tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post5267069301565888610..comments2024-03-29T06:29:15.928-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: The Motorcycle DiaryOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-91006300585305028842014-07-23T16:42:38.445-07:002014-07-23T16:42:38.445-07:00My destiny is never to see gray hair.My destiny is never to see gray hair.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-22214423543709822472014-07-23T16:42:05.010-07:002014-07-23T16:42:05.010-07:00Oh, and the normal mission chatter in the cockpit ...Oh, and the normal mission chatter in the cockpit was disconcerting to say the least.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-49144439539505086962014-07-23T16:41:16.637-07:002014-07-23T16:41:16.637-07:00I never realized how different single seat was fro...I never realized how different single seat was from two seat. After Holloman, which was kind of a transition for me from two to one, I got the Eagle and had been flying it for a year or two. Ran into a back seater from a former squadron at Cope Thunder. There was a D model on the morning go and I asked him if he wanted to ride in the Pit. The first thing he noticed was there was a fuel gauge in the back seat (for other readers, there isn't one in the F-4). I think he thought that was the coolest part of the ride. Although, he got very excited when Betty called Bingo and we're in the middle of a furball. I take a shot and separate out of the fight in Max Grunt. He's jabbering about gas, and I said we're going to land with plenty of gas. Pulled it out of AB, pulled the nose smoothly up and topped out at 45K. Put the throttles in idle 150 miles from Clark over the Lingayen gulf and cruised in, pitched out and landed without ever pulling the throttles out of idle. Still had plenty of gas. Man, I loved that airplane!juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-90771017394790343992014-07-23T16:32:22.772-07:002014-07-23T16:32:22.772-07:00And I think they've changed again. Now, Barca...And I think they've changed again. Now, Barcaloungers are going to guys in the top of the class. Hmmm, bust your butt to do well and get a drone! That'll keep them on the farm!juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-65673578147481344532014-07-23T09:53:41.108-07:002014-07-23T09:53:41.108-07:00Juvat/
About getting your UPT "slot." ...Juvat/<br /><br />About getting your UPT "slot." My how times can change! In my day EVERYONE who wanted one went and my ENTIRE class at Laughlin (save for the #1 Jock who got F-105s (KIA 23rd msn) top to bottom went pipeline F-4 RTU.virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-6830935588470153572014-07-23T09:43:37.651-07:002014-07-23T09:43:37.651-07:00PS on my Nav: On the way to and back from the ran...PS on my Nav: On the way to and back from the range he'd catch a few winks by placing his head face down in the radar rubber scope mount with his hands tucked into his g-suit to prevent any untoward unconscious wayward had/arm movements while sleeping, lol. Also, it happened our squadron was in Tripoli the night of the revolution when old King Idris was overthrown and when we evacuated the aircraft in the middle of the night to rtn to the UK I said: "Hey Steve, give me an initial steer. " "Go north until you hit France and then turn left" came the reply--at which point he went cold mike again and (presumably) passed out. (It DID, after all, occur on a late Sat night early Sun am, lol In those days France would not allow overflights, so we had to go the long way around Spain up to the UK.)virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-27049156965618929432014-07-23T08:14:46.207-07:002014-07-23T08:14:46.207-07:00"When I had hair."
"Let it gray bu..."When I had hair."<br /><br />"Let it gray but let it stay!" :)<br /><br />(h/t: my Father)virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-45419041491167591552014-07-23T08:06:39.193-07:002014-07-23T08:06:39.193-07:00"Passing thru six grand"
LOL! When we u..."Passing thru six grand"<br /><br />LOL! When we used to go down to Wheelus Ab in Tripoli for Bomb & Gun I used to have a back-seater Nav who drank all night and consequently spent the next day between flights wretching his guts out--until he'd recovered by happy hour (sayyy, I'm feeling better...) wherein he'd begin the cycle all over again. Naturally he was often consequently just "along for the ride" at the range. Of course like most in the F-4 we let the backseater call out the altimeter so we could concentrate outside on the target. "Hey Steve, let me know when we're about to hit six grand," I'd say. Came the reply as often as not: "Fuck you!" at which point he'd go cold mike--so I'd be stuck keeping track of the alt unwinding <i>besides</i> sighting in on the tgt, lol. Good thing he and I were best friends, lol.<br /><br />virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-13617599145935702082014-07-22T17:49:20.425-07:002014-07-22T17:49:20.425-07:00Yep, those Purple tours DO get interesting... and ...Yep, those Purple tours DO get interesting... and are sometimes an eye opener! :-)Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-30736512787936219312014-07-22T17:48:25.988-07:002014-07-22T17:48:25.988-07:00Yep, those purple tours DO get interesting... :-)...Yep, those purple tours DO get interesting... :-) Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-84937248237633509412014-07-21T20:31:09.186-07:002014-07-21T20:31:09.186-07:00Oh, Re: fixation. not sure how much more time I h...Oh, Re: fixation. not sure how much more time I had to fixate, but I'm pretty sure my kids are glad I didn't use it. Just sayin'juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-57448778281124377892014-07-21T20:16:56.326-07:002014-07-21T20:16:56.326-07:00Spent a lot of time in my later career associated ...Spent a lot of time in my later career associated with the other services. ~6 months aboard Blue Ridge/Coronado over 3 years at CincPac, about the same at 3 MEF and at Ft Lewis. My Boss at CincPac was Army, His Boss was Marine and of course,his boss was USN. No One of us can do it alone, We CAN do it together (still not a big believer in Drones however.)juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-67589606642451052962014-07-21T18:43:19.684-07:002014-07-21T18:43:19.684-07:00Outstanding story, and yes we DO land a bit differ...Outstanding story, and yes we DO land a bit differently than y'all do... but our runway is only 425 feet long... and moving in three dimensions... :-) And glad you didn't completely fixate on the target...Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-50483251774559261712014-07-21T14:34:21.845-07:002014-07-21T14:34:21.845-07:00That's a fair assessment...Takes a lot of thru...That's a fair assessment...Takes a lot of thrust to fly? Check. When thrust stops, flying stops? Check. Takes a lot of abuse while still maintaining a certain manly charm? Check. Bent Wings, Check (some more than others :-) )juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-18812171691642955682014-07-21T11:16:55.136-07:002014-07-21T11:16:55.136-07:00The F4 is basically a brick with some bent wings, ...The F4 is basically a brick with some bent wings, isn't it? Bill Brandthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06296770640153629109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-69463755236460886162014-07-21T07:53:14.696-07:002014-07-21T07:53:14.696-07:00Thanks Skip, This time of year, I'm more parti...Thanks Skip, This time of year, I'm more partial to Iced Coffee (my own, not the Iced Sugar sold in stores).juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-85559384880013704362014-07-21T07:52:17.839-07:002014-07-21T07:52:17.839-07:00Glad you enjoyed it. Sorry about the tea!Glad you enjoyed it. Sorry about the tea!juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-66749424250804688002014-07-21T07:47:22.181-07:002014-07-21T07:47:22.181-07:00Cooled my coffee this A.M.Cooled my coffee this A.M.(not necessarily your) Uncle Skiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02705753220273516841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-52977757275633336332014-07-21T06:35:33.336-07:002014-07-21T06:35:33.336-07:00The G-meter only went to 9 and it was pegged. Nev...The G-meter only went to 9 and it was pegged. Never really had a problem with WSO's getting too focused on their stuff, it more often happened with IPs. I think primarily because the IP didn't fly back there that often and wasn't as proficient at the WSO stuff so could get overwhelmed. The combination of IP capability, degraded avionics, marginal weather, very inexperienced front seater was a big part (OK the only part) of the woulda,, coulda, shoulda discussion in the debrief.<br /><br />At some point later in my career, I had a boring day and was reading the safety magazine for entertainment (a VERY boring day). There was an article that spoke of the chain of events leading to accidents and how someone just breaking the chain could prevent the accident. That resonated with me as this evening sprang to mind.<br /><br />Thanksjuvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-83177094137103907862014-07-21T06:32:57.696-07:002014-07-21T06:32:57.696-07:00Read that sat on my front 'porch'. So inte...Read that sat on my front 'porch'. So interesting my mug of tea went cold :D Top stuff!!Hogdayafternoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06188146617570775741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-69841715793580688212014-07-21T05:34:35.166-07:002014-07-21T05:34:35.166-07:00"The right engine is kind of twisted in the e...<em>"The right engine is kind of twisted in the engine bay."</em><br /><br />Holy crap!!!! I guess you stressed that air frame just a little. As for your GIB seeming somewhat unsure of what was going on, one of <em>The WSO's</em> first traps on the boat was with an instructor pilot who read her the riot act for not keeping her head out of the cockpit on the approach.<br /><br />She said, "Well, you're landing the jet, why do I need to pay attention to what you're doing."<br /><br />Pilot said, "Well, if I'm going to smack into the round down and smear the two of us all over the flight deck, you might want to know about it."<br /><br />From that day forth, she keeps her situational awareness of what's going on in the cockpit AND outside the cockpit. Ya know, just in case.<br /><br />Back seaters do tend to focus on their own stuff and let the driver worry about the flying part.<br /><br />Great story Juvat.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.com