HOLIDAY STORYS ! (Read 2,097 times)

Dec 12, 2016 1:34:58 GMT 9 Bullhunter said:

Come on people. There has to be some Holiday stories out there with Christmas & New Years just about here. Or a Thanksgiving stories as it just passed us. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While stationed at RAF Upper Heyford (1973-1978) we made friends with several English families. We always had a family join us for traditional Thanksgiving dinner, you know Turkey, ham and all the trimmings. Almost to the family they could not believe the size of the turkeys. We always tried to get 22 pound or bigger.  And they had never seen "stuffing" they did their hens but always made dressing. Stuffing goes inside fowl, dressing is side dish of same thing.  They were also awed by cranberry sauce.

Myself and a couple shop buddies played darts with a local Pub Team. The Brits always do something at Christmas for the elderly. We did Turkey dinner for 25 old timers for 3 straight Christmas and brought some good wine from Class 6 to get them feeling good. We also did a pick up and delivery service with our big American Limo's (Tanks) So we tried to help the image of the Yanks. As the old quote about Yanks goes, "Over paid, oversexed and over here".

We also introduced Brits from our pub to American BBQ. We brought everything and cooked for the locals. They were not familiar with pork ribs which we got from local butchers. They used them as low priced dog food.  Well after a couple years of hosting the Pub BBQ the local butchers started selling the ribs at higher price and no longer as dog food.

Lorin

This was winter time and could have been near the holidays. Just don't recall when it was.

Pre-Alert Operational checks and Engine Fire
After phase inspections and also before an aircraft went on EWO Alert, we were tasked to perform alert engine gang starts. This brings back some exciting memories of B-52 Bomber engine run-ups in SAC. I’d watched many from the co-pilots seat and trained in the flight simulator for these.

During alert starts usually engines #4 and #6 were started with explosive carts.
We maintenance technicians were not qualified to use explosive carts so we would start
# 4 & #6 engines with compressor air units and run those two engines up to full power to fill the bleed air ducts with starting air pressure.

We then pushed the other remaining 6 starter buttons and watched the engine instruments all start to perk up. Watching all those engines and advancing the throttles at the exact RPM's to give fuel was a hair-raising experience. You had to watch for proper RPM's, oil pressures, fuel flows, ignition, and exhaust gas temperatures. Also if the starter button did not pop back out at an exact RPM percentage you had to be watching to pull it out yourself. If there was a big enough leak of hot bleed air that blew onto a fire-detector you could get an engine overheat or fire warning light. You never knew if it was a real fire or just a hot air leak from a defective duct seal. The fire lights and warning sound surely gets your heart racing.

This was done to ensure there were no air leaks in the bleed air duct system and connections that would prevent losses of air pressure thus preventing fast engine alert starts.

I loved doing these alert starts. It was the highlight of my day when I got to do one.

One evening late into my shift about 10:30PM we were tasked to perform such pre-alert engine run-up checks. There was a B-52 Bomber that was going to fly airborne alert and we were to run the engines before the flight crew arrived for takeoff. I did my walk around inspection and noticed there were two racks of nuclear SRAM Missiles (Short Range Attack Missile) loaded in the bomb bay. These were to be used against Soviet Radar sights incase of war, thus increasing the success of our bomber force.

The mission pilot came out to the bomber and told me that we had to expedite the engine run-up as he had to be airborne and wheels up by 0100 hours (1:00AM). If not a Tanker would need be scramble to refuel the B-52 now on airborne alert.

I enjoyed running engines but was always worried about weapons onboard incase of fire. I also did not like to be pressured during engine runs. This night it was snowing pretty steady and it was cold outside. I completed my walk around, pre-run up checks, and then climbed up into the flight deck and took my position in the pilot’s seat. It was pretty cold inside the aircraft, but we soon would have heat.

My ground observer plugged into the intercom and another technician climbed into the co-pilots seat to ride brakes. We all checked in with each other and the B-52 was on battery power. I instructed the ground observer to supply the bomber with external power and when the bomber received the extra power, all the lights and instruments jumped to life. We continued on with our checklists and then I instructed the ground observer to supply compressed starting air from the external air cart. The aircraft air duct manifolds filled with air pressure and I selected the starter button for our number 4 engine on the left wing. The number four engine started normally and all the engine’s gages were in the green. I then started number six engine on the opposite wing and it was normal. With two engines running, we switched to aircraft electrical power supplied by the electrical generators mounted on the engines. I had the external power unit and air cart disconnected and removed. I then started the other six engines and they all started and operated normally.

With everything disconnected and the aircraft under its own electrical power we turned on the heater and warmed ourselves up. The aircraft ground observer was left out in the cold.

With all systems in the green I decided only to run-up half of the engines at one time to military power due to the snow. I advanced number 1 and 2, along with 7 and 8 on the opposite wing to provide even wing thrusting. At 50% power they ran normal. I then advanced them to full power and all was normal. I then retarded the engines to idle.

It was now time to check out engines 3 and 4 along with 5 and 6. I took those engines up to 50% power and observed the gauges. All looked normal so I advised the ground observer that we were now going to military power on those engines. The engines stabilized at full power and all looked normal. It wasn’t even midnight yet and we were just about done with this job. My eyes were inside the cockpit scanning the engine gages when everything changed for the worst.

All of a sudden I heard the words I feared most while running jet engines. The ground observer started yelling, “ENGINE FIRE, ENGINE FIRE, YOUR ON FIRE!” The technician setting in the co-pilots seat next to me said, “LOOK!” As I was reaching for the engine throttles I looked up and all the snow on the ground was orange along with the snow flakes. I asked the ground observer, “Which engine?” and he quickly replied, “Number Five, Number 5 !”

I quickly chopped back number five engine throttle to cutoff and pulled the emergency T-handle, while I was shutting down the remaining engines, I radioed the tower that we had an engine fire and that we had nukes onboard. I was surprised that I had remained so calm when everything had turned orange outside and my ground observer had been yelling, “FIRE, FIRE!” It was all black outside now except for the security flood lights. So the fire was now out.

I exited the bomber and asked the ground observer, “Exactly what did you observe?” He said, “The engine was shooting orange sparks out the exhaust.” I expected maybe ice formed in the intake and then chipped off into the engine, but we were operating the engines with the anti-ice system turned on.

The tips of the engine compressor blades were chipped and ruffed up so the engine had to be replaced. A tanker would have to be dispatched to refuel that B-52 Bomber on airborne alert. Their mission would be extended. Weapons technicians would be called to download the weapons and then the aircraft put in a hanger for the up coming engine change.

It came upon one Christmas Holiday Break while at Griffiss AFB, NY. Half of us took off Christmas week and the other took off New Years week. That year I chose Christmas so I could spend it with my Grandma and Dad on the family farm.
It was 2300hrs and my shift was over and my week off started. My trips home to the farm always was south on route 12 and then break off to Hancock, NY, then down the Delaware River Valley to the Farm. A trip of about 135 miles and took about 2 hours.
It had been snowing my whole shift and it was about 6 inches when I left the shop wondering if I'd be able to drive up SAC Hill.
Well, turned out the snow was that light dry snow and it just flew out away from the car tires. Was no trouble driving up out of the SAC area and to the Barracks. I changed and got ready to head to the Farm in NE PA. Something told me that with the snow storm it was risky. But then the idea came to me. Don't drive route 12 on country roads, take the throughway from the base to Syracuse then south on Interstate 81 to Binghamton, NY. From there Interstate 17 to Hancock, NY. All these would have snow plows working them. After Handcock I'd be on NY state route 97 for about 25-30 miles then I would cross over the river into PA and 2 1/2 miles up into the hills I'd be home for Christmas.
I was young, fearless, and took a risky trip. The interstates as I suspected were plowed and I often followed snowplows. After I left the interstate at Handcock I found route 97 not plowed in a very long time and it must have had 8 or 9 inches of snow on the roadway. But it still was the soft, dry, power type snow which allowed me to keep going. I dared not stop fearing I'd be stuck. I crossed the Delaware River Bridge and came to the hill which was a good two miles and at the bottom was a sharp turn so it would not allow for one to pick up speed. I kept up a reasonable speed as not to loose traction and spin out. I made it up the hill and home. It was about 0400hrs and I could not believe the drive took me 5 hours. But I was safe, sound, and warm now. Quickly I was upstairs and into a warm bed.
Looking back on that night and that snowy trip, it was a very stupid and risky thing to try. It could well have waited till morning and after breakfest.

I was driving a Dodge Charger and not a 4 wheel drive vehicle.

Dec 16, 2016 1:57:40 GMT 9 Jim said:

Gary, those pictures remind me of my hometown in southwestern NY along Lake Erie........... Another Griffiss AFB Holiday season Dec. 1956 just a few days before Christmas, swing shift Postdock/FCF.... 2100 hrs, -5 degrees and the Northern lights are visible over what became SAC hill. 

Jim, did your wife ever complain about all the "Brown Shorts?"  lol

LORIN