tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post7228663428222433879..comments2024-03-29T04:38:28.940-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: W0X0FOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-11254315293018893232014-08-17T10:18:53.305-07:002014-08-17T10:18:53.305-07:00"If the visibility had still been bad and you...<i>"If the visibility had still been bad and you were almost out of fuel could you have landed? "</i><br />As it turns out, yes. I was right on the centerline. But, I probably wouldn't have. There was no way of knowing that the instruments were that tight. Missing the runway and hitting the ground would have been fatal, for us certainly and for anybody else that might have been in the vicinity. I think I'd have powered up, pointed out towards White Sands got to as much altitude as we had fuel and jumped out.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-43011355425231819452014-08-14T00:19:25.087-07:002014-08-14T00:19:25.087-07:00I have a signed print by J H Doolittle in front of...I have a signed print by J H Doolittle in front of a penciled GB-2. Among aviation pioneers he seems to have done so much and yet outside of the aviation community few seem to know him. <br /><br />"Jimmy who?"<br /><br />I think the GB-2 killed most of its pilots - even a replica made in the last few years crashed. <br /><br />They were supposed to be a bear to land. <br /><br />If the visibility had still been bad and you were almost out of fuel could you have landed? <br /><br />Among aviation pioneers he is a giant. <br /><br />Bill Brandthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06296770640153629109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-11571733155687942852014-08-13T09:45:21.422-07:002014-08-13T09:45:21.422-07:00Or be smarter than the average Navy pilot... :-)Or be smarter than the average Navy pilot... :-)Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-2497611910000204752014-08-13T05:36:07.571-07:002014-08-13T05:36:07.571-07:00No thanks, a man's got to know his limitations...No thanks, a man's got to know his limitations.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-83888035688952747612014-08-12T18:22:26.432-07:002014-08-12T18:22:26.432-07:00ROTFLMAO! Now imagine doing that on a boat...ROTFLMAO! Now imagine doing that on a boat...Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-46531177159838792032014-08-12T14:15:30.787-07:002014-08-12T14:15:30.787-07:00VFR at destination....Yep, I think I've heard ...VFR at destination....Yep, I think I've heard those words before...But then again, a bus from Camden. Hmmm, damned if you do, damned if you don't.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-11412026325550669502014-08-11T23:28:36.681-07:002014-08-11T23:28:36.681-07:00Great story. I fly the VFR but I remember the A6 p...Great story. I fly the VFR but I remember the A6 pilot I worked for back at Penn State telling me that all we had to do was take off from Cape May on IFR rules and fly home because it was VFR at destination. Neither one of us at Cape May were IFR rated but only one of us was an Ensign who had to report back or be AWOL. I took the bus. I took the bus from Camden. Probably would have been much safer to fly. :)HMS Defianthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10024721130102173694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-50492758568282158992014-08-11T19:47:04.317-07:002014-08-11T19:47:04.317-07:00Cool stories - both regarding General Doolitle and...Cool stories - both regarding General Doolitle and your getting that bird safely back on the ground. <br /><br />We're sitting on the shoulders of the giants that came before us.Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08146728790019377401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-88733775800005233152014-08-11T19:20:45.539-07:002014-08-11T19:20:45.539-07:00Juvat is correct; there is also the truism, "...Juvat is correct; there is also the truism, "there are bold pilots and old pilots; but there are precious few old, bold pilots." Your dad was well on his way towards becoming an old, bold pilot. Jim Shawleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05488328277463575274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-86792811506823869022014-08-11T18:38:44.769-07:002014-08-11T18:38:44.769-07:00That must have been very cool.
I really enjoy re...That must have been very cool. <br />I really enjoy reading Proof Positives MOH series. The thing that always strikes me is these folks don't look like heroes. They look like ordinary folks yet, they found something within themselves to do something absolutely extraordinary. I wonder how that happens.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-78942743970299032502014-08-11T18:34:34.972-07:002014-08-11T18:34:34.972-07:00Why yes they do. Hence the cause of the extra nan...Why yes they do. Hence the cause of the extra nanosecond at minimums.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-47259828849361498372014-08-11T17:37:06.937-07:002014-08-11T17:37:06.937-07:00Reading the DV guest log of the quarters they put ...Reading the DV guest log of the quarters they put me in at Peterson AFB one night revealed that General Doolittle had once stayed in that suite. Needless to say, I was humbled and honored. regards, AlemasterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-30610204273875220222014-08-11T17:10:00.365-07:002014-08-11T17:10:00.365-07:00Yep, 0/0 landings are NOT fun... But they DO beat ...Yep, 0/0 landings are NOT fun... But they DO beat the alternative...Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-8313106521581291432014-08-11T10:56:37.614-07:002014-08-11T10:56:37.614-07:00Well said.Well said.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-9782606187660971742014-08-11T09:59:45.885-07:002014-08-11T09:59:45.885-07:00I suppose there are more than a few things we take...I suppose there are more than a few things we take for granted these days, things we never even give a passing thought. It's the pioneers like General Doolittle that "make things happen" and they are heroic, in the truest sense of the word.Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05319116022465066060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-57902864924928962482014-08-11T08:12:30.534-07:002014-08-11T08:12:30.534-07:00I suspect you've already read that book. Got ...I suspect you've already read that book. Got it at Command and Staff when he stopped by. Still an amazing man even at 90 something. First pilot to successfully complete an outside loop. Got that little tidbit while researching. I was looking for a picture of his instrument aircraft. Lots of them out there of course with just one little teeny problem. Ah well...juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-47291775649834262862014-08-11T07:16:59.629-07:002014-08-11T07:16:59.629-07:00No, your Dad was a wise man! There's an old p...No, your Dad was a wise man! There's an old pilot saying that goes something like this. "It's better to be down here wishing you were up there, than to be up there wishing you were down here". I've ops checked that more times than I should have and know it to be true.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-57032662331682993582014-08-11T07:10:02.901-07:002014-08-11T07:10:02.901-07:00Great story!
My Dad owned and flew a small sing...Great story! <br /><br />My Dad owned and flew a small single engine plane in the 60's. He worked hard to get his instrument rating. One day I was flying with him and we stopped in for lunch at a little airport. In a while weather came up and visibility was poor. He said if it doesn't clear, we might have to stay at a motel. I said but don't you have your instrument rating? He told me he worked for that rating so he had something to work with in an emergency, he was not looking for an emergency to test his ability. Hey, I was a stupid kid,joehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08520161706680568508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-21687704760601003042014-08-11T07:04:26.539-07:002014-08-11T07:04:26.539-07:00Another excellent post Juvat. General Doolittle wa...Another excellent post Juvat. General Doolittle was a giant of the aviation world.<br /><br />Of course, learning something new (W0X0F) is always a treat. Who knew? (But thinking about it, I have seen those conditions. Odd.)OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.com