Originally Posted by finis72 (Post 1566443)

Agreed. I once flew with a F/O on the DC-8 for a whole month. On the last trip of the month sitting in a bar a friend of his starts talking about his second Mig kill. This guy flew Thuds, had 2 mig kills, Silver Star and I didn't find out until trip number four at the end of the month. A true soft spoken professional.

Originally Posted by forgot to bid (Post 1566668)

Please explain the prop. I never understood it.

Originally Posted by Hoser (Post 1566675)

Great read is 'When Thunder Rolled' by Ed "Maximus the Horse," who did a tour on the Brazillia and a second tour on the MD-88, also has a great book on that tour too. MD 88 drivers had some big ones for the missions they flew in SE America, especially the sectors they operated in, like gates C45, deep behind enemy lines. Something like 800+ Douglas jets built, about half destroyed, most of them set on fire by desperate acts of stagnated First Officers.

Originally Posted by FTB Publishing

To say I felt sick is an understatement. Did you ever spend much time thinking about death? . . . Your death. The end, nothing, darkness, eternity, just you and some old Gold Bond. The sleep from which you don't awake. And you're only twenty-three years old.

On one mission, he and his $150,000 aircraft destroyed about 50 barrels of petroleum -- about as much fuel as 100 RJ's burned in the attempt. Returning to Detroit with flak holes in the wing and hydraulic systems gone, he had to report his troubles as a "mishap" because officially there were no mainline jets flying out of Chicago and Captains aren't supposed to call for flaps before 18,000 feet, before the Aux pumps get turned on, hence no reporting this no flap, not today. We got a commuter to deliver, shack!

At the age of 23, flying single pilot with a distraction and crappy FMC over Memphis. But he did the job, did it well and recalls it in terms that a layman can appreciate:

"We're back into our speed and slats are coming up in less than a minute. As we're on our way outbound, a strange notion enters my head. This is fun. It's a rush, a thrill, a challenge to do something that most people can't even conceive of and couldn't do even if they wanted to. Delta flight two thousand forty five [each mission has a name, often whimsical] is roaring across the countryside, headed for the coast, and it suddenly occurs to me that what we're doing is a lot like stealing hubcaps from RJ drivers."

Originally Posted by Hoser (Post 1566680)

Nothing like ground school at ASA and that prop diagram they had up there! Oh yeah, that clears it up! :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by Hoser (Post 1566675)

Great read is 'When Thunder Rolled' by Ed Rasimus, who did a tour on the Thud and a second tour on the F-4, also has a great book on that tour too. Thud drivers had some big ones for the missions they flew in NVN, especially the sectors they operated in. Something like 800+ Thuds built, about half destroyed, most of them shot down.

Originally Posted by Boomer (Post 1566695)

List of every Thud loss by date, tail number, location, and cause...
http://www.talkingproud.us/Military/...hterstatue.jpg

Originally Posted by Bucking Bar (Post 1566697)

Wow, and that guy survived it all, just to get run over by a F4.