Airplanes

[Shimon]

From my days in the Navy...I was a flight officer on EA-6Bs with about 1000 hours. When we were in the Middle East for Op Northern Watch (Iraq) we flew with other squadrons on training days. Got a flight in an F-15E Strike Eagle. That's the jet to take when going to war. But I think the most fun I had was in the turbo trainer in flight school...the T-34. Lots of fun going in and out of spins in that little baby. I was in Russia in '91 after the "Wall" came down and although I didn't get to fly in it, I got to sit in a TU-22m Backfire bomber (a Russian version of our B-1) as well as the Bear and some others (see photo). Now I try to avoid flying since commercial flights have become such a miserable experience. If I can't drive there...it ain't worth visiting.

 

[Podunkadunk]

Never piloted anything. 'Cargo' in a lot of things.

In the military community I was in, we called passengers "Zero Fuel Weight", (inside joke)

From my days in the Navy...I was a flight officer on EA-6Bs with about 1000 hours.

We called EA-6B's "queers". Odd looking as they may be, it's one heck of a platform with one heck of a mission.

Also, that's a pretty impressive amount of flight time you racked up, especially for a go-faster. Good on ya! I always wanted a canopy off one of those...guess it would make a great conversation piece.

 

[dmccarty]

... Good on ya! I always wanted a canopy off one of those...guess it would make a great conversation piece.

Admit it, you just want to mine the canopy since gold is hovering around $900 an ounce.

Wonder how much gold is in that canopy.

Later,
Dan

 

[mjarrels]

Was always told that the old A-7E IMU's were worth their weight in gold!

mark

 

[Podunkadunk]

Was always told that the old A-7E IMU's were worth their weight in gold!

mark

You mean INU. Yeah, when I first went in the Navy, I was in an A7-E outfit down in Florida. The inertial navigation unit from each a/c literally had a sticker on it which read "Fragile: I am worth my weight in gold".

Ahhh, those were the days!

Mark, were you in an A7-E squadron? If so, East or West coast? Holler back, I'm curious.

Podunk

 

[Podunkadunk]

Admit it, you just want to mine the canopy since gold is hovering around $900 an ounce.

Wonder how much gold is in that canopy.

Later,
Dan

I googled it, couldn't find any numbers on the weight or how much gold is in the canopies. However, the article did mention that it wasn't painted on or tinted, it was an actual super thin layer of real gold. That's what I had always heard...amazing they can get it thin enough to be transparent!

 

[mjarrels]

No A-7 tours... did do a couple A-6 tours at NAS Whidbey Island. My second tour was on the Staff of CVW-11... Had to do the daily Flag briefs so learned alot about all the T/M/S aircraft onboard.

mark

 

[RockyMnt1]

Tdog,

I haven't been back to KNEW (Lakefront airport) since Katrina. I understand that it was pretty heavily damaged. The flight restrictions were still in effect around New Orleans when I did go down imediately after Katrina. I landed at St. Tammany Regional (near Abita Springs). Brought supplies to my parents (they live in Covington). My wife and I both hail from the area. I really need a seafood fix soon. Just not any Po-boy places up here in Colorado. I hear that Dixie beer might be making a come back!!! Nothing like newspapers spread on the table with ice cold shrimp, crayfish, crabs and cheap beer for a meal!!!

I do have to say that it really takes a patient and understanding wife in order to do the flying thing....

Geaux Tigers!!!

 

[Tdog]

Rocky, yeah, Lakefront Airport, although 9 ft above sea level was under water for a while. And yes there was lots of damage - - I was going to post a website from the Levee Board with lots of photos taken during & after the storm at the airport, but since the old Board was disolved into the new District, that website is kaput. Whatever, the control tower was out of operation till just a few months ago - - I don't live in town anymore, but Lakefront is where I learned to fly.
Speaking of seafood fixes, my daughter now lives in Calgary. When she was home over the holidays, we had to take her out several times for a 'fix'. Not much in the way of Louisiana sushi [oysters on the half shell] in Alberta.
And yeah, how 'bout them Tigers!

Jack

 

[WVBill]

Took me a while to dig out my old log books...

Private Pilot
Cessna 140
Cessna 150
Cessna 172
Cessna 180
Cherokee 180
Cherokee 150
Cherokee 140
Piper Tri-Pacer
Yankee AA1

Navy
(Pilot Training)
T-34

(as Naval Flight Officer)
C-54
T-29
T-1A
EC-121K
TA-4F
TA-3B
EKA-3
EA-6B
CT-210
NRA-3B
341 Carrier Landings total (landings = cat shots ) (Midway, Ranger, Indy)

Looks like there are a few of us ex-ECMOs on here. What are the odds of that!!

Regarding the gold canopies - don't know how much they cost, just know that the skipper was really pi@@@ when one of our plane captains accidentally pulled the canopy eject handle while sitting on the flight deck one day.

WVBill