All Things Aviation Related

[svandamme]

So basically the airo equivalent of a handbrake turn

Edit: EEK!

[svandamme]

https://twitter.com/i/status/1622160493040238597

Holy crap, that was close

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-investigates-aborted-fedex-landing-texas-2023-02-04/

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by svandamme

Holy crap, that was close

Wow.

Another Quick Sea Story.

I was the NATOPS Instructor at my second squadron, VX-1 here in Patuxent River. In that capacity, I gave check rides, qual rides, etc...easy, really, all the pilots and aircrew were all very experienced.

The Navy was shifting from carrier based H-3's to SH-60F's and I was qual'ing, because I had a lot of hours in the SH-60B flying of of small ships, the H-3 folks in the F...I was was an aircraft commander in both T/M/S.

Great flight with a LCDR, beautiful day, CAVU, 60 degrees, the whole nine yards of aviation goodness. We land near the hot fuel pit at Pax to refuel since the aircraft was scheduled for a hot crew swap.

Coming out of the fuel pits we start taxiing (ground taxi) back to VX-1. I start cleaning up my notes on the flight so I am head down.

Stupid.

Double stupid is I really wasn't paying much attention to the radio: The LCDR I was flying with was excellent and we had done this taxi routinely.

Ground instructs: "Juliet Alpha, hold short of the active for P-3 on take-off..." Something to that effect, I was busy being stupid.

The LCDR hears something completely different and begins to cross the departure end of the active.

Two things: Very long runway, P-3 takes some time on take-off roll so we clear the active with probably just over a 1/4 mile separation...sounds like a lot but it really isn't. I am in deep kimchi since I was the Aircraft Commander...

Ground freaks out a little bit but doesn't write us up. After the crew swap, I go see my XO, former Huey pilot in Vietnam flying Special Ops, to let him know what just happened.

I am in the last 6 months in the squadron, have been NATOPS, Instrument Instructor pilot, NVG Instructor pilot, etc. Captain Bob looks at me like I am a tick on his arm and then smiles: "On Monday, Ace, you get to brief your little episode to the whole wardroom."

I would have rather been grounded but I did.

[FA-18C]

Yeah the ol' brief the ready room on doing stupid ***** is a tradition.

I was in Turkey on a detachment off the America and we were flying in and out of a remote station fighting with some F-16s and F-5's. When we landed and were taxing to the refueling location, I was the lead FA-18 following a couple of F-16s that landed ahead of us. Taxi way was tight, small remote base with aircraft bunkers. I was locked on keeping the nosewheel right on the taxi painted centerline. As we spun a 180 near the concrete bunkers, there was a pucker factor, but I am nuts on the taxi line, right? All was good until I felt the impact of the AIM-9M CATM's outboard fins shearing off while impacting the concrete bunker. They sheared off, but I could not see that from the cockpit and felt the bile rising in my throat. Zero damage to the aircraft, and in fact after stripping the fins from the missile I refueled the aircraft and flew it home slicked off. The CATM had not worked during the detachment, but ramming into a bunker reseated a electronics card and she worked perfectly after.

Upon return to Eskishir (a garden spot), I hung my head in shame and reported to the det Commander to take my woodshedding and fill out accident report paperwork. As it turns out, the fins were already earmarked for removal and disposal due to cracks, the CATM and wingtip rail checked out 4.0, so after buying beer for the weapons tech and maintenance crew, it never happened.

When we got back to the carrier I did get up and share my lessons learned from the det training and included in my slide deck the fact that an FA-18 has a slightly greater wingspan than the F-16, then included graphic pictures of the AIM-9 on the ground as the closing Questions Slide. Some never caught it...

[rattlsnak]

Originally Posted by svandamme

https://twitter.com/i/status/1622160493040238597

Holy crap, that was close

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-investigates-aborted-fedex-landing-texas-2023-02-04/

Yes it was! Great job by the FDX crew!

[dar636]

One of my projects, I issued the experimental certificate last Friday, not Monday tho-

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/faa-clears-hydrogen-powered-airplane-for-first-flight-at-moses-lake/

[edgemar]

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by dar636

One of my projects, I issued the experimental certificate last Friday, not Monday tho-

That is defo weird looking but cool project either way

you are with the FAA?

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by edgemar

these guys actually got lucky despite pancaking a 737 fire bomber down :

[svandamme]

Speaking of firebombers..And naval aviation this aint no ****, this is Hoser :



He was a legend.


Look at his right hand , that's his second replacement thumb
First toe graft did not stick
original toe got blown off by the breech of his 20 mike mike custom gun made out of a vulcan barrel he got for some gunnery feat

[svandamme]

Hoser is in this as well, he had the highest kill ratio in the entire program
and also responsible for the famouse Eagle Eater gun picture, tracking his pipper on the F15is pilot helmet.

[john70t]

[Robert Coats]

Yet Another Sea Story...

Our P-3 Orion had just landed in Dallas late on a Sunday night, so we shut down #1 and #2 engines so the door/stairs could be used to off load 1/2 dozen pax. Five minutes later, and the engineer tried to restart #2, which made a horrible noise, but no start. I could hear some choice words from my seat in the back.
"Damn it! We just sheared the starter shaft!"
"Well are YOU going to try and get permission for a 3-engine ferry back home?"
"Hold up. Hey, call that C-130 on the opposite taxiway...."

"WTF are you guys doing?" I asked.
"We're gonna use the thrust from the C-130 to spin #2's prop and get it started."

Sure enough, we carefully moved our aircraft into a 'doggy style' position behind the C-130, which then proceeded to run up max power. The #2 engine started to turn, and started right up.

"Coats, be sure to tell your girlfriend you cheated on her tonight."
"What the hell do you mean?"
"Tell her you just got a bl0wj0b from some Air Force guys."

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Robert Coats

Yet Another Sea Story...

Our P-3 Orion had just landed in Dallas late on a Sunday night, so we shut down #1 and #2 engines so the door/stairs could be used to off load 1/2 dozen pax. Five minutes later, and the engineer tried to restart #2, which made a horrible noise, but no start. I could hear some choice words from my seat in the back.
"Damn it! We just sheared the starter shaft!"
"Well are YOU going to try and get permission for a 3-engine ferry back home?"
"Hold up. Hey, call that C-130 on the opposite taxiway...."

"WTF are you guys doing?" I asked.
"We're gonna use the thrust from the C-130 to spin #2's prop and get it started."

Sure enough, we carefully moved our aircraft into a 'doggy style' position behind the C-130, which then proceeded to run up max power. The #2 engine started to turn, and started right up.

"Coats, be sure to tell your girlfriend you cheated on her tonight."
"What the hell do you mean?"
"Tell her you just got a bl0wj0b from some Air Force guys."

Just curious, if no C130 around.. Would it not be possible to airstart it on the runway?

Like do a 3 engine run up against the wind, get to some moderate speed,
air start and return to the start of the runway for the actual take off?

I would imagine not realistic for a jet, but a prop...how much speed does a big prop need to airstart??

[Geneman]

Thats is simply brilliant

[fanaudical]

Cool story - Reminds me of a B-52 cascade start demo I saw at Fairchild AFB (back when they used to do the good air shows...).

[Robert Coats]

Originally Posted by svandamme

Just curious, if no C130 around.. Would it not be possible to airstart it on the runway?

Maybe? I would guess if the runway was long enough it might work, but it would get very busy in the cockpit.

I was more concerned that the $10 bill I had with me would be enough to get me and my thirsty Corvette back home to Pensacola, provided we actually made it back to New Orleans. It was a textbook case of 'gethomeitis."

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Robert Coats

Maybe?

I hate Sea Stories

Nicely done Robert. I had no idea that was possible.

[FA-18C]

Gotta think there is some razzing going on over the race for the first balloon killer ace status. I mean a kill is a kill, but makes county fares and ballooning events dangerous airspace…

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by FA-18C

Gotta think there is some razzing going on over the race for the first balloon killer ace status. I mean a kill is a kill, but makes county fares and ballooning events dangerous airspace…

They just got a second one over Alaska. Confidence is high.