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Steve Davies

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Posts posted by Steve Davies

    F-15E crashes in Mideast, crew ejects safely

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    The F-15E has been constantly deployed since late 1990 for Desert Shield and it shows....one of the 335th "Chiefs" jets that just got back from Bagram went over 10,000 hours during the deployment...the FTU jets (first F-15E's off the line) are in the high 6, mid 7,000 range. IIRC, the original design limit was 4,000 hours and I know it had been extended to 8,000...not sure what the current approved hour limit is.

    The designed fatigue life for the F-15E is 16,000 hours.

    Thirty Years Ago Today...The Falklands War Started

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    The State Dept was quite divided- some favored backing Britain so as not to undermine NATO and others thought backing Britain would undermine our Latin America efforts.

    Not a lot different from today, then. Clinton likes to call the islands "the Malvinas" when speaking on behalf of your nation, so there's no doubting where the current Administration's loyalties lie.

    Where's Davies on all this?

    I think most of us are a) too bemused by Argentina's recent round of sabre rattling and political/economic attacks on the United Kingdom, and b) too stunned at the idiotic rants of pop stars and Hollywood actors, to revel in past victories.

    WTF? (**NSFW**)

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    A while back I posted an article about the model that thought it'd be a good idea to walk face first into the moving prop of a reciprocating engine. Initially, I gave her the benefit of the doubt, realizing that it wouldn't be that hard of a mistake to make especially at night when you're not used to being around aircraft.

    Now all my pity has been drained as it appears that she's suing the company that operated the prop job. Not so shocking.

    http://today.msnbc.m...s/#.T3JcCo7w-jE

    Don't know what insurance companies are like in the US, but in the UK they are generally a bunch of rip-off artists - they take your money and then use the small print of their T&Cs to wriggle out of settling claims. So, if they've got a poorly worded contract and she's reasonably likely to lose more than $200k in lost earnings, then I wish her the best of luck in making them pay whatever a court deems appropriate.

    More to the point, I'd be interested in knowing exactly how this happened. I don't know about fixed-wing in the US, but I fly rotary-wing in the UK and as a general rule we don't let passengers get out and walk around at night when the rotors are spinning.

    F-22 Raptor info

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    From the AP:

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Air Force is replacing handles that engage the F-22 Raptor fighter jet's emergency oxygen system after pilots reported feeling lightheaded and the death of a captain whose $143 million aircraft took a nosedive into a mountain range in Alaska.

    Capt. Jeffrey Haney was killed in November 2010 during a night mission about 100 miles north of Anchorage. An accident investigation found that the plane's controls and switches contributed to the crash, particularly an emergency oxygen system activation ring on the back edge of the ejection seat.

    The report found that the two-step process to manually activate the system required the pilot to pull the green ring up and out of the retaining slot and then pull it directly forward. The Air Force says the latter move may have the same force as pulling a 40- or more pound weight.

    While the ring is attached to the seat by a lanyard, if it is dropped it can fall between the seats, making it difficult to retrieve, especially if the pilot is flying at night and wearing bulky winter clothing.

    The problem with the system was identified by an independent scientific advisory board that studied the jet's safety issues. It was identified as one of the critical items to be fixed, according to public affairs at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, which came up with the new, safer handles.

    The modification makes it easier for the pilot to access the handle, the military says. The Air Force has ordered 200 handles at a cost of $47 each. They have already been installed in Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's 40 F-22s, the Anchorage base that Haney, 31, was attempting to return to when he crashed during a night-time training mission.

    The new handles also provide a better grip, especially when the pilot is wearing cold weather gear, according to information provided by Luke Air Force Base.

    WTF? (**NSFW**)

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted · Edited by Steve Davies

    Reminded me of this:

    Oh, the irony.

    Considering that the makers of the video are taking the piss out of someone else for being dense, you'd have thought that they would know how to use an apostrophe for possessives, and that there's no such verb as "registrate".

    HRT OG/CC

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I told my wife that when I get out I'm gonna take a year and make it my goal to look like Opie from Sons of Anarchy...I think beards like this would add some much-needed badassery to the Air Force.

    Pretty sure that that's the route M2 took.

    1st female Air Force combat vet in run for congress

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    So many "First woman to ___________" events, it's hard to keep 'em straight.

    Maybe. Maybe not.

    There are people who stand out in history for the right reasons - some milk their fame, others don't (and in Rossi's case, she didn't live long enough to have a choice).

    I only knew about her because this guy talked about her. He talked not about her gender, but about the fact that she had brass balls. She stands out for the right reasons.

    That being said, I believe that Steve doesn't really have much love for anything Rupert Murdoch.

    True.

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