All Things Aviation Related

[svandamme]

Oh I bet..The book (cant remember which one of the tow, probably both) mentions the muzzle flashes almost like you just said it.

I've never been in any military, But I read books on it every day, currently going through Krulak, First to Fight, but that's more a background book on the Corps.

The war and military service is a very odd fascination of mine, because the older I get, the more I appreciate what people do and are capable off, and what bond it brings more then family (which I never really had much).
I was raised and pushed to become anti hiearchy, even today at work, nobody can make me do anything.. "because I said so" Won't work
So military, especially the bootcamp/indoc and orders are orders part of it , it would have been like a red flag to a bull with me.
Belgian mandatory service ended 2 years before me, and I was releaved because I was ready to fight the system all the way.

However as I get older I tend to want to do things, if they are the right thing to do. I've gotten away from bad influences in my upbringing (own family)
And Tend to be a positive member of society, I help others, volunteer, much liked by coworkers despite my vices and temper.

And been reading and ready, in most if not all the books about really important people and those who did extraordinary things in war. They didn't do things because of orders, but because it was the right thing to do.

So No military could never have been my thing, but I do find personal value in the stories of those who did. And I like to think I have some understanding and would have gotten along with the people who serve(d), as the person I am today (not when I was the 15-25 year old me)

[afterburn 549]

A short story about being .......stupid.
I must have missed a class,? LOL
About Green tracers.
Sense then, and have even heard that green tracers did not exist over there.
Really?

There are some people that will argue this to this day.
But I know what I saw.
Me- "What is that green shet coming at us?"
Truly i had no clue, and thought all tracers were a bright orange color .
About then the AC in an instant put us in the trees, near, in, under the big jungle canopy.
Doing the tree dodge-
Nothing was ever said too much about it .
Just another day in the park.. TOoo dang exciting, but we all got used to it.
yup war stories ...
But now we are lucky enough to be able to talk about it,...some.
I never shared a story for 30 years or more.

[svandamme]

Always heard soviet tracer was green.
Some need to get it off their chest, write a book.. some don't talk about it.
My grandfather never talked about WW2 only loosened up a bit when he came close to the end..
It's all good

[RNajarian]

Regarding the discussion of green tracers . . .

Here is something I found on the web from a man who served in the infantry during SEA.

“A tracer projectile is constructed with a hollow base filled with a pyrotechnic flare material, often made of phosphorus or magnesium or other bright burning chemicals. In NATO standard ammunition (including U.S.), this is usually a mixture of strontium compounds (nitrate, peroxide, etc.) and a metal fuel such as magnesium. This yields a bright red light. Russian and Chinese tracer ammunition generates green light using barium salts. Some modern designs use compositions that produce little to no visible light and radiate mainly in infrared, being visible only on night vision equipment. However, one cannot see the tracer that is heading for or near you. In modern times the majority of tracer ammunition is red/orange, with the exceptions of decades old ammunition. Note; during the Viet Nam conflict the "VC" did not manufacture their ammunition. It was purchased/issued via the USSR and or China, hence the green tracer.”

[afterburn 549]

Thanks for the research,
What I do know, coming at you is a lot different than going away.
It takes a double look to understand what one is actually seeing.
In fact straight enough at ya is hard to see at all!
When firring them from a copter you can see them better because of the transitional shift.
Coming straight on at ya there is no curve.
At least that was my experience.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by svandamme

and making circling turns in a forrest clearing to gain lift out of the triple canopy.. Chickenhawk and Low Level hell really are amazing well written books to capture it so well.

'Chickenhawk' is a great book. Highly recommend.

[svandamme]

I once shot 600 meters in a 100 meter semi open range , with a tracer out of my M1A
the office cabinet was dead. Luckily the office was empty at the time
I unwillingly delivered proof the range design was un-safe
I know a lot about tracers now.. and that they are more prone to ricochet
True story

His second book is pretty good as well, I've once had a talk to the guy who wrote it.
He's a nice guy, and a pretty good writer.

This is him

LOL, in one of those mini copters.. had forgotten all about that

[afterburn 549]

Nothing much better than the sound of a turbine and the smell of cooker kerosene!

[Jolly Amaranto]

My oldest brother spent a year in Viet Nam but still does not talk much about it. And when he does it is usually some funny story not related to the violence of war. For instance, for half of his tour he commanded an artillery forward observer team. They would be dropped off in some remote landing zone to go an a patrol for a few weeks. By the time they were extracted, they smelled pretty bad but did not notice themselves or each other much because they were desensitized to it. However the poor helicopter crew was not as they were able to maintain better personal hygiene in their environment. He really felt sorry for those guys.

[afterburn 549]

Yup, We had a hot shower most every day .
We could come and go to the war.
it was only hot for a moment.
I only had to wade through the water a couple of times, and not very far.
Thier job was hiell on earth i am sure .

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

Nothing much better than the sound of a turbine and the smell of cooker kerosene!

I once visited the SAR base close by, for somebody with cancer who got a ride on the Seaking. (she was ex medic in the army and terminal, it was by great exception they did this ride for her.)

I drove her there, and her kid.. figured might get a ride myself, but no dice.
So became official ground ops photographer with her fancy camera..

While they were out, I was free to roam the base, the hangar and climb in the second seaking , visit the ops room with full radar and sea current tracking system for the North Sea Channel. Could follow their flight and winching to a ship in the channel..

They flew the green camo one, while I was on the ground in the Anniversary livery black one..




When they returned on the tarmac and the one thing I hadn't expected was Hair dryer.

I had expected wind, but not the smell and heat coming off the darn thing.. and then when the engine was stopped, within a second the hot air was gone and it was just wind. Very odd thing to notice..

Finished off with coffee and cake in the Mess with all the crews present..
It was a great day

All our Seakings are now replaced by the NH90.. which just isn't as cool if you ask me.. the Seakings here were quite famous, a real workhorse and people were very fond of them.. There even was a TV show called Windkracht 10, (windforce 10)..
Belgian Military has a bit of a poor rep with the public, in part because of underfunding and a bit to much lifers, but mostly poor PR , undeserved.. But the Seaking squadron was like the opposite, everybody proud of them along with our EOD that takes care of WW1 ammo..

Series then had a movie made out of as well..


bit corny.. But it was fun for me visiting the actual base and then seeing it all in person , would be like visiting Miramar/NFWS after having watched Top Gun the movie

[afterburn 549]

Any helicopter is better than No helicopter!

[svandamme]

the base was originally built in WW1, given up between the war, and then during WW2 the germans built the hangars there that are still in use to this day

the SAR diver is a very tall guy, he complained that the Seaking had more headroom and the NH90 requires him to be hunched all the time cause it's roof is to low

It used to be very popular in summer for Fighter pilots from inland to fly to Koksijde (gotta do their hours) , land go to restaurant for some seafood.. take off again and fly back to home base.. And they would all fly pretty much straight over my house for that route..
These days no more fast jets on Koksijde, and the base is going to be shutdown, they move the SAR to a commercial airport.. very likely they'll take the role away from teh miltary and do commercial SAR in the future (hotly debarted subject)
Unfortunately the developers are already chomping at the bit to take the land and stuff it full of buildings like they always do.. the last bit of open space near the coast to be destroyed

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

This will be boring to some, but I got a ride in a C-2A many moons ago.

I was riding in the back. Long story. Flew over in the SH-60B, dropped off and launched 45 minutes later for San Diego.

Business trip

That whole video was so cool. Being a military (specifically Navy) brat, and having lived on or near bases from the time I was 6 until I graduated HS (and still visited my parents on bases for another couple of years) I feel an attachment to this sort of thing.

My dad was stationed in Rota, Spain as his last duty station before he retired. I got to visit 2 summers, and saw a Spanish aircraft carrier. It was shocking how tiny it was and the fact that the front was a ramp instead of flat like ours.

[RNajarian]

2008 Kodiak Alaska hitching a ride with the Coast Guard a Jayhawk.

Flying in a blizzard is a completely different experience. Hats off to you rotorcraft guys.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

My favorite fixed wing airplane:



I have about 100 hours in various jets, mostly trainers and with an aggressor squadron when I was a "stash Ensign" at VA-42 in Virginia Beach, then VT-10 in Pensacola riding backseat in T-2's and A-4's during maintenance hops.

Up and away is great, but there is, to me, no better flying than down low in the weeds.

135kts at 25 feet in an H-60 made me happy. The A-10 is the only thing that would have made me happier.

Yep, maybe not the sleekest, fastest, or most elegant bird around, but still one of the coolest. Kind of like a bulldog, so ugly it's cute and you still wouldn't want to get on the wrong end of one. I've loved them since I was a kid.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by svandamme

...the Seakings here were quite famous, a real workhorse and people were very fond of them.

We had Sea Kings when I was at VX-1 in Patuxent River. They were being phased out but we had two. I was able to fly in the co-pilot seat for a couple of hops.

I was so spoiled. The SH-60B, because of all our sensors and avionics, was air-conditioned...a really good a/c.

Our H-3's were not. I would sweat like Woopi Goldberg on Jeopardy.

We had a British exchange pilot that had a lot of time in Sea Kings...he is in some of the famous videos from the Falkland Island hovering in the inlet as the Argentinian A-4's are attacking. The best guy on the planet.

Bob has sadly passed: "Lovely, dovely landing, Paul...my turn."

Lastly, during the first PG fight, I was the Air Boss on the USS La Salle and I managed the Desert Ducks out of Bahrain for the CO...logistics aircraft.

I got about 100 hours delivery Pony Express and folks...even landed on a Battleship!

[GH85Carrera]

1966 Airshow at Carswell Air Force Base,Texas. This was truly a “dream come true” airshow.
The person that labeled these airplanes did a good job BUT there are a few corrections that is not an SR 71 that is a YF -12 #934 .
Labeled an F -5 it is a T 38. The plane labeled as an A-37 is actually a Douglas (On-Mark) A-26. This is the only time and XB-70 was on display at an air show. This is an amazing group of airplanes created by the United States for the United States🇺🇸 Written by Linda Sheffield Miller

[svandamme]

holy crap, that's an epic line up.
Never would have thought the Valkyrie even made it to an airshow as it was a prototype machine.

a Hustler, XB70Valkyrie , Interceptor YF12 bird, X15, , F111 was brand spanking new then as well, must be an early one weren't operational in 66

I Don't even think there's a museum this day and age that has all those planes static in 1 spot
And these were flown there ?!? Nuts!


What is that vertical pole just between the U2 and the X15?? somew kind of VTOL experimental???

Yeah that Dragon fly does look a little bit to big , but Nothing compares to that Valkyrie.. That plane was LeMay's wet dream come true, except it didn't.

[KNS]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

'Chickenhawk' is a great book. Highly recommend.

I read Chickhawk when I was learning to fly and fell in love with the book.

Later in my career I went to work with a pilot named Fred Ferguson. Fred was a Huey pilot in Vietnam. For me, I was humbled working with the guy - he received the Medal of Honor (and DFC, among others) for his actions saving another aircrew in Hue. Really nice guy and I was quite happy that we "clicked" at work.

I mentioned Chickenhawk to him one day and he did not have a high opinion of the author, Robert Mason.

I read the book again and I could kind of see his point. Of course I wasn't in Vietnam but it's interesting the perspectives one has after experiencing combat.

I still recommend the book...