Pics to Ponder

Pictures.  I like to look at 'em, collect a lot of 'em, try and take some of my own.  But with no real skill or equipment other than my cell phone, others photos are far better than mine.  So you get some of the ones I've collected.  Pinterest is my friend as usual so it's not like I'm some brilliant curator or something, just trying to help out around here while the boss is out of the office.

I snagged that opening shot since it's a Navy CH-46 Sea Knight, aka the Phrog.  I have several friends that flew that bird, both in the Navy and the Marine Corps.  Most of my friends in the Navy were S-3B Viking guys and gals of course, but due to my final tour being in the TACRON community, which tends to be the elephant graveyard of Naval Aviators, there were a ton of Phrog Flyers there with me.  That community was drawing to a close a few years after mine did so plenty of Phrog bubbas were looking for work before retirement and the TACRONs weren't bad duty.  Sure, we had to work with Marines, but they're not so bad, just a little extra gung-ho at times.  That, and they use up all the hot water after their 3rd or 4th workout of the day. 

Weather effects make for interesting shots, and challenging landings.  I wonder if military aviators are overall better suited for flying in bad weather.  We're trained from day 1 on flying with instruments and less looking outside.  Even the NFOs, at least in my aircraft, had to have an instrument rating.  Whereas in civil aviation, it's mostly VFR.  Then again, that could be because in a Cessna 172, they don't have the same or as precise of instrumentation.

Ice is weather too I guess.  Nice picture, but I'm not sure of the utility of landing there. 

Speaking of weather.  Unfortunately a young boy in one of the cars on the street was killed when this Southwest jet overran the runway.  It was Southwest's first fatality.

Phrogs and Chinooks got mean flying and landing skills.

See what I mean?  My wife's uncle, who retired from the same squadron (VS-21) that I first flew with in the fleet, albeit 8 years later, got a job with that squadron pictured above.  That's Columbia Helicopters, where he was essentially their Maintenance Master Chief, the same job he had before he retired.

As I said, Chinooks can do some pretty amazing stuff too.

Salmon and Frogs

Here's one lifting some phrogs frogmen.  

I think I've already used that photo a few years back, so I added another from a different angle below.

Not sure if that nose cone is standard or the curator decided to paint it more bird-like.  Either way, an interesting picture.

I think this is a repeat as well, but it's still a cool picture.  However, I have no idea if it's real or not.  My guess is no.  Photoshopped probably.

Speaking of photoshop, here's one I've seen before, and below we have it's photoshopped brother.

Same hangar, same guy on the deck, but a much bigger jet added. Kind of like those bogus, but fun pics of a B-52 or some other bird in the groove or landing on a carrier.

That's a heck of a commute for that B-17.  No idea where or when that was taken, but I'm thinking it was in England due to that car in the background which appears to be driving on the left side of the road.

Airliners dot net

Flying Tigers indeed.

Finally, remember that first Phrog photo I used?  The one with the diver jumping from the flaming helo?  Turns out that one is photoshopped as well.  Sorry to fool you.  I was fooled as well.

I guess it's true what Abraham Lincoln said- you can't believe everything you read on the internet.*

That's about all I can give you all today.  Hopefully Sarge is on the mend and he'll be back to posts with far more creativity and value than mine.

*Unless it comes from Sarge or Juvat of course.  Beans too probably, but his security clearance hasn't come back yet so we can't be sure.  Getting bashed with broadswords for fun makes him half crazy anyway, but insane doesn't make him less trustworthy.