You only get to go around once ... 
Just out of curiosity - Airplane Guys
- Thread starter Downeaster
- Start date
Downeaster, I kind of know what you mean. There was a time after working at the quarry of a couple decades pulling wrenches my boss at that time mentioned he was planning on giving me a promotion. I would probably been the head guy in the shop with eight or ten guys working under me. I told him thanks but no thanks!
He asked why I felt that way. My simple answer was that I had no problem answering for mistakes I may make but I didn't want to spend all my time trying to explain why ten people were making mistakes.
As it turned out due to changes in the way the company decided to handle repair work all those other guys were done away with and I was the only one to still have a job pulling wrenches.
He asked why I felt that way. My simple answer was that I had no problem answering for mistakes I may make but I didn't want to spend all my time trying to explain why ten people were making mistakes.
As it turned out due to changes in the way the company decided to handle repair work all those other guys were done away with and I was the only one to still have a job pulling wrenches.
Management is where the money is, but there's a reason for that...SO glad I'm retired.
Early in my postal career I decided that management was where it’s at. I worked hard and pushed myself to get there, it took me three years. I did it for five years……and hated every minute of it. I had come from a construction background and was a blue collar guy at heart. I went back to being a working stiff, carried mail for 15 years, then finished out a 31 year career, with 10 years working in building maintenance. Never regretted leaving management, I took a hit in pay, but was much happier.
Every generation of military folk look down on the following generation and the military in general.
When I joined the Air force in '72 Vietnam was in full swing. All the old guys had war stories. Us young'uns had squat.
Commonly heard...
"Glad I'm retiring... the effin Air Force has gone to hell. Look at you lot. Buncha' sissy assed losers."
"Gone to shit I tell ya. Open bays are gone... these ladies get their own room (we didn't). Pt is 'if ya feel like it.'"
"Whatcha mean I have to go to race relations class?!? Screw this, I'm done."
"They're smokin' dope in the effin barracks fer crist sake!!"
And much worse. Suppose I was guilty of some of the same towards the end. Retired in '94 and guess what... the Air Force is doing just fine without me. Go figure.
When I moved up into leadership (yeah, we didn't call it management) I took a slightly different tack. I was a Line Chief in charge of everything that sat, drove or walked on the ramp. 28 fighters and about 60-70 troops per shift. Line 'em up for formation, hand out work orders and turn 'em loose. The last card I'd hand out also had my name on it. I'd take a hand held and go to work alongside my troops. Everyone knew where I was if they had a problem to solve.
'Course, that didn't set well with the CO and the Chief.... and I was constantly in the shithouse... which didn't bother me in the least.
Towards the end of my career we had "peace keeping" duties over in the desert. 60 man rotations, 90-120 days at a stretch... twice a year. And that's what made me leave. I got effin sick of lookin' at sand and camels. I wasn't alone, retention went to shit.
Every deployment was like pullin' teeth. Everyone was sick of it.
On my last deployment I went over with 60 volunteers.... not a pulled tooth in the lot. 'Course... that didn't set well with the bosses and my deployment stretched out to 180 days.
Fuck 'em. Put in my papers the day I returned stateside.
Point is, you lead from the front. When my troops saw I was just as greasy and sweaty as they were... they take note. It's kinda hard to fuck off when the boss is elbow deep in the same shit as you are.
My bosses didn't see it that way.... Msgt's are supposed to fly a desk, not get dirty. Fuck 'em.
When I joined the Air force in '72 Vietnam was in full swing. All the old guys had war stories. Us young'uns had squat.
Commonly heard...
"Glad I'm retiring... the effin Air Force has gone to hell. Look at you lot. Buncha' sissy assed losers."
"Gone to shit I tell ya. Open bays are gone... these ladies get their own room (we didn't). Pt is 'if ya feel like it.'"
"Whatcha mean I have to go to race relations class?!? Screw this, I'm done."
"They're smokin' dope in the effin barracks fer crist sake!!"
And much worse. Suppose I was guilty of some of the same towards the end. Retired in '94 and guess what... the Air Force is doing just fine without me. Go figure.
When I moved up into leadership (yeah, we didn't call it management) I took a slightly different tack. I was a Line Chief in charge of everything that sat, drove or walked on the ramp. 28 fighters and about 60-70 troops per shift. Line 'em up for formation, hand out work orders and turn 'em loose. The last card I'd hand out also had my name on it. I'd take a hand held and go to work alongside my troops. Everyone knew where I was if they had a problem to solve.
'Course, that didn't set well with the CO and the Chief.... and I was constantly in the shithouse... which didn't bother me in the least.
Towards the end of my career we had "peace keeping" duties over in the desert. 60 man rotations, 90-120 days at a stretch... twice a year. And that's what made me leave. I got effin sick of lookin' at sand and camels. I wasn't alone, retention went to shit.
Every deployment was like pullin' teeth. Everyone was sick of it.
On my last deployment I went over with 60 volunteers.... not a pulled tooth in the lot. 'Course... that didn't set well with the bosses and my deployment stretched out to 180 days.
Fuck 'em. Put in my papers the day I returned stateside.
Point is, you lead from the front. When my troops saw I was just as greasy and sweaty as they were... they take note. It's kinda hard to fuck off when the boss is elbow deep in the same shit as you are.
My bosses didn't see it that way.... Msgt's are supposed to fly a desk, not get dirty. Fuck 'em.
I did my time. '76 - '96. Last 4 yrs as an E-6. Never got comfortable with it. I was doing good to manage myself, much less anyone else. More EPR's to write on subordinates that I didn't/ couldn't observe. The "Don't ask Don't tell" was in force when I was in. Time to go. It wasn't fun anymore. In the end it was TOPCAP that made me get out. No regrets.
Every generation of military folk look down on the following generation and the military in general.
When I joined the Air force in '72 Vietnam was in full swing. All the old guys had war stories. Us young'uns had squat.
Commonly heard...
"Glad I'm retiring... the effin Air Force has gone to hell. Look at you lot. Buncha' sissy assed losers."
"Gone to shit I tell ya. Open bays are gone... these ladies get their own room (we didn't). Pt is 'if ya feel like it.'"
"Whatcha mean I have to go to race relations class?!? Screw this, I'm done."
"They're smokin' dope in the effin barracks fer crist sake!!"
And much worse. Suppose I was guilty of some of the same towards the end. Retired in '94 and guess what... the Air Force is doing just fine without me. Go figure.
When I moved up into leadership (yeah, we didn't call it management) I took a slightly different tack. I was a Line Chief in charge of everything that sat, drove or walked on the ramp. 28 fighters and about 60-70 troops per shift. Line 'em up for formation, hand out work orders and turn 'em loose. The last card I'd hand out also had my name on it. I'd take a hand held and go to work alongside my troops. Everyone knew where I was if they had a problem to solve.
'Course, that didn't set well with the CO and the Chief.... and I was constantly in the shithouse... which didn't bother me in the least.
Towards the end of my career we had "peace keeping" duties over in the desert. 60 man rotations, 90-120 days at a stretch... twice a year. And that's what made me leave. I got effin sick of lookin' at sand and camels. I wasn't alone, retention went to shit.
Every deployment was like pullin' teeth. Everyone was sick of it.
On my last deployment I went over with 60 volunteers.... not a pulled tooth in the lot. 'Course... that didn't set well with the bosses and my deployment stretched out to 180 days.
Fuck 'em. Put in my papers the day I returned stateside.
Point is, you lead from the front. When my troops saw I was just as greasy and sweaty as they were... they take note. It's kinda hard to fuck off when the boss is elbow deep in the same shit as you are.
My bosses didn't see it that way.... Msgt's are supposed to fly a desk, not get dirty. Fuck 'em.
Fair play @Jim, cudos to you.
And thank you.
The Navy isn't doing so good. Lots of commanders relieved for cause, ships running into each other, submarines hitting stuff, sailors sabotaging stuff. I have some thoughts on why that is, but this thread has already drifted into outer space...Every generation of military folk look down on the following generation and the military in general.
When I joined the Air force in '72 Vietnam was in full swing. All the old guys had war stories. Us young'uns had squat.
Commonly heard...
And much worse. Suppose I was guilty of some of the same towards the end. Retired in '94 and guess what... the Air Force is doing just fine without me. Go figure.
Aerial power lines, and cable car steel wires have been flown into on many occasions. Hell, in the nineties, when I worked on a power station, 2 RAF Harrier "jump jet" fighters flew into our 140 kV power lines across a fjord, and cut off two of four wires. And landed 50 km away with. 2 pieces more than 5 m long stuck between nose cone and engine air intake on one of them.
As for Norwegian offshore helicopters, there has been two really bad ones, both caused by gearbox/ transmission system failures. The "Norne" incident in 1997 had 12 fatalities, and the "Turøy" accident in 2016 had 13 fatalities. Both helicopters were Super Puma, but different versions. And there was no survivors.
However, the safety statistics are far better in the Norwegian sector, than in the UK sector, which has had more accidents, and I believe less volume of helicopter transport.
That is sad. The military's job is to defend the country, not to be a social experiment.
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your service.Every generation of military folk look down on the following generation and the military in general.
When I joined the Air force in '72 Vietnam was in full swing. All the old guys had war stories. Us young'uns had squat.
Commonly heard...
"Glad I'm retiring... the effin Air Force has gone to hell. Look at you lot. Buncha' sissy assed losers."
"Gone to shit I tell ya. Open bays are gone... these ladies get their own room (we didn't). Pt is 'if ya feel like it.'"
"Whatcha mean I have to go to race relations class?!? Screw this, I'm done."
"They're smokin' dope in the effin barracks fer crist sake!!"
And much worse. Suppose I was guilty of some of the same towards the end. Retired in '94 and guess what... the Air Force is doing just fine without me. Go figure.
When I moved up into leadership (yeah, we didn't call it management) I took a slightly different tack. I was a Line Chief in charge of everything that sat, drove or walked on the ramp. 28 fighters and about 60-70 troops per shift. Line 'em up for formation, hand out work orders and turn 'em loose. The last card I'd hand out also had my name on it. I'd take a hand held and go to work alongside my troops. Everyone knew where I was if they had a problem to solve.
'Course, that didn't set well with the CO and the Chief.... and I was constantly in the shithouse... which didn't bother me in the least.
Towards the end of my career we had "peace keeping" duties over in the desert. 60 man rotations, 90-120 days at a stretch... twice a year. And that's what made me leave. I got effin sick of lookin' at sand and camels. I wasn't alone, retention went to shit.
Every deployment was like pullin' teeth. Everyone was sick of it.
On my last deployment I went over with 60 volunteers.... not a pulled tooth in the lot. 'Course... that didn't set well with the bosses and my deployment stretched out to 180 days.
Fuck 'em. Put in my papers the day I returned stateside.
Point is, you lead from the front. When my troops saw I was just as greasy and sweaty as they were... they take note. It's kinda hard to fuck off when the boss is elbow deep in the same shit as you are.
My bosses didn't see it that way.... Msgt's are supposed to fly a desk, not get dirty. Fuck 'em.
Money ain't everything. Everybody I know who is obsessed with chasing a dollar is a miserable SOB.
I did that with a B-17 back in '04. Some of the best money I ever spent.
Same here with the B-17
My wife said go for it or you probably never do it
They asked everybody if we wanted ear plugs Nah!!
At a certain point no one wanted to go back into the bombardier position, so I thought the hell I'm in again WOW I just sat in that seat and it was better than the front seat on a rollercoaster
My wife said go for it or you probably never do it
They asked everybody if we wanted ear plugs Nah!!
At a certain point no one wanted to go back into the bombardier position, so I thought the hell I'm in again WOW I just sat in that seat and it was better than the front seat on a rollercoaster
I second the B-17 ride! Did that a few years ago on ol nine-o-nine (sadly no longer with us). Bombardier seat is quite the view as well as looking back from the hole in the radio room ceiling, you could really see that big aft pylon flexing back and forth. I really underestimated the power of those engines, seemed like we were instantly in the air.
Same one I flew on, and yes, poking your head out from the radio room was awesome!!!
Iirc those engines burned about 40 gal per hr.... each. Times 8hrs for a mission... at 6lbs per gallon. The amount of 130 oct. fuel carried was as heavy as the bomb load.
I agree with you Jim. Back in the day they carried the same fuel load for the mission but also the weapons load. I agree the fuel load was large. Add many gallons of 50 wt oil for the engines and prop pitch control. Maybe 100 gallons per engine? Another ton for 10 men, 200lb , per man average wt. Maybe more for flack Jackets ,helmets and heated flight suits. Lets not forget the weight for maybe a 1k+ rnds for 50 cal rounds for the 13 M-2 machine guns on the G models.
I'm saying for the current tourist flights, no bombs, flack jackets, helmets and Flt suites, 50 cal rounds and probably partial fuel loads for the short flights, that bad boy will leap into the air compared to a combat loaded one.
I'm saying for the current tourist flights, no bombs, flack jackets, helmets and Flt suites, 50 cal rounds and probably partial fuel loads for the short flights, that bad boy will leap into the air compared to a combat loaded one.
