A retired USAF pilot says

pwd72s · 01-04-2010, 02:13 PM

My retired pilot buddy Jimbo says that fast cars don't thrill him because once youy've gone mach speed 200 feet off the deck, cars get boring. He just sent me this video...it gives me a limited understanding.

YouTube - Low Flying and Crazy Fast Passes

m21sniper · 01-04-2010, 02:18 PM

Agreed. Flying is boring. Flying LOW is exhilarating beyond words. (I have many hours in the back of Blackhawks and Hueys flying NOE, both day and night).

Embraer · Embraer's Garage

in my impetuous youth i did over 170 in my modded 944 turbo. THAT was more exciting than any aerobatic's i've done low to the deck. apples and oranges.

one of my fellow instructors was an F105 pilot in 'nam. in fact, he was just telling me some stories this morning about low supersonic flight...said it was pretty mundane. his favorite job in vietnam was flying the OV-10 in the FAC role.

love hearing those kinds of stories!

onewhippedpuppy · 01-04-2010, 06:11 PM

MAVERICK!!!!

I work with quite a few fighter jockeys, it's always fun hearing stories from them. Overall pilots are a good bunch to drink beer with.

chrisf · 01-04-2010, 06:25 PM

I worked for a guy a while back who flew FAC in vietnam. He said they used to pack grenades and mason jars in the plane. He would pull the pin, drop it in the jar, and throw it out the window.

KarlCarrera · 01-04-2010, 06:38 PM

That was fun.

Us low time, SEL, VFR guys could only dream of that. And a dream it will remain.

Karl
88 Targa

sscates · sscates's Garage

Definitely exciting in a different way, that is flying low and fast. I've done low flying in Jets(no fighters) and pistons, but still find the car thing get's me more amped up. I find the track thing to be much more challenging than flying low and fast.

Fighters are a different story, as your friend and that video pointed out. It's all good....

M.D. Holloway · 01-04-2010, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisf

I worked for a guy a while back who flew FAC in vietnam. He said they used to pack grenades and mason jars in the plane. He would pull the pin, drop it in the jar, and throw it out the window.

Why a mason jar? Glass shrapnel?

fingpilot · 01-04-2010, 07:24 PM

Lube, long time! (Quite a statement in itself....)

The idea of being in a Cessna 180 or a C336 solo with a grenade missing it's pin is the scariest thing I could ever imagine. Flying, looking, spotting, and dodging trees while juggling a grenade.... Not in my lifetime.

No, the idea was that you could drop the (relatively safe) grenade (with it's handle, minus the pin, held by the glass jar), and not have to worry about the timing of the fuse. It would not arm and fire the timing fuse until the glass jar broke when hitting the ground.

Gave you time to do a clearing turn, pull up into a Chandelle, and look to see the report. Usually palm fronds and black cotton shirts. Was a great way to start your day.

m21sniper · 01-04-2010, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LubeMaster77

Why a mason jar? Glass shrapnel?

It shatters on impact, releasing the grenade spoon, and activating the grenade fuze.

A metal can would not have this effect.

flatbutt · 01-05-2010, 05:28 AM

well thats one way to disperse a crowd! "I'm not gonna flinch!"

Tell me does the aircraft handle differently when so low?

Seahawk · 01-05-2010, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m21sniper

Agreed. Flying is boring. Flying LOW is exhilarating beyond words. (I have many hours in the back of Blackhawks and Hueys flying NOE, both day and night).

Daytime low-level sprinting is great, low-level sprinting on goggles at night is cool beyond works.

Nap-of-earth is generally flown much slower and in much closer proximity to obstacles, much of the time below tress and ridge lines, threat dependent...very demanding on goggles.

My favorite flying was during the test flights for the HH-60H...we took the SEALS everywhere day and night for months...from flights in China Lake (desert and high mountains, to wooded areas and over water for ship boarding ops, etc. The tactics are precise and the pressure to put the aircraft exactly in the right place at the right time is extreme but enjoyable.

I said favorite since the were no bad guys on the routes!

Tim Hancock · 01-05-2010, 07:43 AM

I love flying low in small general aviation aircraft, but it is not very safe or smart as altitude is you're friend if a problem develops. If I am 1500' above ground and my engine quits, I have at least "some" time to pick a safe spot to land off airport. If you're engine quits when down low over trees/water/rough terrain....time to say you're prayers.

That said, flying along on the rural countryside deck at 60 or so mph on a nice summer evening in a Cub or in my ultralight is a very pleasant experience (as is diving down to a runway at 170 or so for a low pass in something a bit bigger/faster)

HardDrive · 01-05-2010, 08:31 AM

I find flying low over the wife to be quite thrilling.

m21sniper · 01-05-2010, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Daytime low-level sprinting is great, low-level sprinting on goggles at night is cool beyond works.

Nap-of-earth is generally flown much slower and in much closer proximity to obstacles, much of the time below tress and ridge lines, threat dependent...very demanding on goggles.

My favorite flying was during the test flights for the HH-60H...we took the SEALS everywhere day and night for months...from flights in China Lake (desert and high mountains, to wooded areas and over water for ship boarding ops, etc. The tactics are precise and the pressure to put the aircraft exactly in the right place at the right time is extreme but enjoyable.

I said favorite since the were no bad guys on the routes!

You still have access to a whirly bird? I'd love to get a flight with ya someday, see if i could hold onto my lunch.

hehehe

My sister was an Army medevac pilot, but she's got no access to any helos, she is a commercial airline pilot now.

Seahawk · 01-05-2010, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m21sniper

You still have access to a whirly bird? I'd love to get a flight with ya someday, see if i could hold onto my lunch.

hehehe

My sister was an Army medevac pilot, but she's got no access to any helos, she is a commercial airline pilot now.

I wish. I fly with my neighbor once a month or so in his Cub. I was the Chief Test Pilot at the Sikorsky factory in Bridgeport, CT for three years and got to fly brand new Blackhawks, J-Hawks, Seahawks and 53E's. Life didn't suck

We used to taxi out to the pad and ask tower for max clearance to four thousand feet...pull power and go straight up to 4k

ERH · 01-05-2010, 02:34 PM

I have posted this before, but it just seems right for this thread.

T-33 through the canyon:

Jetting Through the Grand Canyon | Airspacemag.com

Ed

Jim Sims · 01-05-2010, 04:29 PM

Yep that's the way to fly - low, fast and stupid:

Cavalese cable car disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Embraer · Embraer's Garage

buzzkill.

Hard-Deck · 01-05-2010, 06:32 PM

I have most of my flight time in high-performance fighters F/A-18 A,B,C,D. I have also flown Cessna, Piper, Aeronica and an RV4. I've also co-piloted a C-130 about 26 hours. Each plane and experience is different and challenging.

My Porsche will NEVER be driven at whatever its' top speed is by me and I'm just fine with it. Does it thrill me...absolutely. Is it the same as low-level in the Chocolate Mountains at .94 mach? Nope. Is it as fun as landing on a pitching deck? Nope. Do I spend more time thinking of my car than I do my former fighter plane? Yep.

Everything is subjective. I tend to not pay attention to USAF pilots by-the-way.