Posted on 12/02/2016 5:49:37 AM PST by ICE-FLYER
Edited on 12/02/2016 7:49:01 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
I have been a proud member of the 109th Airlift Wing since I earned my wings at Undergraduate Pilot training in Feb of 94. Ever since that time I have been flying, exclusively, the LC-130H aircraft. While we have had many a famous and high ranking person on our aircraft and while I have been fortunate to fly several, our unit just got to help out one of America's most amazing and storied heroes, USAF Retired, Colonel Buzz Aldrin!
I'm not the most photogenic person in the world, so please hold the tomatoes from being thrown! :) No, I am not the pilot who flew the mission, just the one sent out to speak with the media.
Well done sir. Continue on!!
As am I. He can afford it I am sure. I believe his price was $75k to do what he was doing. The flights to get him to New Zealand were not special planned but part of the Operation DEEP FREEZE season.
Very cool! Thanks for posting and sharing your part in the story. Stay warm!
Lots of interesting ‘tourists’ flying in and out of there ... John Kerry, the head of the Russian Orthodox, Russian dignitaries, French dignitaries, Canadian dignitaries, British Foreign service officers ... I wonder.
Fellow New Yorker, and former USAF.
Thanks for the info. I think he earned the the stay in Antarctica even if he hadn’t paid for it.
Aldrin was there as part of a tour group sponsored by a private company. I hope someone is getting a bill for this.
Thanks for posting this. That plane is way cool!
Not photogenic? This old gal thinks you’re kinda cute. :)
PS: Thank you for your service. You guys are wonderful.
Thanks for this post!
God bless you and your unit’s awesome work!
And thanks for relating this latest adventure in the amazing life of Buzz Aldrin.
Watched the landing on the moon live—will never forget the thrill of that moment!
It is important to be informed and reminded of the brave actions of our nation’s heroes, like Buzz Aldrin—and YOU!
Your comment made me laugh a little. Just last night I said to my wife, “Buzz Aldrin at the South Pole? What the hell is doing there? And...I would love to see that guy’s bucket list? What’s left for him to do...other than get his ass to Mars.”
BM for later contribution.
Thx for sharing this with us. Congratulations on a job well done for your unit.
Please see my reply in post 17.
Not excusing Aldrin, just explaining. He’s a Type-T personality who probably believes he’s bulletproof, even at 86. Some thrill seekers calm down in their later years (I was a Naval aviator, but today think I was a little crazy to launch from & land on aircraft carriers), but obviously not Aldrin. He’s divorced three wives and continues to seek adventures. Most believed Apollo 11 had only a 50-50 chance of success and returning all three astronauts safely was an uncertain proposition. With those odds, one would need Aldrin’s DNA to even attempt the mission. Yes, he risked others’ lives and wasted taxpayer money. Listening to the USAF Lt. Colonel, a thrill seeker himself, the 109th Airlift Wing was excited to rescue someone who is a hero to most fliers...Aldrin also is a retired USAF Colonel.
Thanks for YOUR service! Awesome airplane. I would suggest Buzz’s naysayers take it up with him personally. LOL.
It’s inspirational that Aldrin isn’t sitting around waiting to die, and I bet the people in Antarctica enjoyed his company.
For the record Armstrong was getting a coronary bypass. It wasn’t elective, and he died a few days after surgery. Astronauts have a high rate of coronary disease due to radiation exposure, but they still lead long lives due to excellent health and medical care.
Read his auto-bio, Magnificent Desolation. Col. Aldrin has always struggled with depression and living life to its fullest - all the way to the end - is his way of coping.
His way of coping may be putting the lives of others in danger.
Air Force = golf clap :)
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