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One Of The Air Force’s Newest Majors Will Fly Over The Super Bowl Today As Thunderbird #2

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One Of The Air Force’s Newest Majors Will Fly Over The Super Bowl Today As Thunderbird #2

He had the best promotion ceremony ever!

Promotion ceremonies are always special.  It is a moment to reflect on the awesome responsibility of being a commissioned officer or enlisted member of our armed services.  Most ceremonies are pretty plain vanilla.  They are held in an auditorium or in front of an office.  Occasionally they are held in a hangar in front of jets or even downrange when one takes place during a deployment.

We’re pretty sure that Major Select Ryan Bodenheimer of Thunderbird #2 had the best promotion ceremony ever. While flying in formation in his Thunderbird F-16 jet, Major Bodenheimer’s boss (aka Thunderbird #1) provided a few kind words over the radio then promoted him. Major Bodenheimer solemnly repeated the oath while flying in precise formation with a keen eye on Thunderbird #1.

At the conclusion of the oath, the Thunderbirds team celebrated with a ‘bon ton roulle’ formation roll. You can see the awesome video below that was originally posted to the US Air Force Thunderbirds Facebook page.

One Super Flyover: From The Blue Angels Cockpit Over The Super Bowl

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One Super Flyover: From The Blue Angels Cockpit Over The Super Bowl

As we get ready to celebrate Super Bowl 51, it’s a perfect day to recall some of the most epic flyovers.  One to add to the list was by the Blue Angels in Super Bowl 50.

Back on Feb 7, 2016, the weather was perfect.  Right on schedule, the Blue Angels departed from Moffett Field in Sunnyvale, CA.  After a brief hold, the demonstration team shacked a very professional flyover just as Lady Gaga finished her last note of the Star Spangled Banner.  The US Navy later released an awesome 4 minute video highlighting the flight. With a tight formation and perfect execution, the Blue Angels did their job in front of an audience that included most of the United States and much of the world.

This video is bittersweet.  Just a few months later, Captain Jeff Kuss who flew Blue Angel #6 would crash shortly after takeoff as he flew in preparation for an airshow in Tennessee.

[youtube id=”dg_-MwzLP9Q” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

Later today, the Thunderbirds will take the the skies over Houston as they perform the flyover for Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium.  Take a moment to appreciate the sheer difficulty of those pilots as the make a very performance (that includes a challenging timing exercise) appear routine.

Note: Photo By Steve Jurvetson (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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WATCH: F/A-18E Hornet Screams By In a High-Speed Pass

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WATCH: F/A-18E Hornet Screams By In a High-Speed Pass

Turn it up and enjoy this fantastic pass in 5.1 Surround Sound.

The original F/A-18 Hornet provided many firsts for a tactical fighter aircraft including; digital fly-by-wire flight controls and carbon fiber wings. The original Hornet was designed by McDonnell Douglas and entered active duty in January 1983. The revised F/A-18E Super Hornet improved upon the successes of the F/A-18 Hornet, making its first flight in November 1995. Boeing archives report, “The first operational F/A-18E/F Super Hornet squadron, VFA-115 Eagles, gained gained operational capability in June 2001 and deployed into combat aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN- 72) in July 2002.” (www.boeing.com/defense/fa-18-super-hornet/) Powering the Super Hornet are twin General Electric F414-400 turbofan engines capable of up to 17,000 lbs. of thrust and a top speed of Mach 1.8. A major highlight of the Super Hornet has been its efficiency, both in the air and during manufacturing. According to Boeing, “Every Super Hornet has been delivered on cost and on schedule. The Super Hornet is the most cost-effective aircraft in the U.S. tactical aviation fleet, costing less per flight hour than any other tactical aircraft in U.S. forces inventory.”

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This montage of the F/A-18E Super Hornet performance by VFA-122 Flying Eagles includes a stunning 700 MPH High Speed Pass and a demonstration of the carrier landing approach. During the performance the pilot will experience up to 8 G-Forces as the aircraft maneuvers tight turns.

The audio has been mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound for your listening enjoyment! Prepare to hear the roar of the F/A-18E Super Hornet engines as the Fighter performs several crowd stunning maneuvers. For best results with 5.1 audio, use Surround Headphones or playback on a home theater system!

Sources:
http://www.boeing.com/defense/fa-18-super-hornet/
http://www.boeing.com/history/products/fa-18-hornet.page

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Broken Arrow: The Nuclear Bomb That Was Lost And Never Found

Bill Walton
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Broken Arrow: The Nuclear Bomb That Was Lost And Never Found

The Tybee Bomb Has Resisted All Efforts to Locate It. So Far.

On February 5, 1958 a United States Air Force Boeing B-47E Stratojet, 51-2349A, callsign Ivory 2 of the 19th Bomb Wing flying out of Homestead AFB, Florida collided at approximately 0200 local time with USAF North American F-86L Sabre, 52-10108 of the 444th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Charleston AFB, South Carolina. The two aircraft were flying a simulated combat mission near Sylvania, Georgia. The B-47 had been flying at 38,000 feet when the collision occurred.

332d Fighter Interceptor Squadron North American F 86D 45 NA Sabre 52 3901

Atomic Bomb Jettisoned to Save the B-47 Crew

USAF Major Howard Robinson, the pilot of the B-47, lost control of the aircraft after the collision and it lost roughly 18,000 feet of altitude before control was regained. The bomber sustained heavy damage to its right wing and right outboard engine. To ensure the 7,600 pound bomb would not detonate in the event of a crash while attempting what was sure to be a difficult landing, the B-47E jettisoned its unarmed Mark 15, Mod 0 nuclear bomb training weapon casing, No. 47782, from 7,200 feet over Wassaw Sound off Tybee Beach, Georgia.

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Image via National Museum of the US Air Force

Some Impressive Flying

Major (later Colonel) Richardson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his skill in bringing the heavily damaged B-47 back and landing it without incident. So the B-47 crew, Richardson along with co-pilot 1st Lieutenant Bob Lagerstrom and radar navigator Captain Leland Woolard, landed and the F-86 pilot survived his parachute landing. All’s well that ends well but the story wasn’t over. In fact it’s still not over. The bomb was never recovered!

Tybee Bomb B 47 crew Howard Richardson Bob Lagerstrom and Leland Woolard
Left to right Maj Richardson, 1LT Lagerstrom, and CAPT Woolard. image via us air force

Searching for Decades Without a Trace

Beginning the next day, February 6, the Air Force and Navy began an exhaustive search of the entire area for the missing thermonuclear device. They searched Wassaw Sound for more than two months without finding the bomb. Since then there have been hundreds of attempts to find the weapon via live dives, sonar, magnetic anomaly detection (MAD), and remotely piloted underwater vehicles and drones. No joy!

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Image via National Museum of the US Air Force

The Likely Story…and a Fake One Too

According to the Department of Energy, the device is most likely buried under several feet of bottom silt somewhere under the waters of Wassaw Sound. Studies of radioactivity in the area and aquifiers associated with the region have found no credible evidence of abnormal radioactivity. A fake news website reported (in error) that the device had been found “by Canadian scuba divers on vacation” in 2015.

Mk.15 nuclear bomb 2
Mk. 15 bomb. image via national archives

Conflicting Reports a Surprise?

Reports also conflict regarding the presence of the plutonium trigger in the device. The Pentagon states that the plutonium trigger was not installed in the weapon when it was jettisoned. However, in 1966 at Congressional Hearings, testimony was given that the Tybee bomb did have its plutonium trigger installed.

The Tybee bomb- truly a mystery for the 21st century!

A Captain’s Guide To Planning the Perfect Flight As A Passenger

Rob Graves
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A Captain’s Guide To Planning the Perfect Flight As A Passenger

Advice from an experience aviation professional on traveling smartly.

Many decades ago, travel by air was considered amazing. And glamorous. Fast forward into the eleventh decade of passenger air travel and it is still amazing, but not quite so glamorous. That is unless you are riding first class on an Emirates A380 from Dubai to London. And if you can afford the price of the first class suite on that airplane, you aren’t wasting your time reading airline blogs on the Internet. You have more important things to do such as restructuring a corporation or perhaps closing an important arms deal.

For the rest of us, though, air travel has become annoying, mundane, irksome, and maddening. I know this because it’s my livelihood. But not only do I get to look back on the wretched refuse as that wonderful bulletproof carbon-kevlar cockpit door swings closed with a heartwarming thump, but as a commuter, I have the dubious honor of sampling the product myself at least several times weekly. And trust me, dear reader, when I say to you that I look forward with relish to the day that I will never again have to set foot as a passenger on a commercial airliner.

I exaggerate, but only slightly, for I believe that the average airline passenger will agree that the modern airline experience is something to be simply gotten through, as opposed to enjoyed as it was in times not too distantly removed. Luckily, though, there are things that airline victims er, customers can do to make their flight at least tolerable, if not actually enjoyable. The Captain is on the case and herewith presents his indispensible guide on how to survive your airline flight!

Before You Go, Choose Wisely

You’ve done your best to avoid going at all, but your boss wants you at that conference in Atlanta, or your spouse’s sister is getting married and there’s no face-saving way to decline the wedding invitation. So you’re going. Next, you’ll have to book your flight. This will be an exercise in contrast. You must contrast the amount of pain you’re willing to inflict upon your wallet versus the pain that you’re willing to inflict upon your soul by going cheap.

If you’ve got the scratch to go first or business class, then we’re probably done here. All the major US airlines are roughly equivalent in their first class service, and you’ll have a nice wide leather seat away from the hoi polloi. Remember, though, it’s bad form to show up to the meeting or rehearsal dinner drunk from airplane wine no matter how much it might be needed. Good luck.

If first class is too dear, your next best choice in class of service is a product called “Economy Plus” as United calls it. American calls their product “Premium Economy”, and Delta’s is Delta Comfort+. This class is pretty much what just plain old “economy” used to be called before the seat pitches were jammed together to force a few more sardines into the can. You’ll get an economy seat, but the seat pitch will be suitable for a normal human being for which of course you’ll pay extra for the privilege of being able to feel your toes after landing.

Your next cheaper option will be plain ‘ol economy and at this point you may want to consider letting price guide your decision with a few caveats. Make sure to check the airlines’ baggage policy to avoid unpleasant surprise charges on your arrival at the airport. Most airlines have “unbundled” their services and will stick you with bag charges if you’re not careful. They’ve done this to avoid paying excise taxes on this new “service” as those taxes are only levied on the ticket price itself. Smart for them, expensive for you. The Captain’s advice: choose carefully how you like your pain, financial or in dignity.

How Basic Can You Get?

There is still yet another class of service that has started to appear at the top of your Expedia listing known as Basic Economy, better described as “steerage” class. This will be a rock bottom fare for a rock bottom experience. You’ll board last, won’t get to have any choice in seat assignment, and even a bag in the overhead bin will cost extra. This service was introduced to counter the competitive threat from the new ultra low cost carriers (ULCCs) such as Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant.

How basic are they? Well, no one who has flown on Spirit has ever been known to book a second flight as the service is so abysmal. Their low fares, however, ensure that the airline will remain full until such time that all Americans have flown on them once, at which time they’ll declare bankruptcy, rename themselves, repaint the airplanes, and start again. The Captain’s advice: just don’t.

Read on…The Captain Has More Great Tips on The Next Page

FAA’s ‘Operation Bongo Mark 2’ Proved Supersonic Flights Over Land Weren’t Feasible

Bill Walton
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FAA’s ‘Operation Bongo Mark 2’ Proved Supersonic Flights Over Land Weren’t Feasible

Sonic booms caused too much damage to be allowed over land in the continental United States.

On February 3, 1964, The Federal Aviation Administration launched Operation Bongo Mark 2 to investigate the effects of supersonic transport (SST) flights on cities. The experiment was managed by the FAA, NASA, and the USAF. Public opinion, crucial to the experiment, was captured by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center.

Bongo Mark 2 was not the first series of tests undertaken to measure the effects. In 1958 and 1960, tests were conducted at Wallops Island, VA. In 1960 and 1961 tests took place at Nellis Air Force Base outside Las Vegas, NV. St. Louis MO was a test site in 1961 and 1962.

f 104 starfighter formation

The difference between these previous tests and the Oklahoma City tests was that the sonic boom’s effects on buildings and structures, as well as on the general public and their opinions about living with sonic booms as a more or less regular occurrence were not the primary premise for the previous tests. Operation Bongo Mark 2 would be the largest and most comprehensive test of its kind.

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Beginning on February 3, 1964, Convair B-58 Hustler supersonic bombers along with Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, Convair F-106 Delta Dart, and McDonnell F-101 Voodoo supersonic interceptors, flew through the sound barrier at low altitude over Oklahoma City an average of 8 times per day. The effects of the sonic booms behind the aircraft were roughly 16 miles wide.

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The flights were scheduled so that the sonic booms would be timed somewhat consistently, usually beginning at 0700 local time each day and ending in the afternoon. The residents of the city actually timed some of their activities by the sonic booms. It was said that some downtown construction workers began to take their lunch breaks based on the noontime boom.

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When the testing concluded on July 29, 1964, a total of 1,253 sonic booms were created by the supersonic flights over the city. 147 windows were broken in two of the city’s tallest buildings over the first 14 weeks of the experiment. Even though there were nearly 10,000 complaints of damage to buildings (mostly cracked plaster and glass breakage), the public opinion about living with daily sonic booms indicated that 73% of the subjects said they live with the booms. 25% of the subjects believed they could not live with the booms. About 3% of the Oklahoma City residents (at that time roughly 15,000 people) were upset enough to write, phone, sue, or otherwise take action to protest the experiment.

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The lasting effects of Operation Bongo Mark 2 were the cancellation of Boeing’s 2707 supersonic transport design. Eventually the United States withdrew from SST design altogether, leaving Aerospatiale/BAC (Concorde) and Tupelov (TU-144) as the only builders of SSTs. Beginning in 1973, supersonic flight over the United States and its territorial waters was banned. The Concorde SST, eventually operated by several airlines and used in regularly scheduled service to and from the United States, was forced to decelerate to subsonic speeds offshore.

A P-3 Orion Turboprop at 46,000+ feet? It happened!

Bill Walton
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A P-3 Orion Turboprop at 46,000+ feet? It happened!

The Orion’s Spectacular Performance Was Proven Repeatedly By CDR Lilenthal and Crew

On February 4th 1971, Patrol Plane Commander CDR Donald H. Lilienthal, flying P-3C Orion BuNo 156512 (c/n 5506), set a world horizontal flight altitude record for the heavy turboprop class of 45,018 feet (13,721.5 meters). Lilienthal was flying from Edwards Air Force Base in California at the time. However, this was just one of several speeds, distance, time-to-climb, and altitude records Lilenthal and his crew set over a two-week period early in 1971.

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Official US Navy photograph

Japan to Maryland. Non-Stop.

On January 22, CDR Lilienthal took off from Naval Air Station Atsugi, Japan. He and his crew then flew non-stop to Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River in Maryland- a distance of 6,857.75 miles (11,036.47 kilometers). The flight took only 15 hours and 32 minutes to complete. But…the Orion had to deviate its course to avoid foreign airspace, which lengthened the actual distance flown to 7,010 miles (11,218.5 kilometers)!

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Official US Navy photograph

Record-Setting Flight Crew

The record-setting flight crew were: Patrol Plane Commander CDR Lilienthal, Pilot CAPT R.H. Ross, Pilot LCDR F. Howard Stoodley, Navigator LT R.T. Myers, Meteorologist CDR J.E. Koehr, Flight Engineer ADJC K.D. Frantz, and Flight Engineer AEC H.A. Statti.

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Official US Navy photograph

Speed Records Begin to Fall

After arrival NATC Pax River, CDR Lilienthal wasted little time between record-setting flights. On January 27 CDR Lilenthal, still flying 156512, set a new record for speed over a straight 15 kilometer course of 500.89 miles per hour (806.10 kilometers per hour).

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Official US Navy photograph

Altitude Record Falls After a “Leisurely” Transit From Pax River to Edwards

After the setting a new record for speed and already owning the record for distance, CDR Lilienthal and crew transited to Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert of California. No records were broken during the cross-county flight, but once at Edwards several more records fell. First the new horizontal flight altitude record fell on February 4. Then it was time-to-climb time.

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Official US Navy photograph

Might As Well Set Some Time-to-Climb Records Too

On February 8, CDR Lilienthal and crew set time-to-climb records for 9,843 feet (3,000 meters) in 2 minutes 52 seconds; to 19685 feet (6,000 meters) in 5 minutes 46 seconds; to 29,528 feet (9,000 meters) in 10 minutes 26 seconds; and 39,370 feet (12,000 meters) in 19 minutes 42 seconds.

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Official US Navy photograph

Just Keep On Climbing Baby

Not done yet, CDR Lilienthal continued climbing the Orion until it reached a world record altitude of 46,214.2 feet (14,086.1 meters). Remember readers- this is not a jet-powered aircraft. The Orion is a turboprop!

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Official US Navy photograph

The Record-Setting Aircraft Served for 24 More Years

At the time of the record-setting flights, Orion 156512 was a standard production aircraft with minimal modifications and assigned to NATC Pax River. 156512 went on to serve for 24 years with VP-31, VP-9, VP-46, VP-65, VP-16, and VP-45 before being stored at AMARG Davis-Monthan AFB in 1995.

Edge of Your Seat: We Need To Divert!

Rob Graves
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Edge of Your Seat: We Need To Divert!

Being a good pilot means always having a backup plan.

I don’t care if you are a VFR-only pilot on an afternoon outing or pushing back in a twin aisle airliner for an overseas leg. The very nature of aviation means that things will never go exactly as you planned, and sometimes not even close to how you planned.

This means you need a backup plan. What happens if you have a mechanical? How will you react if it happens on takeoff? What if you don’t break out on the approach? How about if your alternate weather goes down enroute? All these questions should be in the back of your mind before and during your flight. Then, should something happen that you didn’t anticipate, reacting to it is a simple matter of implementing your backup plan rather than having to take the time to come up with a new plan.

LaGuardia to Midway

We were scheduled for the first day of a three day trip to fly a round trip from Chicago’s Midway Airport to New York’s LaGuardia and then back east to Newark’s Liberty Airport for the overnight. The trip from Chicago to New York had been uneventful and we even landed early due to a strong tailwind of about 100 knots.

The departure weather at LaGuardia was VFR and we departed at about 1705 local (2205Z) without much delay at all, which was especially good for any New York airport. The forecast for Midway, issued at 1729Z was IFR with low ceilings and visibilities forecast:

TAF KMDW 161729Z 1618/1718 10006KT 1SM -SHRA BR OVC004 FM170100 10012KT 1SM SHRA BR OVC003 TEMPO 1703/1705 1/2SM TSRA FG OVC003CB FM170600 VRB03KT3/4SM -RADZ BR OVC003 TEMPO 1706/1710 1/2SM FG FM171300 24010KT 2SM BR VCSHOVC005 FM171600 27008KT P6SM VCSH OVC006=

A quick translation of this forecast shows that the visibility was forecast to be one mile with rain showers and a ceiling of 400 ft for our arrival.

Even though there was a “TEMPO”  or “temporary conditions” line in the forecast for 1/2 mile visibilities, this was not due to happen until 0300Z on the 17th, or a few hours after our arrival. Chicago is six hours behind Zulu (GMT) time which means Zulu midnight is at 6:00 PM in Chicago. We were, however, still required to have an alternate, and had Louisville (SDF) declared on our release.

Midway has five runways forming a cross pattern but only two strips of pavement are suitable for air carrier operations, 31C/13C and 22L/04R. They were landing runway 4R for our arrival. That runway is served by an ILS with minimums of 5000 ft. or 1 mile.

The METAR, or current observation for our arrival showed a 300 ft. ceiling with a visibility of 6000 ft. Piece of cake, we thought. The decision altitude (DA) for our runway was 250 ft. height above touchdown (HAT) and the visibility was a good 2000 ft. above what we needed.

METAR KMDW 162253Z 09006KT 1SM R31C/P6000FT -RA BR OVC003 02/02 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP184 P0001 T00220017=

This translates as prevailing visibility of one mile with a specific runway visibility of 6000 ft and a ceiling of 300 feet.

My first officer was flying the approach and was highly experienced, so I had no reservations about letting him fly this approach. So as we were being vectored to final, we heard approach mention that the visibility was being reported as 4500 ft. I then said that we needed 5000 ft. to begin the approach after which approach quickly revised the report. We were alerted though to expect an approach right to minimums.

The next thing we heard after switching to tower was the aircraft in front of us announcing a go-around. Now we really knew that it would be close. An old technique of mine is to run my chair forward so as to be able to see over the nose. If we could pick up approach or runway lights, we’d be cleared to descend for landing and doing this helps. One small problem is that runway 4R at Midway has no approach lights, only runway end identifier lights and a precision approach path indicator (PAPI). Great.

Go Around!

Well, we got down to minimums and I announced “minimums”. There was nothing in sight at all. My first officer announced “go-around”, hit the takeoff/go around (TOGA) button, pushed the throttles up, and around we went. Here is where it got busy.

We get the airplane away from the ground, cleaned up and on a downwind vector and then we have some decisions to make. Is the weather persistently bad or was that just a passing cloud? Do we have gas for another try? Is my declared alternate the best choice and what’s the weather there?

Right away I saw that the first question was moot because we didn’t have enough gas for another try. I had just under 8000 lbs., and the burn to my alternate, Louisville, was about 3000 lbs., enough to get us there comfortably, but none to try again. So on downwind we told approach that we needed to divert. They gave us a climb and handed us off to center. Center gave us a vector direct to Louisville, which was VFR.

Louisville may seem like a rather distant alternate, but there was most likely some method to their madness when dispatch filed this flight plan. When a busy hub airport like Midway goes below minimums, chaos breaks out everywhere. Dozens of airplanes might be looking for alternates at the same time. One of the closest and most obvious alternates is Indianapolis, but they can be quickly overwhelmed with diverting airplanes in a short amount of time. So dispatch tries to spread out the pain of multiple diversions to other airports depending on the weather. Tonight Louisville and Milwaukee drew the short straws.

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Get In Line

The approach and landing in Louisville were normal. We were then directed to an unused runway where we sat until there was a gate available. All the gates were full and there was one airplane in line in front of us, so we waited for about an hour until we could park. The agent already had our paperwork for the trip back to Chicago. The weather had come up some and should’ve been good for our return. Midway was now landing on runway 31C which had a 4000 ft. minimum visibility as well.

We signed the release, got our gas, and pushed back. The flight back to Chicago was also uneventful, at least until we got to minimums on the ILS to 31C. It was now my leg. We briefed and flew the approach pretty much the same way we had a few hours earlier. When my first officer says “minimums”, I didn’t see anything. I thought “here we go again”. Just as I start to push the throttles up for our second go-around of the evening, I saw the runway. I pulled the throttles back and we landed well within the landing zone and taxied to the gate.

Pulled (and Paid)

All in a day’s work, right? Now we’ve got maybe 30 minutes to find some dinner and to get the airplane turned around for our delayed, but final leg of the evening to Newark. As I step out into the jet way, I see a pilot friend of mine. I ask him if he’s deadheading to Newark but he says no, he’s working the flight. I said that can’t be because I’m working the flight. A quick check of the paperwork shows that indeed, he is flying the next leg. So I go back to the cockpit to gather my gear and then check the computer when I’m back in the terminal.

Sure enough, I’ve been tagged by Part 117, our new flight time regulation. With all the excitement, I’ve racked up seven hours and eighteen minutes of block time. With the Newark leg forecast to be about two hours, this put me over the maximum flight hours by about 20 minutes, hence I was illegal to operate the flight. Scheduling was nice enough to find me a hotel room in Chicago thus saving me a rain-soaked trek to my crash pad. It is honestly the little things that count.

Be Ready

The next day I am rerouted to a different city than my originally planned trip but it pays the same so there’s no harm. All in all, it was just another routine divert and reposition. And the reason that I use the word “routine” is because I was ready for the weather to go down. Diverting is a headache, sure, but at no point was I “uncomfortable” with how things were happening.

We were both well trained and prepared, and were flying a well-functioning and reliable airplane. Things won’t always go how you might have planned, but that is never any reason to be caught by surprise.

Captain Rob Graves is a veteran airline pilot and retired Air Force officer. He currently flies a Boeing 737 for a major American airline where he has over 25 years of experience. His Air Force career included flying the T-37 primary trainer, the KC-135 Stratotanker, and the C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft for worldwide operations. He is the author of This is Your Captain Speaking, an aviation blog. It can be found at robertgraves.com. We’re proud to have him on our Avgeekery.com team. 

Then There Was the Time I Saw a C-5 Do the Splits

Rob Graves
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Then There Was the Time I Saw a C-5 Do the Splits

The C-5 Galaxy is a magnificent airplane. I flew this amazing machine for over a decade and many thousands of hours between the years of 1991 and 2003 while a member of the 312th Airlift Squadron at Travis AFB near San Francisco. And while the airplane has some amazing capabilities, she would occasionally break in really creative ways. What follows is the story of one of those times.

The grandiosity of this airplane is difficult to convey in both word and picture; she must be seen in person to be fully believed. I still recall my first flight aboard a C-5 as a student at Altus AFB. It was difficult to get my head around the thought that the thing actually moved when we taxied out of parking, let alone flew. And yet fly she did.

She was a pleasure to fly. One of the design engineers at Lockheed must have at some point taken his father’s Cadillac Brougham out for a joyride because that is an apt description of her ride. She was big, but with full time three axis flight augmentation, she was lighter on the controls than a 737. She was equally agile on the ground with the ability to execute a 180 degree turn on a 150 foot wide runway (using 147 feet, according to the flight manual). This fun fact ties in to our story.

The Elegance of Simplicity Never Applied to the C-5

The size of this aircraft presented many new and unique challenges to her builders, the Lockheed Corporation. As an aside, the Boeing Corporation, losers of the original competition to build the CX-HLS heavy lifter back in the sixties, went on to use the resources gathered for that project to build the 747. Lockheed, the winner of the contract, was faced with the problem of creating a drive on drive off airlifter with a footprint capable of operations on soft field forward operating locations.

The solution was to employ four main landing gear accommodating six tires each for a total of 24 main landing gear tires. A four tire nose gear brought the total to 28. Spreading the maximum 840,000 lb weight of the aircraft over 28 tires was expected to allow operations on fields having less weight bearing capacity or thinner pavement. It wouldn’t break up the concrete or sink into the mud. C-5s even land on ice in Antarctica due to this soft footprint.

The four landing gear however, arranged in a tandem, or two by two, presented another problem: turning. Getting the airplane turned around in as short a radius as possible meant that the gear would scrub furiously in the turn. Anyone who’s ever pulled a tandem wheel trailer around a tight corner has experienced this. The solution is the same as that used on those large carts at your local big box store. Just make the rear wheels caster or turn.

So that is how the airplane was designed. When going into a turn, the pilot in the left seat would throw a switch on the center console which released hydraulic pressure from the rear main gear allowing them to caster like a shopping cart wheel. When steering out of a turn, he or she would then return the switch which would apply pressure to drive the gear back into alignment. The copilot was charged with keeping an eye on gauges indicating the caster angle to ensure the gear were powering back to their aligned position when coming out of the turn. Rube Goldberg would have been proud.

The Ghost in This Machine is Named Murphy

The date was July 8, 1999 and the place was Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. We were on a WestPac “channel” mission. That meant a routine five or six day jaunt around the Pacific Rim moving opportunistic cargo and household baggage from reassigned military families. The purpose of this type of mission was ostensibly for training, so what was carried was not of real import. Many times, in fact, there might be a FedEx or UPS plane shadowing our route carrying stuff that was actually important. The C-5 was voluminous, but alas not too reliable as we shall see.

Though I don’t recall exact numbers, we probably had a cabin load of perhaps 150,000 lbs. and a fuel load of perhaps 225,000 lbs. for a takeoff gross weight of about 750,000 lbs. Our destination was Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, Alaska, a distance of 4400 miles, so we were somewhat heavy. It was an entirely routine mission planned for perhaps eight or nine hours depending on the winds.

I was in the jump seat for takeoff as we were an augmented crew with three pilots. Being augmented meant that our crew duty day could be stretched to 24 hours if need be. Engine start was normal as was taxi out of parking down the parallel taxiway. It was on the turn from the parallel taxiway and onto the hammerhead that we encountered a bit of bother.

As per normal, when the pilot started the turn, he reached over and flipped the red guarded caster power-back switch to the caster position and stated “caster” on the interphone. And as we came out of the turn, the pilot returned the switch to its original position which should have driven the gear back into alignment.

This didn’t happen. Coming out of the turn, the C-5 chugged a little bit and came to a halt. What this normally meant was that one of the gear lagged a bit while powering back to the center position. And sure enough, that is what the right rear gear indicator showed. It was out of alignment by perhaps 20 degrees.

This meant that the gear did not automatically return to alignment. The approved fix was to roll the airplane forward a bit while the copilot manually commanded the gear to center using the manual power-back switches. The airplane had to be moving for this to work. So that’s what we did…or tried to do.

At first the C-5 wouldn’t move, so the only solution which presented itself was to add more power. A lot more power. The pilot pushed up the throttles further and eventually the airplane did move, but not willingly. She was bucking like a bronco and the errant gear was still not moving to center.

After about as much of this as we could stand, we stopped the airplane and deplaned one of our engineers to take a look. What we heard next on the interphone told us that something was amiss. “Holy $#!%…You have GOT to see this!!” or something to that effect. It was at this point that we realized that we were probably not going to go flying that day.

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The author in front of the stricken plane.

How Did It Get Like That?

The engines were shut down, maintenance was called, and I climbed down the two stories from the cockpit to take a look myself. What I saw amazed me and reinforced my belief that Lockheed built one tough airplane.

The reason the C-5 didn’t want to roll was not because the gear had failed to return to center. It had. But it hadn’t stopped at the center position. A failure of the caster power-back valve allowed the gear to not only center from the left but to keep on going in the opposite direction to the right. The airplane was trying to roll straight ahead but the right rear gear wanted to go right and was being drug. There were thick black rubber marks trailing behind as it was drug at a sideways angle while supporting over 100,000 lbs. of weight.

But the most remarkable sight was that of the gear strut. This piece of metal which supports the six tire gear truck is perhaps several feet in diameter, and it was bent at a very unmistakable angle away from its partner on the front gear. I was amazed that the supporting structure had even held together as it must have been under thousands of pounds of sideways pressure. It seemed a sure bet that some sort of internal damage must have occurred.

Well, the maintenance guys disagreed. Apparently this was no big deal, at least from a structural point of view. The fix was even easier. The C-5 has the capability to “kneel” down which means it can be lowered on its struts so vehicles can drive on and off. What is even more convenient is that each individual gear truck can be “kneeled” by itself meaning that it will lift off the ground while the other three main gear support the aircraft. Very handy for tire changes.

So the maintenance guys merely kneeled the errant gear as the entire airplane creaked and groaned while coming back into alignment. The bad valve was replaced, and the next day we were on our way back home with the added bonus of an extra day on beautiful tropical Okinawa, and an extra day of per diem to boot!

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Three “non-standard” Ways To DeIce An Airliner

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Three “non-standard” Ways To DeIce An Airliner

There is the right way to deice a plane and many wrong ways.

Deicing a plane correctly is a critical preflight procedure.  It’s not a tough concept.  The professional way is to spray a heated deicing solution onto the aircraft prior to departure. If frozen precipitation is still occurring, you first deice the aircraft to eliminate the built-up icing/snow, then apply anti-icing fluid to the aircraft to prevent further buildup.  Anti-ice provides the pilot just enough time to get airborne (and presumably above the frozen precipitation) without any additional buildup of ice on the critical surfaces of the aircraft.

For reference, this is what a proper deicing procedure looks like (courtesy of Southwest Airlines):

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Why is deicing important?

Airplanes fly because the wings of airplanes produce lift. Every take-off and landing calculation is based on the airplane’s wings being free of any debris and ice. Ice inhibits flight in two ways. Wings cannot produce the required amount of lift when the airflow is disturbed by ice buildup on the wings. Even a thin layer of frost with the thickness of sandpaper can produce so much drag that takeoff at typical speeds and runway lengths might be impossible. Additionally, ice is heavy.  Ice can add thousands of pounds to the weight of an airliner.

Top 3 non-standard ways to deice:

3.) Using a water cooler of water

We get it.  There are probably rare situations in typically warm locations where ice on the wings might catch the ground crew and pilots by surprise. In these rare cases, you might see crews brushing the snow off of the wings or delaying departure until the sun melts the ice.  What you don’t expect to see though is a ground crew haphazardly rolling a water cooler on the wing of a $50M passenger airliner.  It’s not only minimally effective, it’s dumb.

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2.) Standing on the tail with a garden sprinkler can

While it might be excusable to lack deicing gear at an airport in tropical climates, it is super odd to not have such gear in Siberia.  Isn’t Siberia the definition of cold? I guess they technically they do have deicing gear there.  They are called humans who are strapped to a crane with sprinkler cans and brooms.

While the means of deicing is super unusual. The aircraft was deiced this way because it was flown from a little used field for restoration.  Video and title screenshot were posted by Linelinnn on YouTube.
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1.) Just skip it altogether and pray you don’t die

If you really want to say “deuces” to established safety procedures (that have been written with blood), just skip deicing all together.  That’s what this Pegasus Airlines 737-800 decided to do after a snowfall.  While the aircraft was able to takeoff safely in this case, it ranks as one of the dumbest things a pilot can do.  The pilot effectively became a test pilot with a hundred-plus other test-dummys onboard his/her impromptu test.  Death is a big risk to take for an on-time takeoff.  If you ever see the wings on your jet look like this as you take the active runway, we recommend ringing your call button repeatedly.

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We Already Know Pilots Are Rockstars But Did You Know There Are A Few Pilot Rockstars?

Joe Vaeth
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We Already Know Pilots Are Rockstars But Did You Know There Are A Few Pilot Rockstars?

Rockstar. Captain of the industry, and Pilot:  What do these three roles have in common?

 In this case, they are the same man.  Bruce Dickinson is the lead vocalist for the metal band Iron Maiden, chairman of an international aviation development firm, and an airline pilot with experience ranging from single engine to the biggest grand-daddy of them all the 747.

Last year Bruce decided to get the band back together in the back of a 747 and take the act all over the world.

VOCALIST BRUCE DICKINSON TO CAPTAIN AND PILOT A BOEING 747-400 JUMBO JET TO PLAY IN SIX OF THE SEVEN CONTINENTS TRAVELLING OVER 55,000 MILES (88,500km) AROUND THE GLOBE

Bruce didn’t break crew rest and flew the majority of the journeys even the band’s tour schedule was, “Tailored to provide the rest time required by international regulations between each flight.”

Iron Maiden the first band ever to pack their entire show of 12 tons of lighting/sound equipment, instruments, and tour personnel all into one aircraft.  Their lead singer is also a licensed 747 pilot and he does the flying. 

“Ed Force One”

The Aircraft is aptly named “Ed Force One” after the band’s iconic mascot “Eddie” who has adorned all their cover art and makes his appearance at key points during their show.  The 2016 Tour just ended and the Maiden 747-400 travelled to locations all over the world: Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Canada and the U.S.A. When it was parked on the ground at Seattle-Tacoma International, I could get close enough to get a look at it.

Grounded in Santiago

During the tour a towing accident with an aircraft tug seriously injured two people and crippled the “ed force one” 747 by damaging 2 of its engines.  8 days later after pulling off an international scavenger hunt for replacement parts and engaging in an international logistical marathon the maintenance crew was able to successfully replace two engines and make all the required repairs to make “ed force one” fully operational.  The aircraft was launched from Santiago and rejoined the band for the remainder of the tour.

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Photo by: Iron Maiden

Airline in a Box

Bruce is also an experienced airline pilot who has been flying for years out of the U.K. with British World Airlines (now defunct) and Astraeus Airlines where he flew air charter service on the Boeing 737 and Boeing 757.  More recently he has taken interest in the airline service provider Cardiff Aviation based at St. Athan U.K.  As Chairman, he has positioned Cardiff Aviation to be a leader in the pilot development & training with two 747 sims and the Sikorsky S61 helicopter. 

The company also provides MRO – aircraft Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul services and aircraft leasing solutions to multiple operators.  But the service that may set them apart is the, “Airline in a box.” This service is aimed at corporations and international governments seeking to reduce the traditional costs and risks of establishing an airline.  Bruce says, “Airline-in-a-box is exactly what it sounds like – we carry out everything you need to establish operations to create an airline accredited under EASA safety standards, and all you have to do is pick the name and sell the tickets.” The proof of concept was demonstrated with the establishment of Air Djibouti in Aug 2016.  The welcome ceremony was held with much fanfare at Djibouti International and Bruce personally delivered their first B-737 . 

Bruce Dickinson, Rockstar. Captain of the industry. Pilot.  Dare we add another, “Avgeek.”

United To Accelerate Retirement Of Iconic Jet

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United To Accelerate Retirement Of Iconic Jet

It’s a Sight You Won’t See Much Longer

The Queen of The Skies won’t be around much longer at United Airlines. United announced today that their fleet of 747-400s would be retired in the fourth quarter on 2017.  United had previously planned to retire the fleet by the end of 2018.

The move in the retirement date isn’t completely unexpected.  The 747-400 fleet is fast becoming elderly and has significantly higher operating expenses than their expanding 787-9 and 777-300ER fleet. In a statement, United explained their rationale for early retirement of the Queen:

This jumbo jet with its unmistakable silhouette once represented the state-of-the-art in air travel. Today, there are more fuel-efficient, cost-effective and reliable widebody aircraft that provide an updated inflight experience for our customers traveling on long-haul flights.

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United will replace the 747 fleet with a mix of 777-300ER, 787-9 and A350s.

United did announce that they will plan a special farewell for the 747 fleet:

…we’ll honor the 747 with an unforgettable retirement celebration — we’ll keep you posted with more details on her final flight in the months ahead.

The era of US airlines operating the 747-400 is quickly drawing to a close. The announcement of United’s 747’s accelerated fleet retirement along with Delta Air Lines’ planned retirement means that no major US airline will fly a 747 in their fleet for the first time since the iconic jet debuted in 1969.  Your best chance to fly on a 747 will be to fly on a foreign carrier’s 747 or hop a charter flight on one of the 747-400s in Atlas Air’s fleet.

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