losing your wings.....

"Jim Carriere" wrote in message
...
John Carrier wrote:

"Thomas Schoene" wrote in message
ink.net...

John Carrier wrote:

On its first pass, the Super Hornet screamed along at more than 650
miles an hour, just 96 feet above the main runway. Soon it circled
back, touched down on the tarmac for an instant, then went into a
steep climb, afterburner roaring, and disappeared in the skies.

SNIP

You're sure now. Not 95 feet, not 97, but precisely 96 feet?

I'd bet it's a radar altimeter value from the aircraft's flight data
recorder (yes, newer military aircraft do have FDRs). Probably written
up in the incident report.


Never seen a radalt that read to single digits. T-45 airborne data
recorder (probably similar to F-18) get radalt in tens of feet, pressure
alt in 20's.

Maybe it remembers radalt in multiples of 8 or 16 feet?

The article could have been better written. We have an approximate "more
than 650mph" [true or indicated?] followed by an exact "96 feet" in the
same sentence. What are they teeching the schooles in these days?

Just looked at the article. If it was a superbug, it's doubtful it was
doing 650 anyway. Them's jets is slooowww, man. (F-8U1 was faster in 1955
.... the Navy's first 1000mph jet.) But the bugs can sure generate alpha!

R / John

"John Carrier" wrote in message
...

"~^ beancounter ~^" wrote in message
ups.com...
years and years to earn...seconds to lose...

---------------------------------------
SAN LUIS OBISPO - At a quarter past noon on Jan. 21, a U.S. Navy F-18
Super Hornet jet fighter flown by a combat-tested pilot named Richard
Webb appeared over the Edna Valley and streaked toward San Luis Obispo
County Regional Airport.

On its first pass, the Super Hornet screamed along at more than 650
miles an hour, just 96 feet above the main runway. Soon it circled
back, touched down on the tarmac for an instant, then went into a steep
climb, afterburner roaring, and disappeared in the skies.

SNIP

You're sure now. Not 95 feet, not 97, but precisely 96 feet?

...and was he on QFE? Or is it only Falcon drivers who make that mistake? ;-)


R / John

You're sure now. Not 95 feet, not 97, but precisely 96 feet?

It's probably a readout of a flight data recorder coming from a radio
altimeter on the FA-18 which may read in 4 foot increments below 100 feet.

Another reason why this guy is an idiot since he had to know he was on the
FDR



R / John

We had an air show at Williams AFB with the Thunderbirds as the main event,
circa late 70's or so. Apparently back then they didn't want any acrobatic
flying by any other military aircraft at any airshow they were in. After
they arrive on Friday afternoon buzzing the control tower so close I could
see each finger of crewchief waving to us comm guys on the catwalk an ANG
F-106 arrived a couple of hours later. He asked the control tower local
control if the base wanted a little show. To which the local control (who
had a reputation as ****up) replied "do whatever you want to do" to which
the F-106 driver promptly did a high speed 360 at about 500 AGL over the
base. Certainly way over the 250KT speed limit. Said pilot (young LT as I
recall) was promptly met at his aircraft by our Wing King and immediately
grounded. Not sure what eventually happened to him although his unit had to
send a two seat F-106 to pick him and his F-106 up. As for the air traffic
controller he was immediately and permanently decertified and since he had
just re-enlisted with a huge re-enlistment bonus he was forced to pay that
back in addition to completing whatever term of service he had left in some
simple AFSC where he could do no harm.

Certainly think the FA-18 driver was treated properly

With the caveat that this is through the prism of the mainstream
media, I'll work on the basis that the details are accurate.

A flyby at your old stomping ground is one thing, but high speed pass
followed by an afterburner climb (shudder!)? There's a time and
place for that kind of flying, but this wasn't it. Methinks a more
garden variety touch and go would have resulted in getting smacked
hard but keeping his wings.

As an aside, I believe airports should be good neighbors, but I
couldn't help but smile at the thought of the people who built their
houses next to that evil airport.

r u sure?...it is the la times.....i used
to know paul conrad...the la times political
cartoonist.....that always seemed like a cool
job......




"With the caveat that this is through the prism of the mainstream
media, I'll work on the basis that the details are accurate."

A flyby at your old stomping ground is one thing, but high speed pass
followed by an afterburner climb (shudder!)? There's a time and place for
that kind of flying, but this wasn't it. Methinks a more garden variety
touch and go would have resulted in getting smacked hard but keeping his
wings.

He might have kept his wings, even though he did the whole "routine", if it
was a "first offense", me thinks... now with previous screwups on record,
that's a different ball game...
_____________
José Herculano

Almost unbelieveable display of immaturity and selfishness on the part of
this guy. I thought all the Mavericks and Icemen had been flushed from the
system by now.

Did my generation do these stupid stunts? Hell, yes. (Even in A-6s.) Were
our actions any "better" than this young man's? Hell, no.

Good to know that this hot-dog will no longer grace our skies.

--
Mike Kanze

"A rattlesnake loose in the living room tends to end all discussion of
animal rights."

- Time magazine's Lance Morrow, written after the September 11 attacks.


"~^ beancounter ~^" wrote in message
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years and years to earn...seconds to lose...

[rest snipped]

On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 10:39:19 -0700, "Mike Kanze"
postulated :

Did my generation do these stupid stunts? Hell, yes. (Even in A-6s.) Were
our actions any "better" than this young man's? Hell, no.

A-5s out of Oceana used to make bomb runs on the Kerr Lake dam which
is on the VA/NC border. I've been in one of the campgrounds and you
could almost count the rivets on the Grumman Iron.

Greasy Rider© @ invalid.com wrote in news:koofl1hirk309hqcfb9esupckiuqls8bun@
4ax.com:

On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 10:39:19 -0700, "Mike Kanze"
postulated :

Did my generation do these stupid stunts? Hell, yes. (Even in A-6s.) Were
our actions any "better" than this young man's? Hell, no.

A-5s out of Oceana used to make bomb runs on the Kerr Lake dam which
is on the VA/NC border. I've been in one of the campgrounds and you
could almost count the rivets on the Grumman Iron.


Didn't you really mean A-6s? Viggies are North American Iron, formerly out of
somewhere in Jawja.