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Aircraft in action


Drroogh

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Mile got me started with his post in the Trendon thread.

"Within miles from my house is Centennial Airport.  Good for 900 flights a day. Second busiest General Aviation airport in the nation.  Planes fly over Cherry Creek State Park. We can watch them coming and going on our back patio. Fun to watch. The owners of the Broncos, Rockies, Nuggets and Avalanche use Centennial for their personal jets to fly into and out of along with bringing in players. Far enough away from my house that noise is not a concern, as the personal jets are not allowed over residential areas.  The few times military jets fly, is another story. There was a time when the captain of a B-1 bomber requested touch and goes. And was granted. I was outside to view all three.  First two were slow and headed out towards the state park. The last was full power, right over my house. The neighbor lady across the street, ran out of her house saying she was going to report the flight to Centennial.  I just laughed and told her that was a B--1 bomber that just flew over her house.  I loved it. And to this day, I don't know how my windows did not get shattered.”

 

Love watching Aircraft doing their business. Worked for three years as a civilian driving around fort Benning, several C130's loved watching them dropping paratroopers! Remember at least twice Apache Helicopters tracking me like I was the target, was glad I could be of service! You could always tell when a President was flying in the Southeast as the KC 135's would be flying in and out! There engines literally SCREAMED! Maybe it was just coincidence but I doubt it. One time I needed to drive past the airport like every day, but there was a roadblock, they asked my business and they said Okay but be quick. Just as we had turned at the end of the runway and headed away from the strip, we heard the roar of jet engines reverse throttling, looked in the rear view mirror only to see Air Force One chasing me and then turning off onto the tarmac!

Edited by Drroogh
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My dad was a USAF hydraulic technician during the Vietnam. Spent many hours crawling around landing gears of F111s and F4IIs. And while this wasn't his primary assignment, he did hold both the clearance and the certifications needed, and on two occasions, worked on the SR71 Blackbird. Keep in mind, this was the late 60s and there weren't 5000 people on the planet that knew that plane existed, let alone been able to see the schematics and then the actual aircraft.

One of, if not the greatest achievements in modern engineering. An aircraft that could fly more than 3 times the speed of sound, keep a crew of 2 alive and return to be reused, remarkable on its own. The fact it was designed in the 1950s largely by hand....unbelievable.

 

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10 minutes ago, Zlinedavid said:

My dad was a USAF hydraulic technician during the Vietnam. Spent many hours crawling around landing gears of F111s and F4IIs. And while this wasn't his primary assignment, he did hold both the clearance and the certifications needed, and on two occasions, worked on the SR71 Blackbird. Keep in mind, this was the late 60s and there weren't 5000 people on the planet that knew that plane existed, let alone been able to see the schematics and then the actual aircraft.

One of, if not the greatest achievements in modern engineering. An aircraft that could fly more than 3 times the speed of sound, keep a crew of 2 alive and return to be reused, remarkable on its own. The fact it was designed in the 1950s largely by hand....unbelievable.

 

Worked for a company that made Fuel Controls (carburetors on MEGA steroids) for F14, F15 and F16's, we also made brake and wheel components for the same planes as well as several Boeing commercial. One day we had a service order for SR71 brake caliper bodies, needless to say it was quite a step above the F14,15,16 brake calipers!

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9 minutes ago, Drroogh said:

Worked for a company that made Fuel Controls (carburetors on MEGA steroids) for F14, F15 and F16's, we also made brake and wheel components for the same planes as well as several Boeing commercial. One day we had a service order for SR71 brake caliper bodies, needless to say it was quite a step above the F14,15,16 brake calipers!

Gigantic chunk of some titanium alloy, I'm assuming.

 

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21 minutes ago, Zlinedavid said:

Gigantic chunk of some titanium alloy, I'm assuming.

 

Titanium yes, gigantic no! Very delicate almost, in order to save weight. Also had about half again more piston cups than the others! We are talking the 80's but we had exotic manufacturing capabilities even to this day like laser welding and electron beam welding. What got me was our brazing was done with silver and gold brazing rod! Something about the extremes of the environments, like 140 on the deck in Arizona to minus 80 or more at altitude let alone the pressure change.

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Droogh. Crazy how one post can evoke memories for members and then another post  evoke yet more memories. Thanks for sharing your great memories.

I went through Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning.  Marched past the Airborne drop towers. Watched the paratroopers  falling out of the sky.

In terms of planes.  Took my basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey.  Which butts up next to McGuire AFB.  While in training we would march in a sand trail that was next to a wire fence separating Fort Dix from McGuire.  Perpendicular to the fence was a runway. I swear those air jockeys deliberately would run their jets right up to the fence, while we were marching there, just to scare the junk out of us, before turning on their after burners, and head straight up to the sky.  It was scary, and amazing all at the same time.

Edited by milehiiu
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I was an air traffic controller in the USAF from 1980 until 2000. They had us out in a truck trailer once that had 2 radar scopes because they were installing PIDP (Programmable Indicator Data Processor...the first air traffic automation I ever saw) in the Scott AFB RAPCON.

Anyway, one morning about 8 AM, an F-4 from the Springfield Air National Guard came down to shoot some approaches. He shot two (we were 250 feet away from the runway so when he went missed approach it rattled the trailer) and was being vectored for a 3rd when the phone rang. A general's wife had called base ops and said the F-4 had woke her up and he needed to quit making so much noise.

When I explained to the pilot, he laughed and said, "ok, clearance back to Springfield it is!"

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Where I currently work Peachtree City Ga airport is practically right across the street. Every year they have a major airshow and during the week before The Blue Angels come in and practice. Needless to say productivity goes down considerably as large portions of the plant spend a bit too much time outside watching! They are awesome!

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On 4/20/2019 at 6:21 PM, Drroogh said:

Mile got me started with his post in the Trendon thread.

Thanks for starting this thread.

I used to live a few miles from a municipal airport. There were a few times I was out when a C130 would land there and that was always cool.  Got to go into the aircraft control tower with my sons boy scout troop and it was neat seeing planes lined up all the way to St Louis coming into O'Hare. 

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3 hours ago, IUFLA said:

I was an air traffic controller in the USAF from 1980 until 2000. They had us out in a truck trailer once that had 2 radar scopes because they were installing PIDP (Programmable Indicator Data Processor...the first air traffic automation I ever saw) in the Scott AFB RAPCON.

Anyway, one morning about 8 AM, an F-4 from the Springfield Air National Guard came down to shoot some approaches. He shot two (we were 250 feet away from the runway so when he went missed approach it rattled the trailer) and was being vectored for a 3rd when the phone rang. A general's wife had called base ops and said the F-4 had woke her up and he needed to quit making so much noise.

When I explained to the pilot, he laughed and said, "ok, clearance back to Springfield it is!"

Great story.  Thanks for sharing.

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  • 2 years later...
On 4/21/2019 at 6:13 PM, Drroogh said:

Where I currently work Peachtree City Ga airport is practically right across the street. Every year they have a major airshow and during the week before The Blue Angels come in and practice. Needless to say productivity goes down considerably as large portions of the plant spend a bit too much time outside watching! They are awesome!

Well after a year off for COVID, the Atlanta Air Show is back on again. There has been an F35 and an F4 Corsair buzzing the plant all afternoon!

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On 4/20/2019 at 6:37 PM, rico said:

I spent a lot of time at Grissom.  

Grissom was supposed to be my first duty station after tech school...Had my orders, but 6 weeks before graduation they switched me to Scott AFB in southwestern Illinois...That's where I met my wife, so it was lucky for me...

As for aviation, it's been my life for over 40 years...Nothing like sitting on the gazebo behind the Eglin RAPCON and seeing F-16s light up the afterburners on takeoff around dusk...

@Drroogh mentioned C-130s...I rode on a C-130 courtesy of the 109th ANG out of Schenectady, NY (loved those guys...the first thing they'd unload when they got to Sondrestrom was a couple of pallets of Genesee Cream Ale and beer) with skis instead of wheels on a trip out to one of the old DEW Line sites when I was in Greenland...

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What an absolutely awesome thread to revive. Being able to "like" an old post from Mile is... well kinda .. (I'm not sure of the words to use) Surreal .

Airshows, I got to fly to Lakeland last month for Sun and Fun. It was great to see people in public again, as nature intended it. Biggest let down, for my co-pilot, we weren't instructed to rock our wings, like 1 million you tube videos make the focal point of the arrival. He had his heart set on it.

Biggest grin on my face, ATC called me out specifically for vectoring in. My tail # is on a recording somewhere and it didn't warrant a fighter to intercept me during an F'up. :)  

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2 hours ago, Joe_Hoopsier said:

What an absolutely awesome thread to revive. Being able to "like" an old post from Mile is... well kinda .. (I'm not sure of the words to use) Surreal .

Airshows, I got to fly to Lakeland last month for Sun and Fun. It was great to see people in public again, as nature intended it. Biggest let down, for my co-pilot, we weren't instructed to rock our wings, like 1 million you tube videos make the focal point of the arrival. He had his heart set on it.

Biggest grin on my face, ATC called me out specifically for vectoring in. My tail # is on a recording somewhere and it didn't warrant a fighter to intercept me during an F'up. :)  

I'd imagine they have specific routes in and out of Lakeland for both IFR and VFR?

I ask because when I worked at Chicago ARTCC we did the automation/routes for Oshkosh...Those fellas had to go waaaaay around C90 (the tracon that works O'Hare traffic)...they made them go way west of Rockford, or come in from the southeast/northeast of South Bend...

 

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1 hour ago, IUFLA said:

I'd imagine they have specific routes in and out of Lakeland for both IFR and VFR?

I ask because when I worked at Chicago ARTCC we did the automation/routes for Oshkosh...Those fellas had to go waaaaay around C90 (the tracon that works O'Hare traffic)...they made them go way west of Rockford, or come in from the southeast/northeast of South Bend...

 

I remember landing in Oshkosh or maybe it was Ashland, I thought I was going to get on another regional turbo prop to fly to Hayward! Instead I got on a plywood twin radial engine plane from the 30’s 40’s. The pilot was sum what justified in being proud of his plane, I couldn’t hear right for a day, still it was a lifetime experience!

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2 hours ago, IUFLA said:

I'd imagine they have specific routes in and out of Lakeland for both IFR and VFR?

I ask because when I worked at Chicago ARTCC we did the automation/routes for Oshkosh...Those fellas had to go waaaaay around C90 (the tracon that works O'Hare traffic)...they made them go way west of Rockford, or come in from the southeast/northeast of South Bend...

 

Yes specific published routes during that week. By the time we actually started picking up ATIS they had shifted a fix point, 5 miles east of what we expected. So like good campers, we vectored towards that. There was a group of 6-8 close spaced traffic coming up to that point at our 7 oclock, and we were slightly ahead of them (of course in my PA28 fighter, cruising at Mach .289) so they just moved us ahead of the crowd.

It was freaking cool !

:)    

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4 minutes ago, Joe_Hoopsier said:

Yes specific published routes during that week. By the time we actually started picking up ATIS they had shifted a fix point, 5 miles east of what we expected. So like good campers, we vectored towards that. There was a group of 6-8 close spaced traffic coming up to that point at our 7 oclock, and we were slightly ahead of them (of course in my PA28 fighter, cruising at Mach .289) so they just moved us ahead of the crowd.

It was freaking cool !

:)    

Awesome...you fly a Cherokee?

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