MKopack
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Posts posted by MKopack
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I understand this has been around for a while (couldn't find anything on the search), but just saw the commercial on TV for the first time tonight.
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I understand (second hand info, for what it's worth) that the aircraft went into a flooded wash area and that they are having to drain the water from the area before they can access a good portion of the wreckage.
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Colonel McMullen held a press conference at 1 p.m. to make a statement and answer questions from the media.
"Last night a two-ship (flight) of F-22s, Rocky One and Rocky Three, were finished with training about 100 miles north of here," Colonel McMullen said.
Everything was normal until about 7:40 p.m., he said, when Rocky Three fell off the radar scope and the pilot lost communications.
"The other pilot (Rocky One) went to a tanker, got gas and then continued to look for the mishap pilot," Colonel McMullen said. "He could not find him. At that time, the Alaska Air National Guard scrambled a C-130 and rescue helicopters. They searched the entire night."
About 10:15 a.m., an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter found a site that fits the data and the description of where rescuers thought the mishap probably occurred, Colonel McMullen said.
"They found the crash site," he said. "They were unable to land at the crash site and take a closer look. We scrambled another helicopter that should be in the area in the next few moments."
Colonel McMullen thanked the Alaskan community and Alaska Air National Guard for their support at such a difficult time.
The name of the pilot is being withheld until the pilot's status is determined.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
(Courtesy of 3rd Wing Public Affairs)
Search for pilot continues after F-22 crash in AKBy DAN JOLING
The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 17, 2010; 10:05 PM
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Searchers are holding out hope, but have found no sign of the pilot of an Air Force F-22 fighter jet that crashed in a remote area of interior Alaska.
The jet was nearing the end of a training mission Tuesday night when ground radar lost track of it. Rescue aircraft spotted the wreckage Wednesday morning, and a helicopter was able to land at the crash site in the afternoon.
Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes says pararescuers found no sign of the pilot. Searchers are leaving the site for the night, but Hayes says an air search will continue, looking for a campfire, a parachute or ejection seat.
Pilots carry survival gear and are trained for Arctic conditions. The pilot's name has not been released.
Air Force officials say the crash site is about 100 miles north of Anchorage, near Denali National Park.
(Edit to add AP article - MK)
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Here's another of her wonderful websites. This alone should let all of us know how she feels about the military.
http://nmsierraclub.org/farmers-and-ranchers-unite-to-fight-drilling-in-mora-county
$itch
Not sure of the "technical term" but it seems to me that someone needs a couple of 2AM B-1 'speed runs' to recalibrate their hearing...
In my book, these are all real estate pluses to me. I'm about 20 mi north of Bragg/Pope and I've got a seven year old that runs out of the house at any hour of the day or night to watch when the Herc's roar by...
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Aircraft crashes after crocodile on board escapes and sparks panic
Published: 5:53PM BST 21 Oct 2010
A small airliner crashed into a house, killing a British pilot and 19 others after a crocodile smuggled into the aircraft in a sports bag escaped and started a panic.
The plane came down despite no apparent mechanical problems during an internal flight in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It has now emerged that the crash was caused by the concealed reptile escaping and causing a stampede in the cabin, throwing the aircraft off-balance.
A lone survivor apparently relayed the bizarre tale to investigators.
The crocodile survived the crash, only to be dispatched with a blow from a machete.
Danny Philemotte, the Dutch pilot and 62-year-old owner of the plane's operator, Filair, struggled in vain with the controls, with Chris Wilson, his 39-year-old First Officer from Shurdington, near Cheltenham, Glocs.
The plane was on a routine flight from the capital, Kinshasa, to the regional airport at Bandundu when the incident unfolded, on August 25.
It crashed into a house just a few hundred feet from its destination. The occupants of the property were outside at the time.
According to the inquiry report and the testimony of the only survivor, the crash happened because of a panic sparked by the escape of a crocodile hidden in a sports bag.
One of the passengers had hidden the animal, which he planned to sell, in a big sports bag, from which the reptile escaped as the plane began its descent into Bandundu.
A report of the incident said: "The terrified air hostess hurried towards the cockpit, followed by the passengers."
The plane was then sent off-balance "despite the desperate efforts of the pilot", said the report.
The plane was a Czech-made Let L-410 Turbolet, one of more than 1,100 produced as short-range transport aircraft and used mainly for passenger services.
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You know they're headed for Walmart.
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Hmm.
1) Bader lost his legs because he didn't follow peacetime training rules (and it very nearly cost him his life)
2) Bader only got back in the cockpit because there was a a war on and we were exceedingly short of pilots
I suspect that you know better examples to cite, Mike.
I agree Steve, the Bulldog crash isn't a good example for "ranking the importance of individual regulations". It was probably a 'learning opportunity' that I'd bet he'd have rather not gone through, though. (...although given his reputation I don't think I'd have asked him about it...)
"Crashed slow-rolling near ground. Bad show."- logbook entry for that flight.
I was more thinking about his pushing against the regulations that would let him fly. While it was only approved because of the war, in the end, you've got to admit, it worked out pretty well and in some cases opened the door for others to follow, WWII and beyond.
Sorry to take this off topic, I'm done now.
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"Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools."
- Douglas Bader
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Sir Douglas Bader was a WWII Royal Air Force Group Commander who decided to fight the rules that active pilots must have legs - he'd lost his in a pre-war flying accident. The RAF, citing their standing regulations fought hard to keep him from the cockpit. In the end, it worked out well for him, and the RAF, as he ended with over 20 kills flying Hurricanes and Spitfires before becoming a POW and escaping his captors several times. With his leadership, the 'Big Wing' tactics changed the air war in Europe and may well have affected the future of the conflict. He was honored by leading the victory flypast over London at VE Day.
Imagine if he'd decided it wasn't worth it to fight something so insignificant as wearing sunglasses on your head.
A good friend of mine used to say "If you hammer shoe shines, haircuts and patches the big things will fall right into place!" anytime someone (leadership) got focused on queep and lost sight of the real objective that if you execute your role to the best of your ability and play every play like it is your last the win will take care of itself.
If you hammer the mission win above all, the amount of pride that can develop in a unit, if you play it right, will more than take care of the shoeshines, haircuts and patches.
Build morale by kicking ass in the Mission and the small stuff will take care of itself, rather than kicking ass with the queep and hoping that will help the Mission.
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How is that supposed to be "stealthy" with an exposed prop?
...and from the looks of it the same engine as a '67 VW Bug...
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Why on Earth wasn't I informed there there was even an opening for this position, I could have gotten a resume right out. Bet it pays well for the amount of work required.
For that matter, who'd have thought that there was a UN Office for Outer Space Affairs? Imagine walking into that office each morning...
"Hey Bob. How's outer space today?""It's still there."
"Good, no aliens then? Think I'll spend the day on Baseops..."
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Aliens have deactivated British and US nuclear missiles, say US military pilots
Aliens have landed, infiltrated British nuclear missile sites and deactivated the weapons, according to US military pilots.
By Andy Bloxham
Published: 9:28AM BST 27 Sep 2010
The beings have repeated their efforts in the US and have been active since 1948, the men said, and accused the respective governments of trying to keep the information secret.
The unlikely claims were compiled by six former US airmen and another member of the military who interviewed or researched the evidence of 120 ex-military personnel.
The information they have collected suggests that aliens could have landed on Earth as recently as seven years ago.
The men's aim is to press the two governments to recognize the long-standing extra-terrestrial visits as fact.
They are to be presented on Monday 27 September at a meeting in Washington.
One of the men, Capt Robert Salas, said: "The US Air Force is lying about the national security implications of unidentified aerial objects at nuclear bases and we can prove it."
He said said he witnessed such an event first-hand on March 16, 1967, at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana which housed Minuteman nuclear missiles.
Capt Salas continued: "I was on duty when an object came over and hovered directly over the site.
"The missiles shut down - 10 Minuteman missiles. And the same thing happened at another site a week later. There's a strong interest in our missiles by these objects, wherever they come from. I personally think they're not from planet Earth."
Others claim to have seen similar activity in the UK.
Col Charles Halt said he saw a UFO at the former military base RAF Bentwaters, near Ipswich, 30 years ago, during which he saw beams of light fired into the base then heard on the military radio that aliens had landed inside the nuclear storage area.
He said: "I believe that the security services of both the United States and the United Kingdom have attempted - both then and now - to subvert the significance of what occurred at RAF Bentwaters by the use of well-practised methods of disinformation."
The site was then the base of the US 81st Tactical Fighter Wing.
Capt Bruce Fenstermacher, a former US Air Force officer, also claims he saw a cigar-shaped UFO hovering above a nuclear base in Wyoming in 1976.
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Putin' on the Ritz...
In 2007 the American Historical Association published a report which found that out of 15,847 History Professors in the United States, only 1.9 percent were identified as Military Historians.
I have to admit, I'm really surprised it's that high. Back in the early-90's my sister was going to school at Syracuse. She told me that her professor was doing a discussion and screening of a movie on a Friday night and asked if I'd ever heard of it - Dr. Strangelove. I told her all about the movie and she invited me up - as long as I didn't ask any questions.
Great movie, as everyone knows, but before and after the professor, who claimed to everyone to be 'an expert' on Cold War delivery systems (or something like that), gave a quite lecture on the aircraft of the Cold War and the background of what all the oblivious students were seeing in the movie. In overall concepts he was on the right page, and he sure puffed himself up to impress everyone, but on the details he was all over the place. It was all I could do to not yell out corrections to his facts every other sentence and call him an asshat in front of his students - but I understand that professors don't care for that sort of thing.
Well, that story went on too long, must be the beer. By the way, the civil version of the Lancaster was the Avro Lancastrian, originally developed from a Canadian Car and Foundry-built late war Lancaster Mk.X.
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Large difference between US / North American and overseas shows. While Europe had tightened up on their regulations, especially after the 1988 Frecce Tricolori crash at Ramstein, you will still see things at shows there that wouldn't be permitted here. Other places in the world, it's the wild west - anything goes - with results like the 2002 Su-27 crash at Lviv in Ukraine.
PS - in before the lock.
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Ok, good info.
Yes the Thunderbirds/Blue Angles are highly trained/recruited/scripted professionals. No room for show boating. Of all of the accidents I am aware of with these teams, they were just that, accidents. Never a case of trying to push the limits and do it better than the next guy.
Not being in ACC, have there ever been any big mishaps with the individual fighter aircraft demo teams?
I was the C-17 Demo pilot at an air show after an aircraft had crashed (fatality) during practice. You are right, changes the entire mood and makes you wonder if it is worth it.
From the ACC, Navy, and Canadian Tac Demo pilots I know, it seems to be much like the Thunderbirds / Blue Angels. Incredibly scripted shows that are highly practiced without any margin for 'pushing it up' at any show more than others.
We lost Maj. Brison "Moose" Phillips, of the Shaw based Viper East, at NAS Kingsville, Texas, 19 Mar 2000. That same year in June, Lt. Bill Dey and Lt. David Bergstrom of the F-14 Tomcat Demo Team were lost at NAS Willow Grove.
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Worst part is if we and a bunch of Patriot Guard riders were to say, protest at the Westboro Baptist Church, the same judge would probably find against us for disrupting their rights.
WTF.
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While this post is next to worthless without pictures, I think a couple of avatars here come pretty close.
Mother reports topless sunbather on Italian beach to police for 'troubling' sonsA mother of two boys has sparked a debate in Italy over topless sunbathing after she reported a woman to police because the way she applied suntan lotion was "troubling" her sons.
By Nick Pisa in Rome
Published: 9:49PM BST 11 Aug 2010
A mother of two teenage boys has sparked a debate in Italy over topless bathing after she reported a woman to police because the way she applied suntan lotion was 'troubling' her sons.
The 26-year-old woman, identified only as Luisa under Italian privacy laws, was questioned by officers after they were brought to the scene by the mother.
She had initially asked the woman, an assistant in a fashion store, to cover herself up as her ample breasts and the act of rubbing cream on her body had "troubled her sons aged 14 and 12."
The woman, who was sunbathing on a public beach at Anzio south of Rome, refused and so officers were called – much to the amusement of other holidaymakers who looked on as she remonstrated still topless.
The case has triggered a debate in Italy about topless bathing.
Yesterday, the Rome based lawyer, Gianluca Arrighi, said: "Something like this happening in 2010 is absurd. My client was approached and asked to cover up by the woman and she simply asked her what her problem was.
"From there the woman gathered up her children and went and complained to police bring the officers to the scene where Luisa was still on the beach sunbathing.
"The fact a file has been opened is compulsory following the complaint but I can't imagine any judge in 2010 convicting a woman for sunbathing topless.
"Let's be clear my client is tall, brunette and has an ample breast and is therefore going to naturally be sensuous when she applies cream to her chest.
"This may well have attracted the attention of the women's two sons but it should not lead to my client being convicted. She is amazed that she is being condemned for simply sunbathing topless.
"It was a public beach and she could see no harm in what she was doing."
Mr Arrighi said that it was not illegal to sunbathe topless on a public beach, unless there is a local bylaw.
A comment piece in La Repubblica newspaper said: "Summer is the season where everything happens but it is also the time of pathological mentalities ... where was she supposed to apply the cream on her clothes?"
Topless sunbathing has dropped out of fashion in recent years. In both France and Italy far fewer people abandon their bikini tops when on the beach.
Countess Barbara Ronchi della Rocca, the Italian etiquette expert, said: "You do see far fewer topless sunbathers these days than you used to but I think that's because the beach is no longer the place where you go to get a tan.
"Nowadays people arrive bronzed already having spent the winter in tanning salons and they spend their time at the beach bar semi clothed and socialising instead."
Yesterday a police spokesman in Anzio said: "A patrol was stopped by a mother of two sons who was angry at a topless sunbather and the way she was applying suntan cream.
"She told us that she had asked the woman to cover herself up because her young sons aged 12 and 14, had been admiring the sunbather and they had been troubled by what she was doing.
"The patrol went and took her details and she argued, still topless, that she could so no harm in what she was doing as it was a public beach. We have opened a file on committing an obscene act as we are committed to following the complaint. From what I heard she was very attractive."
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From the article, with a quick edit for accuracy:
The clock’s four faces are 151ft in diameter and will be illuminated by 2million LED lights along with huge Arabic script reading: “In the name of Allah”. The clock will run on Arabia Standard Time which is three hours ahead of 1,800 years behind GMT. -
Bring these in and let everyone know that this what you've got in mind...
614th TFS Lucky Devils
Phan Rang AB, Vietnam 1967
Here's a better shot of the squadron artwork, seen at their '06 Reunion.
Since the Air Force likes to think that "heritage" is important to them,
it shouldn't be difficult to press through...
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By CBC News, cbc.ca, Updated: July 26, 2010 6:49 PM
CF-18 crash pilot applauds ejection seat
The Canadian Forces pilot who ejected from a fighter jet just moments before it crashed and exploded suffered back injuries but is expected to make a full recovery.
"I feel extremely lucky considering the magnitude of the accident — Martin Baker is my new best friend!" said Capt. Brian Bews, 36, in his first public statement since Friday's crash in Lethbridge, Alta.
Martin Baker is the brand name of the ejection seat in the CF-18 Hornet that Bews was piloting. He was making a low-speed pass at low altitude on a practice run for the Alberta International Airshow when he had to eject from the jet seconds before it smashed into the airstrip at the Lethbridge airport.
Bews suffered compression fractures in three vertebrae and will be wearing a back brace for a few months, the Department of National Defence said Monday.
"Given the incredible amount of force in the ejection sequence, this type of injury is very common in aircrew who eject," said Maj. Rachel Morrell, a military surgeon. She said Bews will likely make a full recovery but there's no timeline on when he will be able to return to flying duties.
"I will be concentrating on rest for the next while," Bews said Monday. The pilot thanked first responders for their quick reaction after the crash and the staff at the Lethbridge hospital where he was taken.
"I would also like to thank my family, friends, my demo team and my air show family for their amazing support since the accident," said Bews, who is from Eatonia, Sask.
The pilot learned how to fly in Okotoks, Alta., and joined the Canadian Forces in 1999. Five years later, he achieved his dream of being assigned to fly a CF-18 Hornet, according to Bews's military biography.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. Bews was flying a CF-18 Hornet designated for air shows and demonstrations.
Canada's aging fleet of CF-18s recently went through a $2.6-billion upgrade. But the Canadian government announced earlier this month that they will be replaced by the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter at a cost of $9 billion.
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Here's a quote from PADI, the '06-07 East Coast Hornet Demo pilot, from over at ASB.tv:
The high alpha pass is recoverable from an engine loss depending on the altitude where the failure occurs. Normal altitude loss if done correctly is about 400-450'. USN Legacy Hornet demo targets 500-700' AGL at 25 alpha during the manuever for single engine considerations. Even then, the jet is very difficult to recover if one were to lose an engine. It is something that is practiced in the simulator many many times before ever getting into the jet and takes alot of finesse and alpha control to avoid a departure(out of control). As a matter of technique, our demo pilots are taught to enter the high alpha pass with target airspeeds at the 180 and 90 position to avoid lower power settings on maneuver entry. This prevents the jet from getting behind the power curve as the jet decelerates to 25 alpha. I'm not sure what alpha the CF-18 demo targets during their manuever. If they are targeting 35 alpha then it would be next to impossible to recover the jet in a single engine scenario from that altitude and attitude.I'm glad he made it out with minimal injury.
Get well Boozer..
PADI
The Canadians years in the past not only did the high alpha pass, but 'walked' the aircraft in a 360 degree circle around the field. I believe they only made that pass for a year or two before it was removed - at least from what I remember, over safety concerns.
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I understand that Booser is now out of the hospital and in good shape. Here's some better video: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/crashes+Alberta+airport/3315220/story.html
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After living pretty comfortably here in the US on Russia's dime for the last decade or two, what sort of 'pension' do you think outed spies get back in the Motherland? Somehow I'm not seeing a nice cushy job with lots of foreign travel...
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I only had an opportunity to see two 'live' SR's. One as a twelve-year old at the Andrews airshow in 1980 (61-7964) where I had my shoes soaked in JP-8, and the second when we had one IFE into MacDill in the late 80's (61-7979). That one I ended up standing up on the bird during the preflight, and next to the marshaller as it left chocks. I'll never forget the noise as the pilot put the coals to it at the end of the runway - or the burner flames as he lit, and departed, after making a pass down the flightline...
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Pretty sad, when I touched down in Doha back in Sept of '90 I was given an in-brief by the First Shirt that probably lasted three minutes and I thought MORE than covered everything that was important.
If you treat people like adults, they might just surprise you, and act like them...
Surely I can't be serious
in Squadron Bar
Posted
And before acting, he had enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force at the age of 17 and was trained as an aerial gunner, but was too young by the end of WWII to have deployed overseas.