Military Pilots Take Advantage of Empty U.S. Airspace

On a clear, sunny day in late April, the skies above Pittsburgh International Airport were filled with the thunderous roar of two unique aircraft.

The huge jets, each with three engines and painted matte grey, followed each other, flying low in a pattern around the airport. They were KC-10 Extenders: the largest tanker in the U.S. Air Force and an unusual sight in the skies above PIT.

With commercial airline traffic at record-low levels due to the COVID-19 pandemic, military pilots are using the empty skies to bolster their training schedules.

The KC-10s took off from their home base at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, in New Jersey, to practice approaches at PIT. The aircraft did several touch-and-gos – landing very briefly before immediately taking off again – before flying back to th