Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:54 am
retroaviation wrote:However, that brings up another question (perhaps a stupid one).....Did Republic ever build a prototype Navy version of the A-10, or was there one on the drawing boards?
Not that I'm aware of. Remember, the A-10 was a result of the A-X competition, which was an Air Force endeavor. The A-X program took place between '67 and '73 -- smack in the heart of when there were significant "roles and missions" debates between the AF, Navy, and Army.
Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:56 am
jcw wrote:i've made more than one fighter guy who was standing behind me take a seat during a real assault landing.. use to qual the F15 Test guys at edwards and then demo assault landings for them on the lake bed.. opened many an eye..
jcw
I have had a number of really, really fun Herk rides. Got to be a neat airplane to plant down on a dirt strip!
Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:58 am
Randy Haskin wrote:
I have had a number of really, really fun Herk rides. Got to be a neat airplane to plant down on a dirt strip!
Ahh, now you are starting to turn. Do I see Little Rock in your future?
Fri Apr 20, 2007 8:07 am
Randy Haskin wrote:jcw wrote:i've made more than one fighter guy who was standing behind me take a seat during a real assault landing.. use to qual the F15 Test guys at edwards and then demo assault landings for them on the lake bed.. opened many an eye..
jcw
I have had a number of really, really fun Herk rides. Got to be a neat airplane to plant down on a dirt strip!
It's an absolute blast to play in the dirt. Just gotta remember to take it out of full reverse by about 70 knots or you go IMC in a wall of dust! It's a mess for the maintenance guys to gotta clean up the mess or repair dings and broken antennas on the belly after the flight crews play in the mud or the sandbox, but as you might expect, they do a he11uva job! It's nice to be able to go the speed of heat and shoot back though!
Fri Apr 20, 2007 8:25 am
The most memorable ride was with a HC-130 crew out of Moody while TDY to Nellis. It was a low altitude ingress up on the NTTR range to a pop-up delivery of some SOF guys, then a low altitude egress.
The flying up the valleys and ridge crossings was pretty cool, even more so since it was in a big airplane. I was standing behind the copilot, as JCW described in his post, and the Nav was sitting behind the pilot with a chart open on his lap, literally pointing out the window to the pilot at the saddles where he wanted to cross the ridges.
I also had a really fun night ride in an MC-130 from the 8th SOS where they dropped a HMMWV on the Eglin ranges using what I can best describe as some kind of slingshot method. It was a 500' or so drop, and the loadmaster had some kind of deal where he pushed a button, the latches let loose, and some big bands under tension shot this Hummer out the door. All of this on NVGs! I was riding back there with three AF Academy Cadets (I was in ROTC at the time), all of whom were filling up their airsickness bags. It was a hot Florida summer night to start with, but the cargo bay on that Herk was H O T. I loved it, but I suspect that those Academy boys ended up Services Officers somewhere after that experience!
The flying up the valleys and ridge crossings was pretty cool, even more so since it was in a big airplane. I was standing behind the copilot, as JCW described in his post, and the Nav was sitting behind the pilot with a chart open on his lap, literally pointing out the window to the pilot at the saddles where he wanted to cross the ridges.
I also had a really fun night ride in an MC-130 from the 8th SOS where they dropped a HMMWV on the Eglin ranges using what I can best describe as some kind of slingshot method. It was a 500' or so drop, and the loadmaster had some kind of deal where he pushed a button, the latches let loose, and some big bands under tension shot this Hummer out the door. All of this on NVGs! I was riding back there with three AF Academy Cadets (I was in ROTC at the time), all of whom were filling up their airsickness bags. It was a hot Florida summer night to start with, but the cargo bay on that Herk was H O T. I loved it, but I suspect that those Academy boys ended up Services Officers somewhere after that experience!
Fri Apr 20, 2007 8:29 am
APG85 wrote:Ahh, now you are starting to turn. Do I see Little Rock in your future?
If there's a heavy in my future, I'm hoping it's got a big purple or brown tail on it!!
...reminds me of another ride I got when I was a Lieutenant at Nellis, this time in a KC-135T out of somewhere in the midwest (can't remember offhand)...might have been Forko Grande.
Anyway, we go up and refuel all kinds of fighters during the mission, and I get all kinds of cool photos. On the way back, the pilot has me sit in the jumpseat for the approach and landing. It's an uneventful approach and landing, but while they're on landing rollout, as soon as the jet is down to a taxi speed but before getting off on the taxiway, the AC and Copilot look at each other, high five, and simultaneously yell, "Delta!".
No doubts as to if they stayed in the AF until 20 or not!
Fri Apr 20, 2007 9:14 am
Randy, there was a C-141 outfit that had unofficial patches made that looked like the real command patch. That is, until you looked real close, the letters read Airline Training Command ! It was not well recieved by those higher up the food chain.
Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:00 am
Randy
After 20+ years flying the herk low level 220-250kts 300-500 feet in the mountains and weather of the northwest at night on NVG's it is something i really miss.. it takes no time at all to forget that we were doing this twice a week after showing at 0730 and finishing at 2400 to be at work the next day at 0730. AND IF I HAD A CHANCE I WOULD JUMP RIGHT BACK INTO THAT LIFE.... the herk is a wonderfull acft and i was fortunate enough to fly it for over twenty years and 6000 hours... the most fun was flying a day low level down the deshutes river 500-600 below the rim looking at both sides of the canyon putting all that AATTC training to good use. 30 years of LINE military flying isn't a bad run, but like a junky i am still always looking for my next fix.. the mustang does help, kinda like a slow detox i guess but i don't get enough of that either..
savor every minute of it while you can
big regrets.... not being able to fly and enjoy the T38 after the pressure of pilot training was over but the T33 was almost just as fun and i did get to do that before they got rid of them..
After 20+ years flying the herk low level 220-250kts 300-500 feet in the mountains and weather of the northwest at night on NVG's it is something i really miss.. it takes no time at all to forget that we were doing this twice a week after showing at 0730 and finishing at 2400 to be at work the next day at 0730. AND IF I HAD A CHANCE I WOULD JUMP RIGHT BACK INTO THAT LIFE.... the herk is a wonderfull acft and i was fortunate enough to fly it for over twenty years and 6000 hours... the most fun was flying a day low level down the deshutes river 500-600 below the rim looking at both sides of the canyon putting all that AATTC training to good use. 30 years of LINE military flying isn't a bad run, but like a junky i am still always looking for my next fix.. the mustang does help, kinda like a slow detox i guess but i don't get enough of that either..
savor every minute of it while you can
big regrets.... not being able to fly and enjoy the T38 after the pressure of pilot training was over but the T33 was almost just as fun and i did get to do that before they got rid of them..