Posted on 05/18/2020 8:38:19 AM PDT by BenLurkin
“he could get under the hood with either myself “
I thought you said you never got your license?
BTW,
Side note. I looked back on my entries and then looked up the incident in Galena and found they were saying it was a Falcon that went down into the Yukon. I didn’t catch it on my patch and paste. It wasn’t. It was definitely a fully loaded strike eagle that had been sent out for a bogie and was coming back by way of a stop at Elmendorf before return to King Salmon. He hit the water about a third across the river and that’s where the aircraft started to disintegrate.
The Yukon is an eleven knot current so pieces were scattered for couple of miles downriver. It took a few weeks to salvage most of the aircraft but when I left in early August, they had decided to leave the rest at the bottom and wait for the water to recede getting closer to freeze over. There was ammo and pieces all over the place down there. But at 160 feet of water and that current bringing stuff at them like trees, even EOD, who I think are crazy, said it wasn’t worth it. We were using my boat with the sonar up river to know when an object was coming at them so they could get to the bottom. I wouldn’t have gone down there and get hit by something like a locomotive.
rwood
“Did you know a Gary Bakewell when in Alaska?”
I was there is 84/85. Heard of him a couple of times in passing comments, and that Cessna, never saw him nor did he land at Galena that I knew of.
rwood
“But you said you weren’t a licensed pilot ...”
I wasn’t. But I was old enough and had eyes to spot for him while he practiced.
rwood
Interesting - it is always a shame when a “zipper suited sun gawd” makes the final fight to the Golden Gates of Heaven.
I hear a fighter pilot entered heaven and saw a guy wearing a flight suite, carrying a flight helmet and wearing dark aviator sunshades and the biggest wristwatch ever seen.
The fighter pilot asked: “who is that guy.”
St Peter said, “oh, him, that’s God, he only wishes he was a fighter pilot”
“You must have logged the following:”
If you’re talking about the IFR, I didn’t get that, my father did. I just rode shotgun for him a few times in the right hand seat when he was practicing under the hood. I was just his external eyes. It was very interesting.
rwood
Interesting, the “Falcon” is the F-16, whereas the F-15E is the “Strike Eagle,”. Basic F-15 is the Eagle.
No worries, mishaps are always confusing.
Good assistance helping. The honorable thing to do, good job.
We were Civil Air Patrol buddies and worked at the same airport. He left Texas for Alaskan flying job sometime in late 70’s.
Cheers
You twice indicated you were never a licensed pilot. When someone goes under the hood a licensed pilot is required in the other seat.
“When someone goes under the hood a licensed pilot is required in the other seat.”
In a perfect world,....yes. But back in the 60’s things were simpler then. Necessity was the mother of invention. Sometimes he didn’t even put it on and just tucked his head inside the cockpit when someone was with him to be his eyes outside the aircraft. And let’s face it, if you can see anything outside the cockpit in a valley at a few thousand feet, you probably wouldn’t have to as back then, there wasn’t the traffic there is today or near the smaze. Clear then.
rwood
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