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Air Force: Pilot yields wings after low flyover


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Naah, it was in England. It was more like this:

Note: Not a model or fakery -- Ray Hanna actually flying a Spit under the bridge for the BBC series "Piece of Cake" back in the late 80s.

Edited by Hacker
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How Rainman spends his free time these days...

You guys crack me up.

Actually, here's how I just spent the last 23 hours in an airplane on my way to Singapore...

united-airlines-first-class-suite4.jpg

...and as far as I know we didn't fly under any bridges.

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You guys crack me up.

Actually, here's how I just spent the last 23 hours in an airplane on my way to Singapore...

united-airlines-first-class-suite4.jpg

...and as far as I know we didn't fly under any bridges.

Yeah, but even in one of 'dem big ass seats on 'dem big ass planes, they still needed a crowbar and a lapbelt extender...

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Yeah, but even in one of 'dem big ass seats on 'dem big ass planes, they still needed a crowbar and a lapbelt extender...

True. What's your point?

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Naah, it was in England. It was more like this:

Note: Not a model or fakery -- Ray Hanna actually flying a Spit under the bridge for the BBC series "Piece of Cake" back in the late 80s.

Excellent series, and you can still buy it from Amazon.com!

And if my memory serves me correctly, it was Flying Officer 'Moggy' Cattermole who "flew" under Winston Bridge bridge on the river Tyne...

PieceofCake.jpg

Cheers! M2

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And if my memory serves me correctly, it was Flying Officer 'Moggy' Cattermole who "flew" under Winston Bridge bridge on the river Tyne...

PieceofCake.jpg

Cheers! M2

Good ol' Moggy.

"I've got boiling oil, Red Leader."

Great series, and came out at a time that I was just becoming interested in the Battle of Britain. Seeing all those Spits flying off the lawn of a French chateau was just simply magnificent.

No CGI...no fakery....

spitfires_1681076c.jpg

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I'm glad I bought a copy of the book a while back (about when the series was just released), as these days a new one off Amazon.com is almost fifty bucks!

I was also happy to find the DVD series, not only are the flying scenes excellent but the storyline is actually worth watching (minimal mushy love interest stuff, despite the cover).

I think it might be time to dig the DVD set out and watch it yet again! :salut:

Cheers! M2

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Pilot blames air traffic for low Iowa flyover

By Ryan J. Foley - The Associated Press

Posted : Tuesday Apr 12, 2011 11:46:55 EDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa — An Air Force pilot who led a dangerously low flyover before an Iowa football game told investigators he descended to avoid other air traffic and then lost track of his altitude because he was busy with other tasks, according to a report documenting missteps in the flight's planning and execution....

...To avoid future problems, the investigation recommended an experienced instructor pilot should fly in the backseat of one aircraft during flyovers, target altitudes must be set beforehand and video recording and altitude warning systems should be used by aircraft that have them.

Full article at Air Force Times

Sweet. Now everyone has to fly with a babysitter.

Edited by TacAirCoug
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It is ever so nice to see every little piddlyass thing the guy ever did wrong put into an article in the AF Enquierer. You can always count on those clowns to piss on a guy's grave.

This one time, he missed a briefing. Another time, he was late. And this one time, he didn't show up for a mandatory fun event and didn't clear it with his "superiors" first. Another time in AETC he gave substandard instruction and got a no notice checkride (which he apparently passed). He even landed on the wrong runway once!

Please.

Good thing we stopped this menace before someone got hurt. I only wish the AF Crimes could've dug up some bad shit to say about his family or something, just for good order's sake.

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I was thinking the exact same thing. I am already guilty of several of those same "crimes" from over the past few years. Late to a briefing - come on. And doesn't pretty much everyone get at least one no-notice in their career? I hope I never get exposed in the AF Enquirer like that. Can't they find real news stories - like writing about Charlie Sheen or Lindsay Lohan or some shit?

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Ya, the article definitely piles on the bullshit, but assuming the statements that were supposedly direct quotes from Kopacek were accurate, that're pretty shitty. What sounds worse "I wanted to give a good show and intentionally busted my altitude, resulting in overflying the scoreboard at 58'" or "I became task saturated at low altitude and luckily still had 58' under me when I passed over the scoreboard"? I understand the AF times is engaging in some serious yellow journalism here; however, this really seems like a clean kill with some unnecessary amplifying dog pile. Dude intentionally busts several altitude/airspeed restrictions, dude gets busted, dude gets schwacked.

Takeaway on this is two fold:

1. Don't do dumb shit

2. Especially don't do dumb shit when there's a reasonable expectation that there will be 6900 cell phone videos of it on youtube before you even shut down engines.

Edited by Napoleon_Tanerite
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Takeaway on this is two fold:

1. Don't do dumb shit

2. Especially don't do dumb shit when there's a reasonable expectation that there will be 6900 cell phone videos of it on youtube before you even shut down engines.

I think the previous 6+ pages might have mentioned this.

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Guest CAVEMAN

Meanwhile, Jill Metzger walks around with her career intact.

Surprised she has not changed her name. Maybe it is just baseops folks that still remember her.

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Meanwhile, Jill Metzger walks around with her career intact.

Supposedly, one of our own baseops dudes got hisself elected to congress, and has told us to "stby on Metzger" , and "were gonna look into it" in a couple of threads....I have decided I'll be patient and wait to see what comes of that effort.

Back on this subject: It's been said many times but the only good result nowadays from statics and flybys is that you get to keep your wings...unless you don't. I did find it interesting that lead got grounded telephonically and told to drive home. That his bosses texted him he flew "too low"--where were these guys in mission planning? Did no one in supervision even ask lead about his plan? In our community, any high-vis sortie gets a once-over from a DO or ADO...usually on the form of a quick brief from the mission CC to the boss, or a boss will attend the actual crew/pilot briefing. Find it interesting that no one thought to ask Lead what the plan was...

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I did find it interesting that lead got grounded telephonically and told to drive home. That his bosses texted him he flew "too low"--where were these guys in mission planning? Did no one in supervision even ask lead about his plan? In our community, any high-vis sortie gets a once-over from a DO or ADO...usually on the form of a quick brief from the mission CC to the boss, or a boss will attend the actual crew/pilot briefing. Find it interesting that no one thought to ask Lead what the plan was...

The flyby was planned. All the details that normally go into this Group's planning process for flybys (which that squadron does literally dozens of every year) were planned. The plan was briefed to the CC and the OG prior to leaving home station. Leadership did not attend the flight brief because it took place as part of a long multi-day cross country. Plenty of people "thought to ask" what the plan was.

It's a big stretch to go from one of the flight members saying that #1 "didn't give them a target altitude" to your feeling that "it wasn't planned and there was no oversight".

After the flyby, since the SQ/CC wasn't on the cross-country trip with the formation members, how else would you have suggested he ground them other than via telephone?

Edited by Hacker
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