DieselDave
Super Moderator,
Military Aircraft, Gotta love e\'m
I am approaching 600 post here and this will be the first post I've started about military aircraft. I have been tempted many times but held back. If there is something I love more than torches and hunting it's military aircraft. I like the WWII stuff and I like the newest gen. They are all amazing a fun to watch. In Pensacola they have the National Museum of Naval Aviation. I think it's better than the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, of course I am biased but so what.
I started watching F-4's as a child in Austin Texas. Our home was on the app. path to Bergstrom AFB. During the late 60's I remember seeing groups of Phantoms, sometimes as many as 18 flying in formation. Some days they would come by at 3,000-4,000 feet going supersonic. An occasional window would break but no one complained, it was the price of freedom. My Dad would take me out to the field and we would sit on the side of the road watching them takeoff and land. We had some kids in my elementary school who's Dads were F-4 pilots and POW's. Everyone wore a POW bracelet.
Many years later in college I would go out to another AFB and watch the F-4's and F-16's based there come and go. I liked to study while sitting outside the fence in a lawn chair. I got to where I could identify about 10 different types of Military aircraft during their app. at long distances just by their landing light.
I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to have ridden in the following military aircraft during my time in the service. It was a dream come true.
AH-1, CH-46, CH-53, T-34, T-2, T-47, A-4, TC-4C, A-6E, C-130, KC-10, F-16, KC-135, T-39, C-12, C-9.
I never got my F-4 ride and it's the only other aircraft I was really dying to get into. I have a 100+ stories from those days and I still look up when I hear the sound.
I liked all the aircraft I flew in except for the C-130. I have way to many hours in that sky pig to say it was fun. I took off at midnight one time for a 11 hour flight. It was pouring rain when we loaded and I got soaked to the bone before boarding. I had been up since 5AM and I was beat. After we were airborne I jumped on top of a pallet to grab some sleep. The plane was very hot inside, I would guess about 120 degrees. I finally fell asleep and was awakened two hours later with violent shivering. It was now about 40 degrees and I was still wet. The climate control system is hot or cold, no in-between. It is comfortable for about 5 minutes during the cycle but other than that it's miserably hot or cold. The next day when we landed in Wake Island the CO took one look at me and said, "You can't fly the A-6 today, you look like death warmed over." So, I had to get right back on the C-130 from hell and fly another 8-10 hours to Hawaii. My buddies, flew to Hawaii at twice the speed and set the temp. where they wanted it.
I have lost friends to flying but I gained friendship from some of the greatest guys you could ever want to meet. If any of our young members have a desire to fly in the military I would be happy to help and must say it's it could very well be the greatest time of your life in so many ways.
DD
I am approaching 600 post here and this will be the first post I've started about military aircraft. I have been tempted many times but held back. If there is something I love more than torches and hunting it's military aircraft. I like the WWII stuff and I like the newest gen. They are all amazing a fun to watch. In Pensacola they have the National Museum of Naval Aviation. I think it's better than the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, of course I am biased but so what.
I started watching F-4's as a child in Austin Texas. Our home was on the app. path to Bergstrom AFB. During the late 60's I remember seeing groups of Phantoms, sometimes as many as 18 flying in formation. Some days they would come by at 3,000-4,000 feet going supersonic. An occasional window would break but no one complained, it was the price of freedom. My Dad would take me out to the field and we would sit on the side of the road watching them takeoff and land. We had some kids in my elementary school who's Dads were F-4 pilots and POW's. Everyone wore a POW bracelet.
Many years later in college I would go out to another AFB and watch the F-4's and F-16's based there come and go. I liked to study while sitting outside the fence in a lawn chair. I got to where I could identify about 10 different types of Military aircraft during their app. at long distances just by their landing light.
I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to have ridden in the following military aircraft during my time in the service. It was a dream come true.
AH-1, CH-46, CH-53, T-34, T-2, T-47, A-4, TC-4C, A-6E, C-130, KC-10, F-16, KC-135, T-39, C-12, C-9.
I never got my F-4 ride and it's the only other aircraft I was really dying to get into. I have a 100+ stories from those days and I still look up when I hear the sound.
I liked all the aircraft I flew in except for the C-130. I have way to many hours in that sky pig to say it was fun. I took off at midnight one time for a 11 hour flight. It was pouring rain when we loaded and I got soaked to the bone before boarding. I had been up since 5AM and I was beat. After we were airborne I jumped on top of a pallet to grab some sleep. The plane was very hot inside, I would guess about 120 degrees. I finally fell asleep and was awakened two hours later with violent shivering. It was now about 40 degrees and I was still wet. The climate control system is hot or cold, no in-between. It is comfortable for about 5 minutes during the cycle but other than that it's miserably hot or cold. The next day when we landed in Wake Island the CO took one look at me and said, "You can't fly the A-6 today, you look like death warmed over." So, I had to get right back on the C-130 from hell and fly another 8-10 hours to Hawaii. My buddies, flew to Hawaii at twice the speed and set the temp. where they wanted it.
I have lost friends to flying but I gained friendship from some of the greatest guys you could ever want to meet. If any of our young members have a desire to fly in the military I would be happy to help and must say it's it could very well be the greatest time of your life in so many ways.
DD
