Inside the Air Force's Flying Control Tower | E-3 Sentry 

For those interested in becoming an Air Force pilot, one of the best routes you can take is to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy. It's a 4-year tuition free university that graduates the most amount of pilots every year. I'm so excited to announce the release of my online course called The Air Force Academy Blueprint! I cover everything you need to do to prepare, apply, and survive the Air Force Academy. You'll have access to over 60+ video lessons, downloadable resources and checklists, access to a private community of other applicants, and so much more. Sign up here: www.academyblueprint.com/

Spent 14 years crawling through that thing as a Radar maintainer out there at Tinker before I left in 2014 to get my engineering degree. This is probably the best outside coverage I've seen of the bird. Thank you for highlighting the maintainers and not just the flyers like many tend to do. It'll be weird seeing her go......but it really is her time. They're tired Ol' girls who earned their retirement!

As of 4/27/22, the US Air Force officially selected the E-7 Wedgetail (modified Boeing 737) to replace the iconic E-3 Sentry. So glad I was able to get out here to cover this aircraft while it's still around. And of course can't wait to make a video on the E-7 when I can get the chance. 😉

Can't wait too. It's been on my radar ever since it was announced.

Sam thanks for posting this. My Dad was the Principle Engineer on the AWACS. He started working for Boeing in 1964 and I believe he was on that project from the start. He integrated the Raydome to the computers and after that was done he modified the design of the rotation pieces for the raydome to use common manufacturers so parts availability would be available world wide. He then went on to support the sales team to sell them to NATO. It was really his life's work. It was also classified information so I never really knew what he did since he couldn't speak about it. He passed away in 1999 (When I was 16) and at his funeral I learned from his co-workers what he did, but never really got to see one up close. A couple years ago I noticed that the ones I saw most of my life at Boeing Field were no longer there and I realized I'd probably never get to see on up close. Thanks for making that happen it was a treat. Maybe one day I'll be able to see one in person. Cheers

I worked & flew on the E-3 when they were first being delivered to Tinker AFB for the USAF & to Geilenkirchen AB for NATO. I'm an old man now, but to this day I look at those years as being my fondest. It was nice to see what has been updated over the years (& what hasn't). Thanks for triggering those memories.

Hey Sam! I’m at Davis Monthan AFB and I fly on the EC-130H compass call. I would love for you to come to visit so we can do one of these videos on the EC-130H and our jamming capabilities before it goes away and we transition to the EC-37B!

My father loved this Aircraft like one of his kids till the day he died (Feb22). When he became a flyer he started on EC-121 and moved on to the E-3 from 77-91. He was always so proud of the craft and its crew, Both past and present. He told us some good story's from missions passed. The E-3 took him and our family all over the world and brought so many good people into our lives. It will be a sad day when they finally retire the E-3. Thank you for such a good video!

Sam, your videos are probably the best the USAF has produced highlighting aircraft and the crews/mxs people making the mission happen. You and your crew should be proud of the great professional videos that you’ve produced. Please keep up the awesome work!

That was incredible! Thank you for tour, Sam!

The CC you add in every video really help many non-native English speakers who are not familiar with the aviation vocabulary. A massive thank you for that!

This is so interesting! It's really amazing how they've kept that airframe flying all these decades. It must take an enormous amount of work inspecting and maintaining every inch of that airframe to keep it airworthy. I've always wondered if those engines are so long because they're very old or if they have a mixer. I hope the Air Force will let you show off the next-gen AWACS plane.

I spent 15 of my 21 in the 552 so this was amazing to watch! Well done! I think the best part of this video was you interviewed young Airmen instead of just officers or SNCOs.

Excited to find this video. I was part of the original Air Force AWACS test and development team at Boeing Field in Seattle during the mid 70s. I left the project after the first deliveries were made to the 552nd. Thanks for the memories and current info about "my airplane".

I'm glad you visited the maintainers. Those guys work their butts off keeping these older planes in flying form.

As a person who frequently goes to tinker I already love this

This was especially special for me to watch. My father worked at Boeing for 37 years, including over ten years as a draft engineer in systems maintenance for the AWACS Program. Great stuff!! Thank you for showing it off.

Sam, great video work. I was a Mission Crew Commander on AWACS and flew many years as the mission equipment was continually modified. You got to see the latest and probably last major modification of the system. The E-3 G (the version you saw) was the only version I did not fly but at least saw the development of. Nice of you to show the maintenance and support elements of the 552 Air Control Wing.

Fantastic video! I’m ex-Royal Air Force and a good friend of mine was the officer commanding the squadron of E-3’s at RAF Waddington. He loved working on them as a weapons controller. Shame we have to wait until 2023 for our Wedgetails.

This was incredibly well done Sam! I’m a huge fan of your work and as a big fan of the 707 in general, this was an incredible experience! Thanks for the tour!

Really cool to see how far this channel has come, absolutely killing it

Really nice job on this video -- can't believe it's been 20 years since I last flew one! Fun to realize some of the Airmen you interviewed had not yet been born, and probably none of the Airmen interviewed were even in the Air Force then.

Sam, Great job telling us about the aircraft while maintaining the op-sec of such a critical asset! What amazes me is these SRA (and E-4's in all the services) that are like 20yr old kids who manage the responsibility for life safety and mission success so the officers can do their work!

The Boeing 707 whether in civilian or military use is one of my favorite airliners hands down. Its incredible they have lasted 65 years. Its going to be sad to see them go. I hope they keep a few flying in a demo team or something like that to honor its legacy.

With this video, you answered so many of my haunting questions. Thanks so much. We all should be so proud and grateful to you and the crews. AWESOME!!!!!!

My dad was an ABM in the E3. There was a time when I was enlisted and working on some components of the E3 in the back shop at Robins AFB. So while he was flying on the jet, I was helping maintain it. Cool video, keep it up. Also, you mentioned Transformers, my dad also was involved in the filming of the second movie. He has photos with him and the cast while they were working on E3 related scenes. 😊

It’s going to be weird seeing no more flying saucers when the Wedgetails hit the fleet. Hard to believe these were first introduced as an integral component of the AirLand Battle doctrine.

The best that I have seen on this type of Air Force aircraft. Short but excellent coverage. Thank You so much and keep up your great work.

Thanks for sharing this. My dad was a flight commander for the E-3 out of Tinker from 1980-1986, prior to that he flew KC-135's out of Loring AFB. We eventually ended up in Washington where he was the flight commander for the E-3 test plane Boeing worked on in the 90's. I remember touring through the aircraft as a kid. I lost my dad in 2013, so now I really long to re-live moments like getting to walk through my dad's plane and sit at the controls. If there's any old Tinker or AWACS guys who see this my dad would have been Captain Robert (Bob) Congelli, retired as Lt. Co. in 1997. Would love to connect with anyone who knew him.

That's a damn good inside view into the AWACS ops. Thanks for sharing with us Sam!

Super informative… who knew! Thanks for bringing us Civilians this great content Sam. Keep doing what you do. ✈️👏😎

As a 🇨🇦 I was privileged to fly with the great folks of the 962 AACS for 4 years … Maintainers Rock!

What a beautiful crew, the empires airforce is beautiful. Thank you to all of those who served and continue to serve.

NOOOO, I thought it was already out until I saw 48 HOURS, AHHHH, CANT WAIT

The 707 Airframe has served us well and continues to serve at this critical time of need. Thanks for putting this together and posting it. Very informative. Plate C

My Dad worked on these awesome machines over 40 years ago at Boeing in Seattle and I remember him telling me about crawling around in the radome. I've always had a special place in my heart for these beautiful birds. RIP Dad. Thanks for this video, Sam.

Had the chance to see one of these beautiful airplanes at an airshow. Never thought I'd ever hear those beautiful engines in person

I have over 3k hrs on the E-3 but I don’t think I’ve heard the dome referred to as the “Oreo” until today, ha. Really nice job on the video!

Enjoyed this so much, thank you for sharing what the crew of this Air Force E-3 Sentry does

As a kid I lived close by Geilenkirchen and I saw these things flying over almost daily. So it is pretty cool to see the inside!

My dad flew on this aircraft for most of his Air Force career. Amazing airplane, and although it was a brief tour, it is an incredibly cool airplane, and I’m glad you shared it with us. I’m actually going to send it to him, I’m sure he will get a kick out of it.

I do miss flying on them. Great vid and a good look into the Platform. Bravo.

Thanks Sam for doing a great job and cooperating with the military confidently. I always get a big problem explaining those guys about our helicopters, for example last week was in Uganda and still was panicking talking to Airforce. Thanks 👍😊

Its so cool to see this because my grandfather flew in the E-3 with the 552

Thanks for this, this video was awesome! Please don't stop makin' this kind of content :)

Love these types of videos where you showcase the different aircraft!

as a previous maintenance tech on the rc-135 i appreciate the time you gave us!

Fantastic video. I miss living under the flight line at Tinker and hearing them run “touch and go” loops all day, it became comforting. A buddy of mine manned one of those chairs and I got a laugh when he told me one of the “by the book” protocols for a defective module was to eject it from the console, drop it on the table or floor and plug it back in to see if it worked and it often did work. That hardware may be old but it’s still in there for a reason.

The best tour of an AWACS!

Ah, the replacement for the Lockheed EC121D. I was stationed at McClellan AFB during mid 60s as a radar tech on the most beautiful 4 engine aircraft. A great big hi to all the 552nd crew members and support personnel of days past. If Walter Ernest, Mel Bebo or Scheurman from Illinois see this, pm me. It been 55 years.

The AWACS was my first assignment as a programmer after I retrained from mainframe operator. This was way back before the jet had the cheek bumpouts. I enjoyed Tinker so much that I asked for a second deployment to Saudi Arabia in Desert Storm...met some nice folks, as you do at any base. The airframes were acquired after manufacturing ended so they had been used and were reconditioned. Good times.

I enjoy seeing and learning more about any of the reconnaissance or surveillance type aircraft. So, thank you for the video I enjoyed it and look forward to more.

Good job on the video. AWACS is a cool plane and story thanks to the crews who keep them flying after all these years. As a kid we saw them lined up on the flight line at Boeing Field in Seattle during testing and delivery. I've seen the Japanese 767 version and the 737 AWACS at BFI too.

Cannot wait to watch this. AWACS is so cool

My favourite sounding Turbofan engine. One of the last aircraft models that still use it, so great to see a relic like this still flying.

During my first time in Iceland in 1985-1986, I got to hitch a ride on an AWACS along with my colleague. It was an orientation flight, of course, and we got to see the surveillance and weapons control crew at work. The fun part was the refueling from a KC-135. The flight lasted over ten hours and was well worth it. I preferred to keep my feet on the ground. Those AWACS scope dopes are a breed apart. Thank you cats and kittens for your service.

Another informative post. Great content Sam. Thank you.

Nice job! I was an E-3 crew dog for a number of years and I love watching them fly over my house now. This video will help me explain the plane to my grandson. Thanks.

I spent 4 years at Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan pulling flight line security where we had the alert KC-135, SR-71s, E-3As, RC-135s, F15C, RF4s, and more on a daily basis. Klaxon alerts are always a great challenge to all involved!

Sam, I was a Weapons Controller aboard the EC-121 AWACS flying out of McClellan AFB, Sacramento, CA. The "Connie" preceded the E-3 and was also a very capable radar platform. Try getting into one of those. The Suoer Constellation is one of the most iconic airframe ever built. Loved your E-3 video.

Thanks for sharing! You are AWESOME!

One of the best channels on RU-vid!

was a cop in AF. my 1st assignment was iceland...and there was a couple AWACs got to go onboard THAT was cool! loved this AC

One of the most important aircrafts. I will never understand how this channel only has 209k subscribers. Thanks for all the men and women working hard on those planes.

I work there and work on the engines for them

Sam, it’s always been interesting to me how apparently far aft of the center of gravity those huge saucer antennas are on the E-3’s. Also interesting that they haven’t re-engined the planes with newer high-bypass CFM International CFM56’s as they’ve done with the KC-135. Nice video, brother. 💛🙏🏽

I was a part of the 552nd AEW&C Wing 1958 through 1962 McClellan AFB flying the EC-121 "Connie". Fascinating the changes and upgrades. Logged just under 4,600 hours on the old bird. One of our planes, tail number 53-555. or "Triple Nickel" as we called her is now in the Air Force museum Dayton Ohio.

Terrific photography as always, Sam. Thanks for posting such an interesting video about an aircraft which we don't hear much about.

Cool thanks for bringing this to us lot's of Love 💞💞

Great job on this video!!!

Sam, as an avid RU-vid aviation video watcher I cant get enough of your content. Honestly some of the best stuff out there (feels like watching a Discovery Channel short or something). I'd love to see a video about you. I've heard mention of Airforce Academy and such. Love the content, keep it coming brother! Also I'd love to see something out of Tulsa OK (My hometown) with the OK ANG F-16s at some point.

So convenient that this happened to pop up on my YT today, I've had one of these circling around my area, an air reserve base all week, great to see more about it :D

My first time ever seeing an awacs was at Geilenkirchen in Germany 🇩🇪 we were spotting and walking with our chihuahua who turned in to a Kite after the plane showed of his power

I want an Oreo now

I was a Security Policeman assigned to Tinker AFB from 1983 thru 1986, (retired in 2002). The BEST job I ever had as a cop was being a "11-4 Global Sentry" flying security aboard the E-3. Our job was to guard the AWACS upon landing at different airfields around the world. While airborne my favorite place to sit was in the extra seat behind the pilot in the cockpit. I still remember all these USAF E-3 "tail" numbers in this video. Thanks for the tour and fond memories Sam!

This makes me proud to be an Okie. The 552 is very well loved here and hella awesome to watch

It would be cool if they let him make a vid about the B52 (GSC)

Good and informative video as always

Have a look of the Vietnam era of the 552d, when they flew the venerable EC121D/T models out of McClellan AFB CA. I spent about 1000 hours as Flight Engineer during that time. The Old Connie was a fantastic Aircraft.

My dad works at Tinker AFB and used to be in the Air Force as a Staff Sergeant. Now he's a Fire Inspector for the Fire Department there. Glad you got to visit Tinker AFB. - Some 16 year old

Can you make a video of a aircraft tanker like a KC135R?

Wonderful ! 👍

My two favorite stories after crewing 0003: First, 0003 was rocking and knocking out some sortes. One day it came back broken. The air inlet on the dome was stuck open and the outlet stuck closed. The dome over pressurized and split the middle of the dome. The largest crack was 1/4 in wide and you could see daylight through it. The second, we had an aircrew make cookies in the oven during launch then the plane can back with a write up that the open CB popped. All that for some cookies, which I did get one before taxing them out.

In my personal opinion, the E-3 is one of the most interesting looking aircraft that I've seen.

Great video!

I find it ironic that the video mentions that the E-3 is likely to be replaced "with the next generation platform". I was in the 552nd at McClellan AFB, Sacramento, and I have 2500 hours on the EC-121, which was replaced in 1978 with the "next generation platform", the E-3A.

Saw an E3A at Elmendorf, AFB somewhere around 1986. Apparently hangared for emergency maintenance... amazing aircraft!!!

I spend two years at Tinker AFB working on this magnetic aircraft. Hated Oklahoma, but loved working on this aircraft. I was lucky to be hand picked at the start up of the 552nd AWACS wing..

I would like to see a video of the KC10 the Modified DC10

I work on the E3D sentry here in the UK and I'm so sad to see her go. Such an amazing looking aircraft and it's great to get a chance to see it's American equivalent.

Great video. I thought it was great to that you talked to the maintenance techs about their very important rolls in support of the aircraft mission.

Awesome video! Great to make it personal with naming and interviewing the whole crew!

Isn’t the TF33 a LOW bypass engine ?

Great stuff Sam!

Excellent editing and camera angles. Thx.

Incredible video. Loved the information and in-depth view. Thanks for sharing!

Can't wait! Make videos more often!

I just recently found your channel. My brother recently passed away in a moto crash a couple weeks ago in OKC. He was in the 552nd at Tinker. He was crew chief for the AWACS for a while before he just got a new job within the 552nd. Small world.

Thank you very much for this video. Always wandered what’s inside of it since they are such a hush hush bird.

As someone who works in an actual Air Force control tower, I’m conflicted. But otherwise good write up of the E3!