Posted on 07/29/2005 7:51:14 PM PDT by SandRat
Man! What a small world!
Just tonight I met a former Air Force guy who spent 2 years at that base.
It was a huge base back in the day! Lots of people past through on 2 year tours. Guess it was cheaper to keep Lakenheath open after the cold war was over.
LOL.
The A-10 is a great bird, worked it maintenance for 10+ years.
Retired out of the AF and started working a DOD contract - JCSAR - Joint Combat Search and Rescue, Nellis AFB.
We had A-10 pilots, F-15/E pilots, Apache pilots, C-130 pilots, AWACS crew members, Army SF, Navy Seal's, UASF PJ's, Navy F/A-18 pilots, etc.
Man, you talk about walking into a "crap storm", what a great job.
One of the A-10 pilots was in the Gulf War I documentary on the History channel, talking about evading SAM's. Cool dude. Now flying for SouthWest Airlines.
My next job was another DOD contract at Nellis - JSEAD - Joint Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses. The CC was a Sqd CC of the very infamous F4-G "Wild Weasel", long maintence career on my part, too many F-4 models to count. The XO was a Navy O-6, his history included a tour as the CAG on the USS Enterprise. Great stuff.
Now working another DOD contract.
Did I mention I like the USAF?
LVM
You mean they Aren't??????
Don't know. The way I read what he said was that the "loiter" time did not mean much, like an after thought.
Like saying the Washington Redskins were the NFL champions in (forget the year), "but the NFL was on strike that year, right?"
The way it was worded was, if you were not shooting, it did not count - loiter time, for hours in the cockpit.
That was how I read it.
LVM
The typical fighter pilot can tell where he is by using a map and a watch...the A-10 pilot uses a map and a calendar!
You betcha that helps...helps everyone but the enemy!
Honestly, Navy has some incredible pilots, I was convinced when I saw my first air show and the Blue Angels were the main act. Next year the Thunderbirds flew...bottom line the Angels ruined the Thunderbirds for me. Navy was more impressive.......Aim High....go blue......I still love my AF.......
Thats the difference between an Aviator and a Pilot...Taking nothing away from AF pilots, but Naval and Marine Aviators are the best of the best. Landing and taking off from the deck of a carrier is what it's all about.
...hanging on the (compressor) vanes, as they say. Lean everything out, fly the optimal profile for mission endurance, and wait...
Don't think so. Carrier planes are designed to take the shock of carrier landings & cat-assisted takeoffs. Beefed up landing gears, wing boxes, etc. The A-10 is a tough aircraft, but probably not tough in the ways necessary to take a steady diet of that, plus the basic layout is all wrong.
Wasn't the lead bomber in the Doolittle Raid called "The Ruptured Duck?"
I always thought it stood for "Cruiser aViation Nuclear"? The first purpose-built aircraft carriers were built on Cruiser hulls. Cruisers carried various designations: CC (Heavy Cruiser), CL (Light Cruiser), CA (Attack Cruiser), etc. "Saratoga" (CV2) and "Lexington" (CV3) were built on Battle Cruiser hulls because the Washington Naval Treaties (1922) limited overall capital-ship (BB- Battleships, CB- Battle Cruisers) tonnage. A lot of ships in that classification were scrapped, but the US was granted the right to convert Sara & Lexington into aircraft carriers. During WW2, light carriers (CVL's) were built on the hulls of converted "Cleveland-class" light cruisers.
I don't know if the "C" in CVN or CVA officially stands for "Carrier" these days. It might, but you have to admit "Carrier Aviation" is a bit redundant.
What type of calendar is it? A Weekly Planner, a Monthly Planner, a Quarterly Planner, or a Yearly Planner Calendar?
Having worked with the mighty Warthog, I would have to say it all depends on how far the trip is...
Well, I apologize for offending you. The term "loiter" (sometimes called "cab-rank loiter" too) is used in the book The Great Book of Modern Airplanes (Salamander:1987) in its discussion of tactical Combat Air Support. "Single engine loiter" is in the specs as a selling point.
Other uses of "loiter" in CAS missions:
FAS Military Analysis Network discussion of the A-10.
And the Air Command and Staff College whitepaper From Desert Storm to 2025: Close Air Support in the 21st Century.
By my understanding, one of the attributes that makes the A-10 so effective at CAS is loiter capability. More proof that we need to keep the A-10. And bravo to the pilot.
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