Historically speaking...

[PJ]

...Most of our soldiers were so green that they had no idea how to go "number 2" without the convinience of a "Port-a-Potty" which OSHA and EPA had forced upon the Army several years before...

I was lucky in that everytime we went out into the field for exercises, it was never that cold. But I had to laugh remembering those "Port-a-Pottys". There we were in the field simulating full battle conditions, and still we had to use "port-a-pottys". During the night when it was usually very quiet, you could hear the unmistakable sound of a rusty spring stretching as someone opened a "port-a-potty" door. What a great sniper target they would make.

[Dr. Shoe]

Dr. Shoe:-)

Thanks very much for the information on the planes that you have flown. It sounds like you have had a very interesting career. Through the years I have built kits of the P-38 Lighting in stick model, solid wood model, and plastic model. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the World War 2 fighters and bombers and have built many of them over the period of time.

Bubba 136 has worked on the C-130's also according to one of his posts.

Dawn HH

Oh no, I never flew them I was ground crew but it was interesting though.

The lightnings I refered to were the mach3 supersonic interceptor armed with either redtop or firestreak missiles. 60s technology but with even now some 16 years after leaving service they are still unmatched for rate of climb.

[Skirted-UK]

[ I have worked on Meteors, Vampires, Dakotas, Canberras, Neptunes, C130A and E, Mirages and finally Machi. Didnt get to work on F111s. I have worked on all these doing every thing from preflights, A service through to D services on the Hercs and also in the aircroft depot where all the instrumention is overhauled. Jeff

[Dawn HH]

Azraelle:-) This certainly sounds like "Uncle Sap"---"Now fellows, we are going to stop making and will dispose of all of our nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, and it would be nice if you could do this also". Sure, all of these other countries are just falling all over each other just to help us out. That's probably why we are having problems today with "Insane" Huseine and Osama "Your Mama". When I entered the army I took my basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky---was later shipped to Fort Polk, Louisiana, and spent a year and a half at Fort Riley, Kansas as a part of "The Big Red One". I was at Fort Polk for advanced training during the hottest summer ever. Wiltingly, Dawn HH

[Dawn HH]

PJ:-) "Bang-Bang", "Boom", "Pop-Pop"---"Excuse me fellows---Here come the helicopters with your "Port-a-pottys"". Dawn HH (with legs crossed)

[Dawn HH]

Dr. Shoe:-) My mistake---I was thinking you were refering to our P-38's, which were fast and deadly tank busters. Of course, your Mach 3 Interseptors were much, much, faster and more deadly. Being on the ground crew was an important job---where would the guys in the sky be without you? Dawn HH

[Dawn HH]

JeffM:-) Those C-130's pop up everywhere. Our house is in-line with one of the major runways at the airport an they fly over-head daily on their way to the landing strip. Quite a heavy sound as you get several in a row. Dawn HH

[JeffM]

Dawn HH The C130s are the more modern equivalelnt of the war time DC3 Daks, a regular war horse. A great aircraft in my opinion and you could get at every thing so easily. Damned cold to travel in though and noisey. Jeff

[Bubba136]

Dawn said:" Being on the ground crew was an important job---where would the guys in the sky be without you? " An early relization, as a newly graduated 2/Lt, fresh out of flight training, was that I was the one that was 10,000 feet off of the ground with the results of the ground crews work strapped to my backside -- and I never forgot them as well as the crew chiefs that usually flew with me. Geniuses that could work miracles.

[genebujold]

Yes, Lightning Interceptors, then Tornadoes and latterly C130H & J Including the RAF's special stretched version.

That would be the C-130J-30. It's got an additional 15 feet over the straight J mod.

The C130s are the more modern equivalelnt of the war time DC3 Daks, a regular war horse. A great aircraft in my opinion and you could get at every thing so easily. Damned cold to travel in though and noisey.

Models A through E were indeed cold (at altitude, and especially during winter), even though they had a floor heater. They were pukingly hot in the summer at low level, though.

The H and J models have much better air conditioning systems (about 50% more thermal capability), and the bleed air (used for heat) is better, too (about 20%).

[Dawn HH]

JeffM:-) You are right about the C-130s being noisey---when they go over our house they are so low the vibrations rattle our window-glass. They certainly are a great aircraft and as you say---a real workhorse. My first airplane flight ever was on a DC-3. I got comfortable in my seat---they started the engines and taxied to the take-off runway. After take-off clearance and we proceeded to gain RPM's down the runway, I could feel this scared feeling rising in my body. The reason I was apprehensive was it took forever to get the wheels off of the ground. That pilot took the entire runway clear to the end of the airport before getting his wheels off of the ground. I didn't like this a little bit as I really thought I was going to die. As the flight continued, I could feel the constant vibration of the firing of the pistons of those two engines and every once in a while I would look out the window and the wing was still there, so I felt a little safer. At the end of the flight as I was leaving the plane, the stewardess looked at me and said,"First flight"? With a face that turned 16 shades of red I said, "Yeah" Unconsciously I had both of my hands grabbing the seat-frame at the bottom and kept pulling up on it as the plane taxied the runway for lift-off and she had observed my behavior. The DC-3'S were also used during World War II as work-horses and classified as C-47"s. They sure are a great plane as many of them are still flying today. Several years ago one had been donated to the air museum at Dayton, Ohio and they flew the plane in from a great distance and landed it at the museum after flying an uneventful trip. Dawn HH

[Dawn HH]

Bubba 136:-) It doesn't take very long for a newly minted 2/Lt to realize that his life depends on the ground crew and he is greatful for the good job they are doing. Dawn HH

[Dawn HH]

Genebujold:-) I have noticed a pattern among the board members here. Not only is our interest in high heels, but many of us are also interested in airplanes, building model railroads, and restoring old cars and busses. A very interesting group of people. Dawn HH

[PJ]

I had the chance to walk around inside a C-130 once at an open house at some Air Force base. I've also had the chance to see them take off and land. I still can't understand how something that big and heavy could fly.

[Bubba136]

DawnHH wrote:

It doesn't take very long for a newly minted 2/Lt to realize that his life depends on the ground crew and he is greatful for the good job they are doing.

Yes, you're correct, Dawn. It's a lesson that I took with me when I transitioned into C-141's three years later. I am still in touch with the primary members of my crew after almost 16 years.

And, PJ, if you think the C-130 is large, should you ever get an opportunity, walk through a C-5.

[Dr. Shoe]

DawnHH wrote:

Yes, you're correct, Dawn. It's a lesson that I took with me when I transitioned into C-141's three years later. I am still in touch with the primary members of my crew after almost 16 years.

And, PJ, if you think the C-130 is large, should you ever get an opportunity, walk through a C-5.

Indeed!

[JeffM]

Hi Bubba You are right about the size of the C5 but in world wide terms the C130 is the work horse as old as it is. Hi Dawn My most memorable experience with a Dak (C for cargo if you didn’t know 47) was when the Northern Territory of Oz was in flood and some us had to go flying on a food supply drop to cattle stations (ranches). In two flights that I was involved in the navigator had to find the north/south highway from Alice Springs to Darwin to find our way home. Yep he got lost. Another interesting experience was flying from a place called Telfer, a gold town in the middle of no where when we took off with a max load. We bumped all the way down the runway with the last contact with the end of the strip out of site under the nose of the aircraft. All that was in front of us was low scrub maybe a foot high. Then it was a matter of holding that height of about 10 feet until we had a bit more airspeed to climb. What this taught me Bubba was that although pilots put their lives in the hands of the ground crew, the groundies put their lives in the hands on pilots too. My thought about this bumping down the runway was this, that if the pilot thought he could make it then I had no problems with it either. My most adventurous though was death defying. I walked between the blade of a Neptune and the fuselage unscathed. These blades, 4 of them, are about 6 foot long and 10 or 12 inches wide and are at their closest to the fuselage about 8 to 10 inches turning at about 400 RPM. Some how I managed to walk between two blades and the fuselage and came out untouched. So I consider myself most fortunate to be writing to you all about this. Jeff.

[Bubba136]

Hmmm! Walking between the prop blades and the fuselage? Wouldn't it have been less traumatic if you just walked around the wingtip and went to wherever you were going? Ah, the C-47, or old DC-3. There are still a few working around here. I remember seeing one spraying trees for pine beatles a couple of years ago when we were still living on our farm outside of Augusta, GA. I don't know about you, but I'll always recognize the sound of their engines. Highly identifiable. Just as the C-130's are. Also, both aircraft have the ability to operate from "unimproved" airstrips. Short field landing and takeoff characteristics make them ideal for missions in the "boonies." I enjoyed the trips I've made to Australia. Green along the coast and lots of red earth in the interior. Miles and miles of it. I was a 28 year old Captain with a jet cargo aircraft and a credit card. The world was my playground. It can't get any better than that.

[Dr. Shoe]

Hi Bubba

My most adventurous though was death defying. I walked between the blade of a Neptune and the fuselage unscathed. These blades, 4 of them, are about 6 foot long and 10 or 12 inches wide and are at their closest to the fuselage about 8 to 10 inches turning at about 400 RPM. Some how I managed to walk between two blades and the fuselage and came out untouched.

So I consider myself most fortunate to be writing to you all about this.

Jeff.

I heard of a chief tech that walked through the disc of a herc. When someone caught up with him and pointed out what he had just done he had a heart attack and died on the spot!

[JeffM]

Bubba The thing is that when you put the pins in the undercarriage of a DC3 you have to walk through under the fuselage, between the props. With a Neptune you have to walk in under the wing tips like you suggested. What I did was walk in under the wing tips and then forgot where I was and so walked out bewteen the fuselage and the blade of the prop. The poor guy who had just marshalled the aircraft in was standing out the front to indicate to the pilot that the pins were in place and he was so distressed he couldnt do it. He was trying to tell me what I had done and I refused to talk about it as my defence mechanism, self protection. Of course the pilot wanted to know what was going on and eventually some told him it was ok to shut off the engines. When he emerged from inside he wanted to know what had happened and when told insisted that I put a report in on it but I refused. Still in self defence mode. And that is how I survived the event. Head in the sand you might say but for me it worked. Jeff

[Dawn HH]

JeffM:-) WOW! GOLLY JEE! Boy, you sure can count your blessings time and again. Eight to ten inches to spare!!!! Just reading that story made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. The wife was reading the posts along with me and after I read it to her, she made the statement---"I don't believe my eyes and ears--- it couldn't be possible" After I described the situation to her, the only thing either of us could come up with was---you must have had an angel on both shoulders. Very hair-raising indeed! AMAZING!!! Dawn HH

[Dawn HH]

Bubba 136:-) To further my DC-3 story: I was in the service at the time and it would take me 6 months to accrue a 10 day leave. I soon realized that if I would fly home and back, I would have 9 days leave at home. So that is how I got into using the commercial airines. My second leave afforded me the opportunity to fly a Super "G" Constellation aircraft. Needless to say, I didn't need to help this aircraft off of the ground. With it's sleek design, triple tail, tricyle landing gear, and 4 very powerful engines---at the halfway point in the runway, I could feel it pushing me up into the sky with an extremely smooth ride. The engines were very smooth and powerful, and an very enjoyable ride. My next ride was on a Jet-prop aircraft, and was the best yet. On my final leave for home, I graduated to a full jet. All of this happened in the span of two years. Really great flying. Dawn HH

[Dr. Shoe]

Bubba 136:-)

To further my DC-3 story:

I was in the service at the time and it would take me 6 months to accrue a 10 day leave. I soon realized that if I would fly home and back, I would have 9 days leave at home. So that is how I got into using the commercial airines.

My second leave afforded me the opportunity to fly a Super "G" Constellation aircraft. Needless to say, I didn't need to help this aircraft off of the ground. With it's sleek design, triple tail, tricyle landing gear, and 4 very powerful engines---at the halfway point in the runway, I could feel it pushing me up into the sky with an extremely smooth ride. The engines were very smooth and powerful, and an very enjoyable ride.

My next ride was on a Jet-prop aircraft, and was the best yet. On my final leave for home, I graduated to a full jet. All of this happened in the span of two years. Really great flying.

Dawn HH

The Super Constellations were fabulous aircraft and would have had a much more illustrious career if it had not been for the advent of the jet age.

Another great plane was the Brittania otherwise called the Whispering Giant which was far more successful than the ill-fated but well designed Brabazon

[Bubba136]

Ah, Super "G" "Connies." Reminds me that there was a program on "Wings" -- a digital cable TV station that deals exclusively with aviation, here in our area -- that had a nice program on a group of Australian engineers, pilots and mechanics that found an old Super "G" in the bone yard at Tucson, AZ. Over a period of two or three years, they worked on rebuilding it and finely flew it home to Sydney. Wow, what a great sight it was (in the film) when they flew it around Sydney harbor with the bridge and opra house in the back ground. Just the part of the story about the flight home (to Australia) was worth watching the program.

[Dawn HH]

Bubba 136:-) DARN!!! We haven't had digital cable for very long, so I guess I missed seeing that "Wings" program on the "Super G Connie", and it's restoration and flight. Oh well. Cheers. Dawn HH

[genebujold]

Genebujold:-)

I have noticed a pattern among the board members here. Not only is our interest in high heels, but many of us are also interested in airplanes, building model railroads, and restoring old cars and busses. A very interesting group of people.

Dawn HH

I noticed that too...

Personally, I prefer the company of similarly-minded people, and I do believe I've found them here on this board!

Not to slight cops in general, but believe it or not, the category of professional that in hidden interviews said they'd be most likely (percentage of the category as a whole) to date someone who was transgendered are cops.

The most likely category to cross-dress are members of the military.

I think I'd better stop there, before I malaign some category that can reach out and touch you - in a bad way!

[genebujold]

DawnHH wrote:

Yes, you're correct, Dawn. It's a lesson that I took with me when I transitioned into C-141's three years later. I am still in touch with the primary members of my crew after almost 16 years.

And, PJ, if you think the C-130 is large, should you ever get an opportunity, walk through a C-5.

Just out of curiosity, do they know you wear heels?

And what do they think of it?

[Bubba136]

No.

[genebujold]

Well, Bubba, the good news is that at least we're still talking, even if it's only two letters of the alphabet.

By the way, DawnHH, a C-130 holds 6 x 463L pallet positions with a peacetime ACL of 25,000 pounds. By comparison, the C-5 holds 36 x 463L pallets, and can carry 270,000 pounds roughly the same distance as can a C-130 at ACL.

How do I know all of this?

Well, let's just say (ex-)members of the military aren't the only ones who have access to this very public and highly un-classified knowledge...

Nevertheless, I have a great deal of respect for the numerous sacrifices made by our nations servicemembers, past, present, and future (yes, including you, Bubba - thank you).

It's their past and present sacrifices which ensure the future of our global economic posterity.

I truly wish there were a way to solve our problems through diplomacy, but unfortunately, that does, on occasion, fail.

My hat's off to all members of the various services throughout the free world.

May God bless you all.

[shyguy]

My hat's off to all members of the various services throughout the free world.

May God bless you all.

Seconded, we all remain free thanks to the sacrifices of the armed forces and their loved ones willing to let them go to the dangerous places their governments send them.