terrible research, hardly anything he says is actually accurate.

[@lanceclement4087]

Germany routinely used the autobahn as a landing strip in WWII. There was an entire M262 squadron based out of a forest adjacent to a stretch of autobahn

[@CheesyHotDogPuff]

Real life example of "Cool guys don't look at explosions"

[@beardedxj]

They landed by my cabin. And yes I can't believe they found a stretch of road that doesn't have potholes large enough to tear of landing gear

[@TheCentristChad]

“Creators on the streets of Detroit” Comedy gold 🤣🤣

[@smoketinytom]

Remember that mission in MW2, when you're clearing out Russian AA in the Suburbs and after that, you have 3 Harriers take off from a football pitch and deafen someone else...

[@bungiecoocoo]

I love your improvised names for the machinery.

[@gamerforlife9865]

If this works, the whole us will be an airfield If the potholes are fixed that is

[@MrinalKantiM]

Nah, they would find some ingenious ways to land on potholes instead.

[@pythontf188]

As someone from Michigan I can indeed confirm it's very impressive they found a stretch of road that long without a single pothole

[@nursestoyland]

The fields speak armor The bushes speak infantry The mountains speak artillery *THE ROAD SPEAK AIRCRAFT*

[@jonathanrobison9667]

Considering the Roman’s used their legions for public works and construction I don’t see why our modern military can’t be used for the same thing. Michigan could use the help and it seems like it’s elected officials aren’t gonna do it.

[@jazermano]

The Army Corp or engineers does sometimes do work like bridges, dikes, and dams. At least, that's what I've learned from some civil engineering history. Would be an interesting exercise to have a RADR team try to deal with a section of Michigan's roads... I wonder if the patching they do would even last a winter. (Then again, the cost of that would probably be rather pricy...)

[@tombrandis2866]

I think the RADR jobs are only meant to be temporary anyway so I don't think they would be a good choice for a road.

[@gdolson9419]

The US Air Force has ALWAYS been unwarrantedly optimistic. Like any enemy that can attack a runway in the first place is going to give then a day to fix it afterwards.

[@gdubya83]

I read an article about a Marine that blew part of his face off when trying to bite a blasting cap onto the time fuse instead of using a crimper. That was on the company office billboard when i was a combat engineer at 2dCEB in '07-'08. I do not know what kind of firework compares to the small amount of PETN inside the cap but is probably close to the top of any dumb 4th of July mishap.

[@TheLukasDirector]

They do look a bit like crayons though.

[@M33f3r]

@@TheLukasDirector mmm tasty colors

[@ShortArmOfGod]

That's pretty funny. What a dummy.

[@aurathedraak7909]

It's not what you think, but it's pretty cool how it's done.

[@operatornaut8534]

Is actually a great idea. Road landings open up basically the entire U.S. to being a literal airbase. I already knew this was a thing, just super cool to see it being a serious consideration.

[@justintrefney1083]

As a resident of Michigan for my first 30 years I am amazed they found a road without potholes.

[@unoriginalname4321]

Little scruffy is also used to remove snow and polish ice to a high shine, for pedestrian safety of course.

[@Heroix.]

lmaooo he absolutely nailed the pothole joke! im from Michigan and i approve that we have so many of them 😂

[@waverlh]

Gotta say, I think your channel is one of the most entertaining on KZbin. Always look forward to the notification. Thank you for all the effort you put into it!!!

[@nomojo1110]

I've admired military aircraft since I was old enough to know what it was. The A-10 though. My goodness that airplane, even after all these years, still has something special about it.

[@joeyphaahla]

In Australia our highways are used for air ambulance aircraft all the time

[@Nobi36]

Boom

[@DeltaSwiss]

🥇

[@jakelangevin301]

Let’s just admire at 5:42 the arm tattoo of the bomb with a heart on it on the lad

[@jaymacpherson8167]

Driving north on Rt 126 in Oregon at about (44.2631451, -122.0414389) in 1994 I saw a small plane coming directly toward me, dropping below the tree tops. He continued to drop so I pulled over and stopped. The car ahead either didn’t notice the plane soon enough, or couldn’t stop fast enough, so as the plane touched down that car went under the wing. Luckily it was a subcompact and no collision occurred. The plane had run out of gas. Lucky for him, a lengthy straight road without potholes was within reach.

[@TakeItSlowNow]

as a german im proud to say that our autobahns are very smooth.

[@ProudMurican_PVT-GR137]

I’m pretty sure you nailed the “not my problem blower”

[@chuuster5445]

That callback to the streets of Detroit was a masterful!

[@delayed_control]

In Europe, roadstrips are deeply rooted in doctrine because the assumption is runways wouldn't survive the first day of war. Swedish fighters are in fact design from the ground up for roadstrip use.

[@abundantharmony]

The honerable "I suck bombs." lol

[@vaderbase]

I live in the area if the Highway 84 Autobahn. I love this section because I can drive full speed without any curves or bumps and it is flat like mirror.

[@JinX-so5yv]

Polands military uses a lot of roads hidden in forests as airfields

[@acctsys]

We found the team of badasses--walking away from explosions like it's an everyday thing.

[@carterkingsley2497]

Was there when they did this. Very cool seeing the a10s in the air

[@willythemailboy2]

I was fine but then lost it at the Not-My-Problem blower. Well done.

[@Mr_Dopey]

When the interstates were built, they made wide highways near strategic locations specifically for landing planes.

[@MaskinJunior]

Landing on public roads are standard procedure for the Swedish Airforce. SAAB 35, SAAB 37 and SAAB 39 is specifically designed to be able to do that.

[@grzegorzjakubowski6483]

These nicknames 😂❤

[@billyvegas111]

I always wondered why the stretch of IN-63 in Newport, IN was so well maintained...especially when it was a chemical weapons depot.

[@manfredrichtoften8848]

The unwritten part of Geneva convention is that if your country wins the war, no one is going to dare to prosecute it for warcrimes.

[@defenestrated23]

6:27 COOL GUYS DON'T LOOK AT EXPLOSIONS! 💣💥

[@rosen12]

As a michigan resident i find it hard to believe that this was in mikchigan no pot holes

[@ACR81]

I remember I was playing a golf league in Michigan near the highway and I saw one of those A-10s fly overhead. Not something you see everyday, but very cool!

[@billyponsonby]

As interesting as fragmented concrete. The road they were using looks immaculate.

[@garyhoff2178]

Having lived most of my 62 years in Detroit I must admit they're right, our roads suck. But, in MDOT's defense, they sure are working on a lot of them lately. My commute to work is 18 miles (mostly freeway) and a year ago that meant 20 to 25 minutes. Now there's construction along my entire route and that 20 to 25 minutes is more like 45 to 90 minutes, but I try not to complain as I know the roads need the repairs and once it's done it will be lightyears better than what we had. Our current Governor campaigned on a promise to "Fix the Damn Roads" and while I still wouldn't vote for her, at least it looks like she's at least making an effort to keep that promise.

[@clothokaftan]

if the RADR teams operated like the JSDF they would have used their spare time doing public service work clearing potholes from streets and highways which then in turn would also help familiarize them with the conditions of roads that they might one day actually be working with, while at the same time giving them some points with the local community for their help. for the uninitiated, the JSDF does a lot of public and community work when they're not training or doing official work, from roadworks and wetworks, to disaster control, aid and relief efforts, rescue services, public infrastructure work (usually building new roads or bridges), evacuation and relocation work (typically for volcanic eruptions or landslides), building refugee camps, vaccine drives, etc. while the JMSDF does a lot of civilian trade routes defense, search and rescue operations, and so on. if the US military did this stuff people would sing praises of them.

[@lolzers7986]

I live in the city this took place in, sadly i was too late to see them land in person but i did get to see a few A-10's circling around in the air, as well as a chinook and a few transport planes, i've gone down that exact highway they landed on hundreds of times.

[@cgydoestech]

final sentance was perfect

[@tyvernoverlord5363]

The US Highway & Freeway System was intended to get troops and material to and from different cities in a scenario where the U.S. was under attack and needed organized logistics mobility. Just so happens it facilities aircraft survivability and armament logistics too.

[@nevrynkinori3627]

I love construction and demolition documentaries like this.

[@g.o2092]

4:52 I especially like the not-my-problem blower, I relate to it on a very visceral level, because honestly that's the motto of my life 🤣

[@DonOmarRamiro]

4:58... I AGREE with all the names given :3

[@techhi8901]

Gotta love that they are using the A10 warthog

[@kodiakclutch4720]

3:47 Man that bird got BLASTED xD

[@jarodfraser4564]

I love that the footage of of them setting of explosives on the runway was described as thew most American thing.... while showing footage of Australians doing it

[@Foivos_Apollon]

Michigander here, i refuse to believe theres a stretch of road without potholes un this state

[@taco-bellleftovers1816]

This time it was truly, not what I thought.

[@novo6625]

jUST TOO GOOD

[@phantom4E2]

this is why you build fighters designed like the MiG15 and MiG29K or the C17 that dont need no fancy concrete airstrip to take off, a patch of dirt road can do it

[@Skelevon_gaming]

Im from Michigan I watched them land i was near the training sight and when we went back to our cabins we watched the a10s fly back and forth

[@miragelee9754]

2:55 mentioned in shorts :D Yeah… needed something like that :P

[@raptorcaliber5165]

End of video spoiler ahead: I love how he said to send the RADR teams to Detroit. Mans said "Send 'em to Detroit, that'll give 'em good training"

[@joncawte6150]

Back in the early 90s, the disposal of ordinance in bomb craters was one of my jobs at RAF Bruggen in Germany, prior to then helping out repairing the runway. The American method of repair is much slower than the British and Canadian. The nato standard requirement was to fill and get operational, 1 large and 2 medium sized craters in 3 hours, to which both the, us, Brits and the Canadians, 6:33 could do it in a little over 1hr. No concrete was involved, just dispose of ordinance, clear large debris, fill with different grade 'stone', compact, place large alloy mat over the top and bolt it down. Simple and quick. Our method was the quickest way of any of the nato forces at the time and as far as I'm aware, the Brits, Royal Engineers to be more precise, still use this method.

[@mx.fuzzypants1911]

Damn. Not even 40 seconds in and he’s already dunking on the Michigan roads 😂

[@waderedsox]

i mean having these guys fix potholes for training is unironically a good idea

[@Jajoglowiec]

What a cute scuffy :)

[@scgamesonline7771]

Calling the flying bucket that is the A-10 a modern veichle is hilarious

[@row7820]

Fixing the craters on the streets of a detroit... an actual warzone.

[@paxamericania5923]

I think the first case of higgways being used as an airbase is during the second world war. Germany used sections of the Autobahn to base aircraft. Their are pictures of 109s, 190s, even ME 262's chilling on the side of the autobahn hidden under foliage

[@deathvulture5974]

Most west europe and nordix states have roads designed for aircraft, parts of the UK were uaed for conceales harrier take offs and the main motorways were designed for easy conversion by loweringand removing streetlamps and barriers for landing and take off of aircraft

[@darkstorminc]

Last time I was in Michigan they were digging up large section of road and just replacing it. Seems faster than fixing all the potholes. That was about 20 years ago, so im sure there are a lot of potholes on that section of road again....

[@ZimkaAvi]

First and we drippp (great vid)

[@IxGxNxI]

In Poland, multiple roads were built during the Cold War to serve as emergency airfields. They were in forests, with large parking lots for planes and special equipment. If anything, NATO just took the idea and run with it... not even bothering to do it right as the purpose-built road/airfield can be used without any special preparation. Just block the traffic and land.

[@GhostoftheSnow271]

Man, the government is gonna be really upset when they realize they can’t use the roads as runways (which was one of the only reasons car infrastructure beat out trains) cause they don’t fund construction efforts in a way that prevents road damage or speeds up repairs.

[@christopherg2347]

REHM - or "cool guys don't look at explosions".

[@JonathanFisherS]

god dang the a10 is a beautiful plane

[@wildfirelabs]

My man is taking a shot at Detroit had me dying

[@Lcngopher]

You know you left michigan when the roads are smooth😂

[@KyleKartan87]

I'm from Germany and live near a section that was designated as an emergecy airstrip. Officialy they are buld back. But beside the sgnbridges over the freeway and that the offramps to the car parks which would have served as parking spaces for the planes are now a bit too narrow because of bushes and trees for planes, they would be still usable.

[@neiltitmus9744]

Sure the armed forces have something or can get something that can deal with bushes

[@drapas7467]

12 views with 16 likes, But that not What you think !

[@MrEo89]

As a metro Detroit local you don’t know how true this is.. just had my tierod fkn BEND bc I hit a pothole while swerving to avoid a different pot hole 😫

[@rdfox76]

Wow, you actually admitted to LOSING at Spring Slalom? That's... just not right, man, it's our state sport, you're supposed to claim that you can't be beat at it! :D

[@ninazu7307]

In finland and probably other countries too those exercises are regulated

[@STupidLord]

Michigan roads are usually worse than off road because the road workers take years to do anything, and then after that they take months to actually repair them. I can say this as I have been a Michigander since birth.

[@somelaser5906]

I love your last little comments you add to the end of your videos hahaha

[@Billhatestheinternet]

Most people do not realise that many USAF tactical aircraft are equipped with tail hooks, even though these aircraft have never been used to land on a carrier. It is for landing on improvised runways (also used in the event of a malfunction, such as hydraulic/brake failure); it allows for stopping faster than throwing a drogue chute. The aircraft are NOT equipped with catapult hookups (again, USAF, not Navy), but most of these aircraft can take off in a relatively short distance if they are not max loaded with ordnance and use full afterburner (that part requires further consideration for the road surface, as afterburner can not only obviously cause a fire, but can melt and/or degrade surfaces such as asphalt). To give an example of a military aircraft taking off and landing in RIDICULOUSLY short distances, a C-130 has been successfully tested repeatedly on an aircraft carrier (both landing and takeoff), as well as a U-2. You can find the film of both tests on KZbin. The C-130 took off WITHOUT catapult assist (pretty much does what WW2 aircraft did: start at one end of the carrier and roll for the length of it, much like the Doolittle raid).