Airline Pilot Central Forums - Military Fun....

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Here's a bit of history for you, check out the 'state of the art' airplanes these guys were flying:

Who Killed The Red Baron - YouTube

And if you are ever in the Tampa/Lakeland area, looking for something to do, check out Kermit Week's Fantasy of Flight museum. He's got the largest private collection of WWI and WWII aircraft, most of which are in flyable condition.

http://www.fantasyofflight.com/aircraft/aircraft.aspx

Leo Thorsness did for a Thud Wild Weasel mission. Awarded after released from the "Hilton"as he was shot down on a later mission.

GF

Another Thud (Wild Weasel) driver, Maj. Merlyn Dethlefsen was also a MOH recipient. Brass Cajones!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hindsight2020 (Post 1460209)

Tocuhé. I never really got motivated to join based on that kind of flying. And further to your point, it is the predominant type of flying in the USAF, which is rather anti-climactic. To me it was all about tactical flying. There is a reason the aerial demo teams are Vipers and Hornets, not Boeing 707s after all.

I do enjoy my current airframe a lot, I think it bridges the gap between the fighter I wanted to fly as a youth, and the heavy flying you mock in the above link.

Rocking the Rio - YouTube

In the end though, it's all about job satisfaction. I think any kind of flying where you feel an immediate and direct impact on the mission is the kind of flying that would likely leave you satisfied. Ironically, I feel that way in my current AETC assignment much more so than I ever did in my "CAF" MWS. I've always envied the Coasties in that regard. Those guys hack their mission on a weekly basis. Promotion woes of that service aside, it must be a very rewarding feeling.

hindsight.....based on your comments, they are still feeding that strong Kool-Aid at the AETC bases, what a shame.

Only vipers and hornets? Sounds like you've never heard of the Four Horsemen.

Four Horsemen return

my favorite quotes:

The crews never used specially prepared planes; they simply took whichever four were available and trusted in their maintainers and flight engineers to keep them running smoothly. Occasionally an engine would fail, but the crews carried right on with the demonstration as though nothing had happened -- let's see the Thunderbirds try that!

Barely three years after the Four Horsemen first flew, they broke up as the four pilots were sent overseas to different squadrons or left the service. There was a lot of support for the team from Lockheed and the airlift community, but the C-130 was simply too valuable to the airlift mission to spare it for demonstration duty.

Pretty sure the C-17 community has demo representation. Lately though no one is demoing anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ftrooppilot (Post 1475633)

Even Bernie Fisher earned his MOH in an old prop driven A1. I need to research; did any "jet' fighter pilot earn a MOH for inflight actions during Vietnam ? I'm aware of Lance Sijan and others who earned the MOH for actions as a POW.

Merl Dethlefsen is one. I think there may be others. I don't recall.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucky8888 (Post 1476375)

Merl Dethlefsen is one.

Merl Dethlefsen was out of the 354th and Leo Thorsness was out of the 357th. Awesome citations from both of them.

Medal of Honor Recipients - Vietnam War

Medal of Honor Recipients - Vietnam War

Side note: I believe Dethlefsen got an SR-71 ride in '74 due to his VIP status.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuggyU2 (Post 1481932)

Side note: I believe Dethlefsen got an SR-71 ride in '74 due to his VIP status.

Flight # 298 VIP on 24 June 1975. (Got the list) ;)

[QUOTE=AF2Navy;1476317]hindsight.....based on your comments, they are still feeding that strong Kool-Aid at the AETC bases, what a shame.

Only vipers and hornets? Sounds like you've never heard of the Four Horsemen.

Four Horsemen return

[/QUOTE]

AF2NAvy, lighten up man, the link was posted halfway in jest. I'm not feeding anyone any Kool-Aid. I could care less what people's flying desires are. For me, heavy flying was incredibly boring and not what drew me to military aviation in the first place. I'm happy to fly something that goes upside down again. Primary trainers are not beneath me, which is to say I enjoy my job and that's all that matters. Diffrn' strokes for diffrn' folk.