Agreed - but as you say, a four-engined anything is becoming less common these days unless you live near a KC-135 base (or perhaps in Russia, I suppose).
Last edited:
Did an 18hr. ride in a KC-10 once... in full gear sittin' on them web seats. Glad I don't have to do that again.We've been having a KC-10 flying around the Syracuse Hancock airport (home of the USAF's 174th Tactical Fighter Wing) this summer (sorry, no picture), practicing touch-and-go's. It's a pretty impressive bird to see in our skies...
Freighters Marty? I did the flt. mech. thing for Ryan International on 727's. 2 weeks out and 1 wk. home. Fly all night... fix all day. If you're lucky, 4 to 6 hrs back at a hotel. Rinse and repeat for 14 days, then 7 days home to sleep it off and go again. It was a grueling life... but I'd do it all over again.I sometimes stayed on the airplane up to three days. “Hotel Boeing.” 2008-2013. I liked the 757 better than the 767 because I usually had three seats in the back corner instead of two. ‘57 just meant more fuel stops, but it will go just about anywhere on the planet.
I loved it! I flew passengers. 757/767. We did a lot of military charters. Also, celebrity stuff, like concert tours and movie crews. We did sub service too. That forced me to stay in places like Jamaica and Hawaii for weeks or a couple months. My schedule was loosely 20 on, 10 off. I often stayed out way long and home short. They helped me out. My wife stayed with me for almost two months in Kingston, Jamaica and after a week at home, we went to Maui for a month. Usually, it was places nobody wants to go, and for sure I went to places I didn’t want to be broken down. It’s a hard life, but I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything!Freighters Marty? I did the flt. mech. thing for Ryan International on 727's. 2 weeks out and 1 wk. home. Fly all night... fix all day. If you're lucky, 4 to 6 hrs back at a hotel. Rinse and repeat for 14 days, then 7 days home to sleep it off and go again. It was a grueling life... but I'd do it all over again.
I went TAD (TDY for you Zoomies) from Japan to Korea for a couple of weeks. Rode those web seats on a C-130 into Osan. Seats were...adequate. Noise abatement and climate control not so much.
As promised. The XC-99. Only one made. Served during the 50's. I've seen her R-4360's in the engine section of "the yard". I think the only recips there. She was cut up so to transport her here from Texas on flatbed trucks. View attachment 171759 View attachment 171759
The bomber version was the B-36. The later version also had the landing gear trucks and it also had two turbo jets on each wingtip. And, a fighter plane to drop out of the belly.Notice the addition of the thimble radome on the nose and how the main landing gear changed from a huge single wheel and tire to a four wheeled bogie system.
Hi Marty,I am beyond 60 years old. My hearing is very good. I was 19 when I started working on the flight line. I always protected my hearing. My wife is hearing impaired. NOT FUN.
This is very interesting Rudy! Nice find! I was not familiar with this plane so I looked for some photos of it. I thought I would post some photos of this unique aircraft from its operational days for context.
View attachment 171767 View attachment 171768 View attachment 171769 View attachment 171770 View attachment 171771 View attachment 171772 View attachment 171773 View attachment 171774
Wow that's crazy and your right the odds of one getting through are tough to keep up withCheck this out...quite amazing.
The bad guys only need to slip one through for a win, but the Israelis have to get every single incoming to be successful.