Pilot survives dramatic landing - A10 Warthog Lady Pilot from San Jose

SJ Mercury News ^ | 4/9/03 | Crystal Carreon

[leadpenny]

I know what you mean. I am so proud of all of those serving our country. I just think we have to get to a place and time that these kinds of things are accepted with no more or no less fanfare than if it were a male.

[El Conservador]

I think this lady has more ba11s than most of us dudes!!!

Way to go!!!

[Servant of the Nine]

HOLY SHIITE! That thing FLEW? Man, talk about building tough birds. No wonder all those A-10 pilots love 'em. Whomever designed the A-10 really did a good day's work.

The A-10 is unfortunately one of the aircraft due to be replaced by the Advanced Tactical Fighter.

Revert to manual controls?
The ATF is Fly By Wire.
There are no manual controls.

One more tin foil fighter being sent to do a tankbuster's job.

So9

[risk]

Pinged her dad with this tread.

[Servant of the Nine]

When the gun fires, the plane loses 100MPH of velocity!"

In other words, a Killer Thrust Reverse system. I somehow doubt the 100-knot figger, but I'm sure the effect IS substantial.

Actually, the recoil is greater than that. An A-10 flying level at maximum speed and with 100% thrust will stall from the recoil of a 5 second burst (250 rnd).

This "machinegun" is the size of a minivan.

So9

[livius]

Woah! I hope the folks there in San Jose (dangerously close to San Francisco) appreciate this.

Three cheers for KC!

[El Sordo]

STOMP!

[Servant of the Nine]

Not exactly - that's an 'urban legend'. You'll lose 100 knots in a hard turn though.

I guess it got me too.
When will I learn?
Read first, post later.

So9

[El Gato]

The A-10 is unfortunately one of the aircraft due to be replaced by the Advanced Tactical Fighter. Actually by the JSF, the ATF, now known as the F-22, is basically an F-15 replacement. The JSF is to replace the F-16, F-18, AV-8 and the A-10...eventually, which could be a good long time in the case of the A-10, especially in Reserve/Guard units.

Fly by wire can be redundent too. Just as she's lucky none of the cables and such leading to the controls were shot away, a fly by wire can, and they do, have redundent paths to get the flight control "signals" to the control surfaces. They usualy use redundent actuators, as well as redundent cabling. The A-10 uses redundent hyrdolics line paths and cable paths. Most fly by wire still use hydrolics to actually operate the flying surfaces, it's just that electric servos move the "input" to the hydrolic actuators, rather than the wires and cables. The fly by wire systems do use artificial "feel" and feedback, in at least triply redundent computers.

With so many Luddites around, its amazing we have the best hardware in the world, cause if some of them had their way, we'd still be shooting bolt action Springfields and flying P-51s and P-47s.

[Don Carlos]

If women want REAL equality, then lets have the 101st Airborne or the 3-7th Infantry have all 19-20 y/o women in the units.

Dont know about having all 19-20 y/o women in the tough units. Im retired USAF, and happened to be in a base commissary store a couple years ago, when I noticed that the two young women in front of me, both in BDU's, were Army Airborne. Both had their jump badges on, and had a unit patch on the shoulder (82nd Abn, I think). I asked one what would ever possess a gal to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, and she replied "It isn't just for the guys anymore".

True story.

[risk]

I am 100% against women in combat, or anywhere near combat.

I suppose you would have tried to keep Joan of Arc off the battlefield, too?

[Servant of the Nine]

With so many Luddites around, its amazing we have the best hardware in the world, cause if some of them had their way, we'd still be shooting bolt action Springfields and flying P-51s and P-47s.

Yes, the Joint Strike Fighter. I suppose I sound like a luddite this time.

I like all I have read about the JSF in all it's roles except close air support. My primary objection is that I don't think the military will be willing to bring something that expensive in as low and slow as it needs to be for close air support. We will end up trying to perform the close air support mission from 30,000 feet at mach 1.

So9

[CharacterCounts]

First Tomato or Sour Grapes?

[Hank Kerchief]

[DudleyDoright]

I am 100% against women in combat, or anywhere near combat. We've been "had" by this feminized military--because women want their cake and eat it, too.

My, my, you sound a little threatened by Capt Campbell's derring do.

Sounds like you've been "had," as well. Bought the whole concept that woment can't do anything as well as a guy could do it. Well, pal, the story we're commenting on is living proof that in some areas, women in the military can perform just as well as men.

And for the record: women flying A-10s or F-16s or B-52s is positively nothing like assigning a woman to a front line leg infantry unit, despite your supposition to the contrary.

[JavaJumpy]

Way to go! ^5

[tubebender]

It's past my bedtime but can someone tell me if they ever found the crew of the F15 that went down a few days ago? I seem to remember during the Gulf War there was discussion of retiring the A10 but it looks like it has staying power in more ways than one...

[americafirst]

But you were right - the GAU8 gattling gun is damn near the size of a minivan! The entire fuselage is built around the gun and its system for dispensing 30mm rounds at high speed.

[JavaJumpy]

*BUMP*

[pilot99]

Not true!!! Maybe you lose a couple of knots, but not enough to notice. And you don't shoot the gun for more than 1 second, max.

- Former A-10 pilot