Posted on 07/01/2003 5:16:37 PM PDT by ranair34
I had been looking for weeks for a picture of Bush in his flight suit and finally found one. I thought everyone else would like it as well. Enjoy!
My understanding about McCain was that he killed 4 airplanes, two in flight school, which should have washed him out, except that his father and grandfather were Admirals.
As for Chris Matthews, I cannot bear to watch that fool.
And track toads make sure the enemy tank CO isn't eating in your flight line snack bar when you both get back. Land basing assumned. In the Navy/Carrier case, the S-3, P-3 and Helio crews, along with the destroyer crews make sure your deck is still there when you get back) The AEW crews tell you where and what to do. The rest of us pay the bill. :)
Well you know what real men say about that. "More than a ******full is just waste" IOW, don't sweat it.
Was a bomber pilot. Actually a torpedo bomber, but by the time he got into the war, there weren't all that many targets for torpedoes, so they were used as bombers. Or attack aircraft, but the difference between attack aircraft and bombers has been pretty hazy over the years, they both drop bombs on the bad guys. GHW Bush flew the TBF/TBM (depending on the maufacturor Grumman or GM) Avenger. GHW Bush made less landings than takeoffs.
Outside of the "Top Gun" movie image (which to tell the truth all Naval Aviators love just for the PR) I think that Naval Aviation is the crown jewel of the United States Military, far better than the Air Force (in which I have a brother-in-law) but hey, I'm biased...
True story: My Father was at the premiere of 'Top Gun' at National Airport (DCA) in 1986 and briefly met Tom Cruise. At the mass reception after the movie my Father jokingly commented to Cruise "I could take your anytime." Tom Cruise replied "All you Naval Aviators say that!"
On another subject, what is your opinion about the F-14A/B/D vs the F-18F given the future retirement of the F-14 fleet? I see that VF-41 has been recast as VFA-41 since they switched from F-14As to the F-18F. Did Cheny as SecDEF make a big mistake having the F-14 tooling destroyed so the the Super Hornet would be the only future for Naval Aviation? Or is the F-14 just too old a bird to keep maintaining vs the F-18E/F?
dvwjr
I saw that and was also disgusted. Wesley Clark is lying when he says he is not a Democrat.
I just read in the "Society section" of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette from this past Sunday that Wesley was partying with all of Clinton's cronies recently. People like Kaki Hockersmith and Scott Rutherford and David Pryor. He's not fooling me and I doubt if he is fooling anyone else. It disgusts me that he graduated from West Point.
Anyway, I am not alone in my negative assessment of the Super Hornet. It has slower acceleration then the Hornet C/D, It lost the best part of the Hornet's envelope; the incredible pitch rate. It is underpowered, rolls like a pig, cannot hold sustained G at MaxCS in full burner, and requires more speed at the ramp.
As a air-superiority platform, it makes a great TANKER. I know some of the boys who transitioned to the E/F from the Black Aces who are not at all happy with the thing. D model Tomcats eat it for lunch, and it is the worst debacle at the Pentagon since they discovered that the F-16 could whip the F-15 under 15K feet. The Navy is keeping it very quiet, but there is a move afoot to save the Tomcat, since they discovered how poor the SuperHornet behaved over Iraq.
As for the Tomcat, the A killed too many good men with those horrible engines. The B can whip anything accept an F-15 at altitude, and the D can beat anything flying with a good man in it. If the D got the engines that are riding in the F-22, you would have the best fighter ever built.
I was good friends with Art Scholl, who died during the filming of Top Gun. At that time, I was with VF-111. Air Force pilots used to suck compared to the Navy, but they are better now. They still cant land for crap, but they can fight their platforms much better than they did in the 80's. The Air Force does not teach their pilots to manage their throttles against their brakes the way the Navy does, so they are always too fast or too slow at the merge.
My opinion is that the F-14 should live on, but I am also biased. The SuperHornet is good enough compared to the enemy, with the primary drawback of providing less coverage in the CAP. Stay tuned, cause it isnt settled as some would like to think.
As to the F-14A/B/D vs F-18E/F controversy, it is nice to have the opinion of a Tomcat driver, since the pilots eval should count the most. There are quite a few online air sites which discuss the F-14 vs F-18E/F but the main complaint against the F-14 seems to be the airframe age, the 3 to 1 maintenance hour ratio compared to the F-18E/F. From what I understand the AIM-53C Phoenix (BVR) missile is aging and is more of a limit on the the continued long-range engagement capability of the F-14 than its airframe/avionics.
I read in the press that VFA-41 sent a detachment of F-18Fs from the squadron to get into the Iraqi Freedom operation, just to function as TANKERs as you indicated. Quite a start for a fighter platform in one of the best USN squadrons. As you were a Tomcat driver, I was interested in your data that the current 'Black Aces' (who publicly profess how happy they are with the F-18F over there old F-14As) who like the F-14 more. If the Navy was smart they would re-engine and upgrade the avionics to make all F-14D+ levels and keep at least one squadron per Carrier Air Wing just to keep the Fleet Air Defense role alive. The Super Hornet just doesn't have the legs (or missiles) of the F-14 Tomcat, but I'm preaching to the choir... Heck the F-18E/F doesn't even have the range of the old F-4S before they retired.
Since I have your ear, what do you think of the US Navy/Marine Air Wing "blending" where to get the maximum utility and coverage out of a shrinking number of Navy Squadrons the Marine squadrons will be a permanently attached to Navy Air Wings. It seems that the Navy is trying to stretch its fixed wing assets by supplementing Air Wings with Marines squadrons, to get some use out of their F-18C/D platforms. My personal opinion is to keep them seperate so that the Marines Air Wings (and their squadrons) are alway available as resources for the MEF to which they are normally attached. The only justification I can see for this move is to get the most out of the Marine airframes and pilots until the Marines completely transition to JSF F-35Bs (vertical take-off/landing), and fly completely on LPH/LPAs and forward land deployment. At that point I would not expect to see anymore Marine squadrons operating off of US Navy large deck carriers, but who knows... I still cannot figure out the JSF F-35Cs of the Navy. The ultimate Fleet composition looks like 60% F-35Cs and 40% F-18E/Fs for the 'strike fighters'. Why not go all F-35Cs if the Navy believes in them so much, or is it just a somewhat stealthy bomb-truck? But maybe a single seat, single engine aircraft might not be ideal for a USN fighter?
Unfortunate about Art Scholl, it appears that they never found his aircraft after it went down on the last hop of the filming day. As to the Air Force, a close friend of the family was another Naval Aviator - Ron Andreson who did an two year pilot exchange with the US Air Force. His comment that 'anyone can fly high and fast, but it takes real skill to fly low and slow...' comes to mind :-)).
Nice talking to you...
dvwjr
I think it is a good thing to get MarineAir more time at the boat. All the services are blending to a degree, and the Marines have been short changed at blue water opportunities. I do not understand or agree with the F-35. A single engine is not a good idea, and we are going to lose a lot of them for no good reason. High performance turbofans are like glass. They do not like harsh treatment, and you dont get more harsh than carrier ops. I've brought 4 Cats aboard on a single engine, once at night. Had I a single engine, at least one of those times, I might be dead. The Navy needs a big-ass, fuel-haulin fighter, and not these little birds that cant go anywhere when you start hanging stuff on them.
I had hopes that the Navy would grab the F-23 after the fly-off. It has the look and lines of a Navy beast. I would have stayed in for a chance to fly that thing. The Hornet and F-35 are not going to be enough for the duration, and if the Tomcat actually goes kaput, then we should see another big ass Navy fighter in the not too distant future.
Actually, this is not correct, at least going from the Navy to the Air Force. A Naval Aviator or Flight Officer officer flying on exchange status in the Air Force does not wear Air Force wings.
If the Naval Aviator or Flight Officer joins the Air Force, by resigning his commision in the Navy and accepting a commision in the Air Force, and serves in a flying position in the Air Force, then the Naval Aviator or Flight Officer is awarded the Air Force Pilot or Navigator rating by the Air Force.
Because the Air Force Pilot or Navigator designation is an Aeronautical Rating, awarded by the Air Force, and supported by important paperwork (medical certification, flight pay eligibility, etc.), a set of wings cannot simply be worn, nor is it temporary.
The Air Force allows Naval Aviators and Flight Officers to wear both set of wings on their uniform. A Naval Aviator or Flight Officer who is not filling a Pilot or Navigator position is allowed to continue to wear their Navy wings.
A Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard exchange pilot serving with the Air Force continues to be a Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard officer. They wear their service's uniform, their service's ribbons and medals, and their service's wings.
I served in an Air Force unit with a Naval Aviator exchange officer, in fact I was crewed with him during a two month rotation supporting Operation Southern Watch. I also know four Naval Aviators and one Naval Flight Officer who have made the transition to fly in the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, and I know an Air Force opthamologist who was a Naval Flight Officer prior to joining the Air Force medical corps.
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