T-33 flights (Read 6,745 times)

Flight and Maintenance story.

McChord AFB, WA
318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron
T-33 Flight to Kingsley Field, OR.
Circa: 1977

These things seen to always happen late of a Friday afternoon when you have a fishing or hunting trip planned for the weekend.

Word came down that a F-106 that was on alert status at Kingsley Field, OR landed after a flight, and after it turned off the runway onto the taxiway the engine flamed out. It was then towed to the alert barn and they could not get it restarted.

My boss told me that I could go on a flight down to Kingsley Field to troubleshoot it, and fix it if I could. I was never one to turn down a flight in one of our aircraft so I said, “Sure I’ll go”. I then figured, sure a quick flight down and I’ll do my stuff and fly back. Then they hit me with it. “Your take off time is 0900 hours tomorrow morning.” Oh $hit, there goes the weekend trip, dam the bad luck.

Next task to complete was to get prepared for the flight and fitted for some flight gear. So off to survival equipment shop I headed for a helmet, oxygen mask, flight gloves, etc. Didn’t take me long to realize I was going to be getting home late today. It took several tries with different oxygen masks to get one to fit without leaking in the corner of my eye. After the 3rd or 4th mask I told the survival specialists that, “This oxygen mask is good enough.” He then asked, “does it leak?” and I said, “Just a little.” He quickly responds, “Then it’s not good enough.” I looked the young airman in the eye and I guess he could tell I (SSgt) was getting a bit ticked off with the whole thing.
The airman then said, “Sergeant, if you need to fly any length of time on oxygen then an oxygen leak in the corner of your mask I will dry out your eye.” Well, I relaxed and he found a mask and adjusts it perfectly so there were no leaks. I got my gear together and thanked him and he wished me a safe flight.

I drove past the squadron and our flightline on my way home I noticed the F-106B (two seater) was sitting on the flightline and some troops were around it. This likely meant we were flying it to Oregon in the morning. I was finely going to fly in a F-106. My need for speed and g-forces was going to be satisfied at last.

Next morning (Saturday) I got out to the squadron early with my gear and got a toolbox. Walked out onto the flightline and the F-106B was gone! Then a crew-chief next to a T-33 started to wave me his way, so I went over to him. He took my toolbox and secured it in a travel pod hung under the wing. I was just thinking where the hell was the F-106B when the Squadron Commander (CO) walked out of the squadron operations building. Then my thought changed to, $hit I should have gotten a haircut yesterday or the day before. I figured a LT. or Capt. would be doing this weekend hop to Oregon.
The commander and I greeted each other and I asked why he was flying on a weekend. He said it would give him the opportunity to drop in and visit the troops at our alert detachment at Kingsley Field. He added that we were going to take the F-106B but maintenance defueled it and towed it in the hanger last night to get it ready for it’s phase inspection starting Monday. All I could say was, “DAM!”
Then the talk turned to getting ready for departure.

We did our safety briefings, which I had heard many times before. Talked about possible emergencies that might require us to eject, and if so, how we would do it.

Everything was normal, engine start, taxi, take-off and the flight down to Kingsley Field.
As the flight time passed all I was thinking was that we could be flying at several hundred knots faster than we are now.
We had passed over the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon, and had also passed Crater Lake which was not to far from Klamath Falls were Kingsley Field was located.
The pilot said we were over the field, we’re going to land, get ready. I looked around and we must have been flying at least 8,000 feet when the jet rolled over and we started down.
First this way, than that way, then back again, circling and circling or doing some kind of figure 8’s above the field loosing altitude with each turn. I was wondering if the travel pod and my toolbox were still attached to the jet or would it beat us to the ground.

My boss had made arrangements for the F-106 with the flameout to be relocated to the trim pad and secured down with the run-up cables, and for the wings to be fuel only. To leave the drop tanks empty.

Got my toolbox and a few maintenance troops and I drove out to the trim pad to try and run-up the jet engine. I did all my pre-run checks and then climbed into the cockpit. The troops with me stood as fireguard and observer. The ground support equipment was connected to the aircraft and I selected start. The engine compressor started turning as I saw the rise in RPM’s and oil pressure on the cockpit gages. I advanced throttle and the Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) started to rise on the gage. Shortly the engine was operating normally in idle setting. So far so good I figured as I watched all the cockpit gages and insterments for about 5 minutes.
I then instructed the ground support troops to remove the equipment and I closed the cockpit canopy. Things then got a little quieter with the canopy closed. I was in voice communication with one of the technicians on the ground and told them I was going to 50% power for a few minutes. We sat at 50% part power for several minutes and watched everything. I asked the ground technician if he noticed any fuel leakage realizing if there was he would have informed me, as we are all trained to be alert and observant during engine run-ups. But it never hurts to ask.
Again all was normal. I then took the jet to military power without afterburner and the jet pushed against the wheel chocks and strained on the tie-down cables. So as we sat a full power making noise for Klamath Falls citizens I monitored all the aircraft and engine insterments.
I then informed the troops on the ground I was about to select full Afterburner. The one on the intercom motioned to the other observer that we were going into afterburner and he nodded OK. So, with the jet at full power and with a flick of the wrist to the throttle outboard I selected afterburner. For a second or two all went quiet, then that big BOOM as the afterburner lit-off and we were making plenty of noise now. In afterburner you also suck lots of fuel. I sat calmly and continued to observe the cockpit interments looking for some kind of an indication of what might have caused a flame out. Fuel flow, RPM’s, EGT, Oil Pressure, Vibration, everything operating normal.
Then I noticed something and clicked on the intercom and said, “Wait a second” and the ground observer replied, “What’s the problem.”
“The problem is that one wing fuel gage is reading full and the other has dropped about ¼ of a tank of fuel.” Both wings should feed fuel to the engine evenly unless a fuel boost pump has failed or valve is stuck closed.
My guess is that during flight only one wing supplied fuel and that went dry right after landing. Very lucky. Must have felt funny inflight with the C/G off.
I then informed him I was terminating the afterburner operation and slowing bring the engine back to idle and cooling it down before we shut it down.
I opened the canopy and then shutdown the engine. We were done and I could get ready to fly home as it was a fuel cell problem and they would have to fly a fuel system specialist in with a boost pump and wing vale to fix the jet.

We drove back to the alert area and I reported the findings to the commander and maintenance officer. It was late in the day and we pressed forward to get airborne and on the long flight back to McChord AFB, WA. Clouds had formed and it would bring night quicker. Again I thought it would be great to be zooming above the clouds at maybe 450 knots in the F-106B. On the way back we banked around the clouds and when we reached McChord it was drizzling.

I did make it home for a late dinner Saturday night.

Photo of Crator Lake, wish would have thought to
used my camera at Kingsley Field.

I was wondering if anyone really read this stuff or had any intrest. Many views and no replys.
I've been thinking that I can't have been the only technician lucky enough to catch flights.
At McChord I witnessed many a Sgt and Airman go up.
Very surprized there isn't more stories and or replys.

By all means, keep the stories coming! Enjoy them alot. :

In March 1956 I was at Yuma Air Base for gunnery. While at Yuma there was a fire in our apartment in Sioux City. The squadron commander felt I needed to get home, so he made arrangements for me to fly home in one of our T-Birds. The pilot briefed me on ejection procedures and then found a helmet and chute for me. We got in the T-Bird and headed for Sioux City. Landed at Kirtland for fuel then non stop to SUX. It was a clear night and as we flew over several states at over 30k the lights were beautiful in the clear air. As we got further north there was snow in places and the moon reflected off of it and made a grand sight. I got quite a lot of back seat stick time on that long flight. T-Birds are very stable and the pilot only reminded me a couple times to watch the artificial horizon, rather than the real one. He talked me through some direction changes and I had a blast. Once we got in to the Omaha ADZ he took over and then landed. Always loved the flights in the T-Bird.
In those days it was quite common for pilots flying alone to take a crew chief up with him, sometimes even on cross country flights. They just wanted company and it was a way to show the ground crews that they were appreciated.

My only fighter type ride was in a T-33 in 1970 at Duluth. I was a five-hour student pilot at the time and was all over the sky, especially in roll, when I flew the jet. I later figured out that it was the hydraulic ailerons and the total lack of feel in them that was causing my problems, along with my lack of flying experience.

The night I flew it was probably -10F outside, and we had to get the crew chief to help us lock the canopy once it was down. After that, flying over frozen Lake Superior, I was really, really glad that the engine didn't quit--was totally uninterested in freezing to death in an ejection.

In spite of serving 36 years in the military (32 in the Air Guard), I never got another ride. We had F-105s, A-7s, and F-16s, but apparently I didn't kiss the right asses in my unit. If you were in my unit and were an admin type or an ops type, rides were easy to get. Maintenance never got any rides. It still chaps my a$$ a bit when I think about it, but it's in the past and I can go flying any time I want to.

No Duluth T-33 crashed between Nov 1969 when I got there and Oct 1971 when I left for Minot. I don't think any Duluth T-33s crashed between Oct '71 and May 1973 when I got out of the Air Force. I think I would have heard about it at Minot had it happened.

This must have happened after I left the USAF. I probably wouldn't have heard about a crash when I was in the Air Guard in VA.

I am going to get in so much trouble for this one but no hiding the truth. I flew from Griffiss to Loring in 82 (i think it was 82) in the back seat of a B Dart. My friend Eddy flew up in the back of a T-33. We were to switch for the trip back in ten days. The Grif had to close runway for resurface so we, and that -33 and 6 Darts flew to Loring for Operation Potato Flag. While up there i was asked if i wanted to go on a mission ride in the -33. Heck yes, whose going to turn that down. We briefed on the ground for the mission, got airborne, and the young Lt. who was piloting gave me a separate brief on how he would call out clock positions for me to watch for him. I promptly screwed that up big time! I saw a Dart at the 9 oclock, and yelled out 3 oclock. My poor pilot thought he was turning into a gun kill position for the Darts benefit. Instead, since i called it wrong, he turned opposite and right into his own gun kill lineup on the Dart. So he instinctively called out GUNS GUNS GUNS and broke off. Kill was confirmed. He became a T-33 section hero, and that Major never talked to either one of us again. He even walked away from my jet on several ocassions when he came out and saw who was crewing it. I flew home in that -33, in a freaking thunderstorm that was so bad we had to get special clearance to climb over it since i did not have an altitude card, at that time. We raced that storm to the Grif and landed as it hit. I think we actually landed three times! lol. The one thing that stands out about riding in a -33 is that wooden floor!!!! Holy crap I couldnt believe it when i saw it. I was all worried about termites!

These are some good stories. No wonder I keep coming back to the forums. I have to tell you guys how jealous you're making me. I had two almost opportunities to go up in the back seat of my B model and got out ranked both times. Once would have been a long ride since it was an inflight refueling training mission and they wanted someone to film the refueling. I was just about to head over to life support when the flight chief told me Tsgt So-and-so was going instead. I was a two-striper about to put on my third so I lost that one. The other ride would have been flying back to Minot from Tyndall after live fire practice. It would have been what they called an incentive flight. I guess they liked the work I was doing so they offered me a ride. The same Tsgt pulled rank on me again. I had my buck stripe but it doesn't stack up much against a Tech so I didn't fight it very hard. I did express my disappointment and thought I should get the ride since he had been up several times before but I wasn't about to grovel. I thought I might still get a chance. About a month later, I got orders to SEA. I sometimes wish I'd been just a little more vocal about it but it's not in my nature. I hate to see a grown man cry and I didn't want to be seen that way either. Instead of a ride in a Six, I got to ride in a C-119 with all our equipment. I checked to see if I still had all my teeth when we got back to Minot. I didn't know an airplane could vibrate that much without something falling off.

Being the crew chief on a B model had some perks. We only had one and it made you a little special. The down side was that we only had one and it made you a little special.

The 5th FIS sponsored a flight at the Academy and somebody thought it would be a nice thing to have them up to MInot for a visit and give them all a ride in an F-106. We borrowed 5 or 6 B models from other units so it could be done in one day. I think my airplane flew four times that day. It was busy but it had some fun moments, too. The most fun was giving the 3rd Lt's a bucket of water and a rag to wipe up the consoles and the seat cushion. I was lucky no one puked on the floor and there wasn't very much elsewhere. But it was fun watching the look on their faces when I gave them the bucket. The good thing was that the pilots backed me up and made sure they cleaned up their own mess. I guess they thought they wouldn't have to do that because they were officer candidates.

I did get to go on one mission that was fun and different. The Huey's SAC used to shuttle missle crews back and forth from the sites was kept in the hangar that was used by the FMS and AMS shops. I asked if I could go along on a shuttle and that weekend I went. There were a lot of them scattered around the state and I usually didn't see them until we were landing. I don't remember how many sites we went to and from that day but it was a lot and I spent most of the day with them. I had a blast even though I had to sit in the back.