I Blame Buck

Actually it's more like the Cap'n's fault. He started it. Then I saw that Buck had taken the quiz as well and posted the results. So, as my Mother always said (when we were lads), "Monkey see, monkey do." (And my Dad one day completed the thought with "...monkey get his a$$ slapped too!" My brothers and I laughed. Mom did not. Nor did Dad when he saw the look on Mom's face.)

So, the quiz. It was interesting. I played with it a bit and felt the results were accurate for my own political leanings, such as they are. Many of my colleagues are libertarians. I used to think I was too. Then I did the research and realized that I was not a libertarian.

So there it is. I'm a self-confessed Centrist.

If you go to the Wikipedia article on Centrism, there's a picture of Ross Perot.

I can live with that.

Say What?

General Curtis Lemay

Reports from Colorado Springs indicate that a very loud spinning noise can be heard from as far away as Castle Rock when the wind is just right.

Further investigation has revealed that the sound is emanating from the grave of the late Air Force General Curtis Lemay.

The spinning began when news filtered out about the "gutless wonders" in the Pentagon who ordered a nativity scene removed from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. Story here.

The Scene at Shaw

Reminds me of a story a couple of years ago out of Travis Air Force Base in, of all places, California. Where base officials decided to keep their nativity scene and not allow the addition of a suggested atheist display.

Travis AFB, California, 2011

I've seen this sort of thing over the years from time to time. The Constitution is often invoked, usually incorrectly.

Mikey Weinstein and his fellow travelers at the so-called Military Religious Freedom Foundation strike again.

Given the behavior of some of the "officials" in the Five-Sided Puzzle Palace on the Potomac, I'd be surprised if any of our enemies fear us.

It wasn't like this back in the day. While I was no big fan of General Lemay, the man did have guts. Unlike some of our current "leadership". Sad times.

Sad times indeed...

The Mighty War Hoover

Yes, It Can Carry Weapons!

Fill'er Up!

Yes, boys and girls, it's the Mighty War Hoover. Also known as the S-3 Viking, Tuna's old ride.

So why do they call it "the Hoover"? Listen carefully!

Makes sense now, right?

So what are S-3 people like? Let's take a look. (I wonder if Tuna knows any of these guys. Hell, I wonder if Tuna is one of these guys!)

Well, I'm sure some of them are normal. Right? Tuna? A little help...

Blog Buddy Spill posted this S-3 Cutaway back in October. I reproduce it here. (Or you can chase the link, I won't be offended, really.)

Now the Hoover could carry a lot of stuff (as you can see in the diagram above). Here's a more exhaustive list from Wikipedia. (Where else?)

Specifications (S-3A)

General characteristics

• Crew: 4 (Pilot, 2× Naval Flight Officers, Sensor Operator/TFO)

• Length: 53 ft 4 in (16.26 m)

• Wingspan: Unfolded: 68 ft 8 in (20.93 m)

• Folded: 29 ft 6 in (9.00 m)

• Height: 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)

• Wing area: 598 ft² (55.56 m²)

• Empty weight: 26,581 lb (12,057 kg)

• Loaded weight: 38,192 lb (17,324 kg)

• Max. takeoff weight: 52,539 lb (23,831 kg)

• Powerplant: 2 × General Electric TF34-GE-2 turbofans, 9,275 lbf (41.26 kN) each

• Internal fuel capacity: 1,933 US gal (7,320 L) of JP-5 fuel

• External fuel capacity: 2x 300 US gal (1,136 L) tanks

Performance

• Maximum speed: 429 kn (493 mph, 795 km/h) at sea level

• Mach 0.79, 450 kn (514 mph, 828 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)

• Cruise speed: 350 kn (405 mph, 650 km/h)

• Stall speed: 97 kn (112 mph, 180 km/h)

• Range: 2,765 nm (3,182 mi, 5,121 km)

• Ferry range: 3,368 nm(3,875 mi, 6,237 km)

• Service ceiling: 40,900 ft (12,465 m)

• Rate of climb: 5,120 ft/min (26.0 m/s)

• Wing loading: 68.5 lb/ft² (334 kg/m²)

• Thrust/weight: 0.353

Armament

Up to 4,900 lb (2,220 kg) on four internal and two external hardpoints, including:

• 10 × 500 lb (227 kg) Mark 82 bombs

• 2 × 1000 lb (454 kg) Mark 83 bombs

• 2 × 2000 lb (908 kg) Mark 84 bombs

• 6 × CBU-100 cluster bombs

• 2 × Mark 50 torpedoes

• 4 × Mark 46 torpedoes

• 6 × mines or depth charges

• 2 × B57 nuclear bombs

• 2 × AGM-65E/F Maverick missiles

• 2 × AGM-84D Harpoon missiles

• 1 × AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER missile

The two underwing hardpoints can also be fitted with unguided rocket pods or 300 US gal (1,136 l) fuel tanks.

Avionics

• AN/APS-116 sea search radar, maximum range 150 nmi (173 mi, 278 km)

• Upgraded on S-3B to AN/APS-137 Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR)

• OR-89 forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera with 3x zoom

• AN/ARS-2 sonobuoy receiver with 13 blade antennas on the airframe for precise buoy location (Sonobuoy Reference System)

• AN/ASQ-81 magnetic anomaly detector (MAD)

• AN/ASN-92 Inertial navigation system (INS) with doppler radar navigation and TACAN

• Up to 60 sonobuoys (59 tactical, 1 Search and Rescue)

That's a lot of stuff!

So, does the S-3 have ejection seats? Why yes, yes it does...

Emergency Egress - Viking Style!

Photo of the trials of the ejection seats of the (then) new Lockheed S-3 Viking at
the U.S. Navy Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, California (USA), in 1971.

Now Tuna claims that the S-3 is cousin to the Warthog. Perhaps we can get him to explain that to us some day. (Now I'm not saying "Tuna, you got some 'splainin' to do..." but, well actually, yes, I am saying that.)

But if we're all really, really nice to him, perhaps some day Tuna will regale us with tall tales of his Viking days. Back when Tuna wore the gold wings of a Naval Flight Officer and helped keep the Commie hordes at bay.

We can only hope!

For those with a greater interest in the S-3, check out the Viking Association website. It's pretty cool.

Do I Like the A-10?

Get Some!

Why yes, yes I do!

Buddy of mine posted this video over on Facebook. So I felt the need to share.

Because it's what I do.

I share.

Yes, the Old AF Sarge does Facebook. It's a very modern guy I am. Besides which, it's a good way to keep up with the progeny.

December

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring 
Than we were in September,” 
I heard a bird sing 
In the dark of December.

Oliver Herford (1863 - 1935)

The days are shorter and tend to gray.

The sun was up there, though shrouded by an opaque veil.

Every now and then peeking out, but then disappearing again.

By four-thirty in the afternoon it may as well have been night.

It is, after all, December.

There is snow somewhere out there, biding it's time.

December marches on, winter approaches.

Sleep now, but don't despair. Spring will come again.

It always has.

It always will.

For now I will enjoy this time.

Without winter, how would we know spring?

Air Raid Pearl Harbor, This Is No Drill

Diamond Head, Oahu

It's a beautiful place today.

It was a beautiful place 72 years ago as the sailors, soldiers, Marines, airmen and Coast Guardsmen began another Sunday on Oahu. Another routine Sunday is what the men expected...

At Pearl Harbor.

At Hickam.

At Wheeler.

On Ford Island.

But soon this beautiful day in paradise would be ripped asunder. Many would die, a Nation would change. A sleeping giant would awaken.

USS Arizona, BB-39

On board the USS Arizona, no one had any idea that this proud ship would never leave her mooring again. No one had any idea that the majority of her crew would stay with their ship for eternity.

No one knew.

Then, it began...

Winging in out of a sky so beautiful it took your breath away, aircraft from four Japanese carriers began their attack. Wreaking death and destruction on this idyllic scene.

USS Shaw Explodes

Ford Island

Wheeler Field

Hickam Field

Battleship Row

USS Arizona, BB-39

Hell had come to paradise. When it was over 2,402 Americans lay dead and another 1,247 had been wounded.

• 4 battleships sunk
• 3 battleships damaged
• 1 battleship grounded
• 2 other ships sunk
• 3 cruisers damaged
• 3 destroyers damaged
• 3 other ships damaged
• 188 aircraft destroyed
• 159 aircraft damaged

When Arizona exploded and sank, 1,177 of her officers and crewmen were killed. Many still lie entombed within the shattered hull of their ship. Ever faithful to their shipmates and their country, they gave their lives that day.

Those that survived still remember those who perished. Their friends, their shipmates, their fellow Americans.

There are not enough tears to erase the pain of that fateful day. But still...

We remember them.

Their numbers grow fewer with every passing year.

Once they were young and strong. Those who survived went on to defeat our enemies.

Many survivors lived long and fulfilling lives, raising families and spoiling their grandchildren. Many, in the fullness of time, remembering a day, long, long ago, decided that they wished to spend eternity with their shipmates. Those who did not survive.

And so their ashes are scattered upon the waves above their old ship.

Let us not forget these men, men who gave their lives for their country. For us.

May we always have such men (and yes, women too).

There are those who deny American exceptionalism. Those who would belittle the American spirit. Those who do, dishonor the memory of these honored dead. Those who do, deserve not the freedom these men died to preserve.

I will remember them and honor their memory. Their service. Their sacrifice.

And always will...

The Friday Flyby - 06 December

A long, long time ago, back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth...

Okay, so it wasn't that long ago. But it was in the last quarter of the last century, '75 to be precise, Yours Truly was preparing to join the mightiest aerial force to ever bomb an enemy back into the Stone Age. Yup, the United States Air Force.

The Air Force that killed MiGs and still had a Strategic Air Command.

Yeah, those guys.

I was asked what I wanted to do in the Air Force. As I had not the eyesight to actually fly the great beasts of the air, I was resolved to work on them. I wished to become an aircraft maintainer. (Have I mentioned from time to time that I'm not always the "sharpest knife in the drawer"?)

At the time there were two maintenance jobs that my recruiter figured I'd be good at, both involved weapons control systems. One job was to maintain the F-4 Phantom II (the one I eventually picked), the other was on the F-111 "Aardvark" (not it's official name, for it never had one).

I chose the F-4 due to there being more duty stations available. At the time, the F-111 lived in only two places, Plattsburgh AFB, New York and RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom. Oh, I was sorely tempted at the mention of the UK. Then my recruiter mentioned that they deployed a lot. After he explained "deploy" to me (for I was young and green in the ways of the military in those days) I decided to go Phantoms. What would be the point of being stationed in England if one was never actually, you know, in England.

But since that day I have had a soft spot for the Aardvark. So here she is.

F-111 of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)

From Wikipedia -

The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the United States Air Force. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) also ordered the type and began operating F-111Cs in 1973.

The F-111 pioneered several technologies for production aircraft, including variable-sweep wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and automated terrain-following radar for low-level, high-speed flight. Its design influenced later variable-sweep wing aircraft, and some of its advanced features have since become commonplace. The F-111 suffered a variety of problems during initial development and several of its intended roles, such as naval interception, with the F-111B, failed to materialize.

USAF F-111 variants were retired in the 1990s, with the F-111Fs in 1996 and EF-111s in 1998. The F-111 has been replaced in USAF service by the F-15E Strike Eagle for medium-range precision strike missions, while the supersonic bomber role has been assumed by the B-1B Lancer. The RAAF was the last operator of the F-111, with its aircraft serving until December 2010.

The U-2 incident of May 1960, in which an American CIA U-2 spy plane was shot down over the USSR, stunned the United States government. Besides greatly damaging Soviet relations, the incident showed that Russia had developed a surface-to-air missile that could reach aircraft above 60,000 feet. The United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) and the RAF Bomber Command's plans to send subsonic, high-altitude B-47 and V bomber formations into the USSR were now much less viable. By 1960, SAC had begun moving to low-level penetration. This greatly reduces radar detection distances; and, at that time, SAMs were ineffective against low-flying aircraft, and interceptor aircraft did not have as large a speed advantage at low-level. The Air Force's Tactical Air Command (TAC) was largely concerned with the fighter-bomber and deep strike/interdiction roles. TAC was in the process of receiving its latest design, the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, which was designed to deliver nuclear weapons fast and far, but required long runways. A simpler variable geometry wing configuration with the pivot points further out from the aircraft's centerline was reported by NASA in 1958, which made swing wings viable. This led Air Force leaders to encourage its use. In June 1960, the USAF issued specification SOR 183 for a long-range interdiction/strike aircraft able to penetrate Soviet air defenses at very low altitudes and high speeds. The specification also called for the aircraft to operate from short, unprepared airstrips.

In the 1950s the United States Navy sought a long-range, high-endurance interceptor aircraft to protect its carrier battle groups against long-range anti-ship missiles launched from Soviet jet bombers and submarines. The Navy needed a fleet air defense (FAD) fighter with a more powerful radar, and longer range missiles than the F-4 Phantom II to intercept both enemy bombers and missiles. Seeking a FAD fighter, the Navy started with the subsonic, straight-winged aircraft, the Douglas F6D Missileer in 1957. The Missileer was designed to carry six long-range missiles and loiter for five hours, but would be defenseless after firing its missiles. The program was canceled in December 1960. The Navy had tried variable geometry wings with the XF10F Jaguar, but abandoned it in the early 1950s. It was NASA's simplification which made the variable geometry wings practical. By 1960, increases in aircraft weights required improved high-lift devices, such as variable geometry wings. Variable geometry offered high speeds, and maneuverability with heavier payloads, long range, and the ability to takeoff and land in shorter distances.

11-Ship Formation of Aardvarks

F-111 Trap

F-111 On Deck

RAAF 6 Squadron F-111 Fuel Dump
(Often mistaken for afterburner, see next photo)

RAF Lakenheath Bird, Actually in 'Burner
(i.e. not dumping fuel)

EF-111A "Raven" Flying in Operation Deny Flight
(Bosnia)

Great Shot of an Aussie 'Vark

F-111F and EF-111A in Formation

Above the Clouds

So yeah, this could have been me!