Sweet aircraft (Read 11,312 times)

NATO War Games.
Usually lasted about a week and a few times 10 days.
Bummer, as we always went 12 plus shifts.

A troop in ditch.


This is a pic of me taking cover in a ditch with a co-worker. Another co-worker took our photo with my camera.


There were plenty of ditchs to take cover in.


One NATO War Game day I recall very well. All was going normal. We were launching and recovering our aircraft. I was up on top of my aircraft refueling it when the warning siron sounded.
This warning was always followed by an air attack. During my first war game German F-104's simulated straffing the base and hit their afterburners to make plenty of noise. that was 1979 and I could not believe some country was still flying F-104's.

Anyway back to the story at hand.
As the alarm warning sounded I let off on the fuel nozzle to stop the flow of fuel. I looked around and quickly noticed an F-4 pop-up above the horzion bank and head for the base. My first thought was to get out my 110 instant camera and get a few good photos as I was in a great place ontop of the OV-10A Bronco.

My next thought was "Oh $hit" as I watched the F-4 Phantom Jet swoop down low over the farmer's field just outside the bases security fence. The attacking jet line up with the row of aircraft - and my aircraft was in that row at the end.

I recall thinking to myself and very quickly, "That nut is going to straff this row and be about 35 - 45 feet above the aircraft. I don't want to be up here!"

I remember thinking, "$hit, I'm out of here!" As I layed the fuel hose nozzle down on the wing.
As I started egressed off the top of the wing I noticed the weight of the hose hanging off the top of the wing was pulling the hose & fuel nozzle off the aircraft wing also.
My next thought was. i'm going to avoid geting blown off the wing by the jet's air wash or exhaust only to get hit with that dam fuel nozzle.

Next thing that happened was a big boom and a rise in tempature as I landed on the tarmac and did a (tuck and roll).
The F-4 Phantom jet had passes over hitting his 2 jet engine afterburners and zoomed up and out of the area.

I layed on the tarmac looking around to see if anyone was watching. I didn't notice anybody, but did notice the fuel nozzle laying on the tarmac just behind me. Had I not tucked and rolled it likely would have hit me in the head.

The row of OV-10A Bronco aircraft.


I have too admit, that I do miss the friendships and the excitment of it all from time to time.

Don't you?

My cousin was a U.S. Marine in Vietnam. He said they had a snake over there nicknamed "two-stepper".
If it bit you about all you could did is maybe two steps.
Was that a Krait ?

This goes way back to the year 1971. Norton AFB, CA

Even as an A1C I was pretty brave and would sneek my pocket camera out on the flightline during my shift. In 24 years I never got caught. :lol .

Anyway this is on one fine day when we changed a constant speed drive (CSD) and generator on the #3 engine of a C-141A aircraft.





This photo is where I caught two F-106's taking off.

www.c141heaven.com/blog2007.html




thats the website i use.... the 141 was my long distance carrier back in the '70's...i was a phase 2 loadmaster on it from '84 thru 2002


gene

also bull hunter... i used to hit norton once in a while from 75 thru 79... they had a combat control team stationed there. and the AAVS HQ was there....

Excellent
I left Travis, and the heavies, in 1978and went to KI Sawyer, which is when I started working the Six. I was a flying crew chief on the 141's (assistant) which was cool but I hated not having my name on the side of a plane. 141's were all civilians then, ARTS guys. So I laterialed over to fighters.

Careful there "biendhoa" you might be dating yourself there.
The only C-124's and C-133's I have seen are in air museums.

I was at McChord AFB when the museums C-124 flew in. it was something to see and it left a long smoke trail from one of the engines as it blew what is called a jug.

I have a photo somewhere of the C-124 flying fornation with a C-141 and a C-130

If I run accross it, I'll post it. :scratch_head

Wow! :

I don't know what to make of you kids that never had the pleasure of being around 124's or 133's.
I had the job of changing the lens on a wing tip light one day at Sioux City Air Base. Two guys held my legs while I hung over the tank on the end of the wing to unscrew the glass and install a new one. Long way off the ground for a fighter mechanic. They called the 124 Ole Shakey for good reasons. It's four R4360 engines really shook things up. The 124 was compared by some to the bumble bee, not aerodynamically capable of flying. They did, though, for a long time.
Used to see 133's at Yuma. They would load an Army tank on a set of pallets, open both ends of the bird and pull the tank inside. Then they would go up over the Yuma test range and drop the tank to let the troops on the ground train on them. One day they dropped one and the chutes didn't all open. The treads and turret went in separate directions. Some mess.
The 133 was built to transport ICBM's.
:god_bless_usa

Yeah, Yeah! Don't forget there are some on the forum older than me older than me. Aren't there OS? Tee Hee.

Bull, if you want to read a good book on jury selection, try "The Last Juror", by John Grisham. It may answer some of your questions about your time on jury duty.
:god_bless_usa

bullhunter, I dont mind being dated. How bout this. worked on C-124s 1707th air transport wing West palm beach air force base Florida 1956 and 1957. :