An Odd Day's Flying

[99 Change Hands]

I was looking something up in my logbook last night when I came upon a day’s flying that I had completely forgotten about. In December 1983 I flew from Marham in a Tornado GR1 and had a hydraulic failure soon after take-off which led to us taking the runway 24 RHAG. I then went night flying with a different aircraft and a different pilot and had a further hydraulic failure which led to a runway 06 RHAG engagement. I think we had probably put the 24 RHAG out of service and, presumably, the tailwind was within limits for us to use the other one.

I didn’t do that many RHAG engagements in my time so two in one day at both ends of the runway was something rather out of the ordinary.

So, what was your oddest day at work?

[Boudreaux Bob]

Getting shot down twice in one Day stands out as probably one of the most interesting single Days of my helicopter career.:uhoh:

[Genstabler]

That's the end of this thread then!!!

[NutLoose]

ROFL..... :E

[Treble one]

Would you care to elaborate BB? I'm pulling up a chair....

[Rosevidney1]

One frightening event a day is quite enough for most people!

[Mogwi]

Did my first ever night deck landing on HM boat - after shooting down two enemy Skyhawks! Oh, and they kept the bar open for me.

[Tashengurt]

This has all the makings of an epic thread!


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[flynavysomerset]

Nov 16, 2001.....

AM - Trip 3 first SHAR solo :)
PM - Trip 4 first Martin Baker let down post engine failure during 1st ramp take-off :bored:

1 year to the day, double Hyd failure at STO = High Speed Abort :rolleyes:

How I miss the old girl

FNS

[Boudreaux Bob]

In a Land Far Away, in a Time best forgotten, young Bob suffered from a malady common to those who are not in touch with their own Mortality. This is commonly found amongst the young of the Male of the Species especially after putting on an Olive Green Tee-Shirt said to be bullet proof.

The first time was simple. Weather deteriorated in the middle of a 105mm Howitzer Battery Move. As there was a limited choice of routings between two points in a valley capped by cloud, we allowed ourselves to become predictable.

The Locals, objecting to all the noise and flyovers pointed a 7.62 Machine Gun skywards and fired off a long belt of ammo. With my cooperation, routing directly overhead their location they scored well for the Home Team.

I parked at a safe place which happened to be nearly under the Nose not at all far from the hostile locals. We got the Bird into a flyable state and went home to swap horses.

In my unit, when it was your day to fly, you flew.

Upon swapping horses we went oop north to a new place and went back to work. I did all my assigned tasks and being a good neighbor offered to help out the competition.

This time Fate, Luck, Statistics, and pure damn propinquity and a proper AAA gun crew conspired to divert me from my appointed rounds.

A .51 Cal entered cockpit and exited stage right taking one of the Pedals out from under my Foot. That theft and the resulting damage caused a rather nice fire as the Hydraulic Fluid burned off while being fanned by the inflowing air from where the Chin Bubble had once been. As I have remarked in the past, even .51 Caliber bullets making their way through your environs holds small candle to other things that crop up in their wake.

We are not talking "Smoke in the Cockpit" here.

In the end, as we were unable to locate a suitable landing spot due to being in cloud over a mountainous jungled area, we endured the fire until it burnt itself out when the Hydraulic fluid emptied itself and other damage and made a GCA back to our takeoff point.

It was the best GCA I ever flew.

Bob was in full embrace of his own Mortality at the end of the Day.

One question lingers, why can I not be as lucky when it comes to the Lottery?

[Rhino power]

My word, BB, that was quite an eventful day! :oh:

-RP

[Treble one]

I hope they bought you a beer after that.....?




Likewise BB.

[Boudreaux Bob]

No Beer but several large Bottles of Demerol!

Pain has a way of changing your mind about drug use.:oh:

Actually was offered a Beer as I was leaving the Hospital in Japan headed to another Hospital back in the USA. I managed to get about half of it down.

During my Convalescent Leave I got caught up and then some!

[Madbob]

Great story BB.

I hope you made a full recovery from your burns. I bet you always flew subsequently with your sleeves rolled down and gloves on! I was always impressed by Brig Gen Spruance's lectures on his own experience which I guess you will have seen/heard about.....

MB

[Toadstool]

Great flying BB.

Seem to be a trend in our helicopter pilots, brave and always there to help out those on the ground.

We owe you a beer to replace those you drank when you returned home. :D

[Boudreaux Bob]

Was Spruance the Air Force T-33 Pilot who crashed into creek and was so horribly burned? If so, I was present at one of his Safety Presentations which were so well done.

I mended quite well.

The Burn Ward in Japan was an experience I never want to do again. Not so much for my personal experience which was pretty easy but for what I saw there.

Thirty Years after that time I while flying EMS I helped push a Burn Patient into the Receiving Hospital and upon entering the "Tub Room" I experience what is now commonly called a "Flashback". The sights and sounds of such suffering by those who were seriously burned as they were being treated will stay with me forever.

Nomex works for very short duration exposure or flash fires and is not designed to be fireproof.

Gloves can be burned off your hands as well as the Nomex. That is why I prefer all Leather gloves such as the RAF issue instead of the kind the US Military issue that are part leather and part nomex.

Anywhere there was but a single layer of Nomex I got more serious burns and where there were multiple layers such as Pockets only minor burns.

I advocate wearing gloves and boots that are above your ankles as all that hide between those two extremities can be re-treaded but your fingers and feet are critical appendages and need to be protected as best possible.

I also refuse to wear man made fabrics and only wear natural fiber clothing if not wearing Nomex. No Nylons, Polyesters, or anything like that. For our Lady pilots that rules out Panty Hose and similar items. Stick to Cotton or Wool as those will char and not melt. Long sleeves even in the Summer and always Leather Gloves.



Nomex does nothing to stop Shrapnel however.

[NutLoose]

I totally agree re nylons etc, there was a WRAF went down an emergency slide at Brize during a test and her knickers welded themselves to her bum, poor kid.

When I refuel my car even on a sweltering hot summers day, I always wear a thick cotton jacket, simple reason really, a good friend from home was involved in a flash fuel fire, and after I saw what he went through I was determined it wouldn't happen to me, it makes me wince when I see people refuelling on a hot day in a skimpy teeshirt.

[MG]

I learnt about fire last year. Burning some garden waste, I got that aircrew boredom caption and introduced an 'accelerant' (petrol!). Needless to say, it flowed back and left my hand rather badly burned. The fleece that I was wearing was destroyed, but the cotton rugby shirt just got the fleece peeled off it, a wash, and is back in the drawer. Lesson learned about man-made fibres, over natural fibres, but I really didn't need the practical demonstration. A little bit of scarring on my hand, and some restricted movement is my reminder not to be so impatient!

Yes, I am a complete tw@t!

On the subject of the topic....

Lead a hostage rescue in Africa first thing in the morning
Fly back from the beach bar that night and have an electrical fire in the cockpit.

Or....

Flying out of Split and have an engine seize on us. The spare cab then has an engine caption in exactly the same part of sky.

Ok, none of those can come close to comparing with all those above.

[Boudreaux Bob]

Toad,

Nothting to do with "Great" flying at all.

One simply must rise to the occasion when there is NO other option.

I will admit freely we did not refer to the Checklist at any point.

Goodness knows we had plenty of light to read it by.

[Madbob]

BB Ref post #16. BG Spruance was the back seater in the T.33 crash you refer to and was very lucky to survive some horrendous burns. The front seater was killed in the crash just after take-off.....

He did a lot to promote flight safety subsequently, no doubt saving many lives.

MB

[Minnie Burner]

An RN looker jumped out of a USN TA-4 a while back. The seat's rocket pack had been installed inverted. He was badly burnt through 2 layers of Nomex and cotton long johns.

[Boudreaux Bob]

MadBob,

I sat through one of his Presentations in 1974 or so, and like everyone else in the Room, was very impressed by what he had to say and more importantly was in awe by the strength of his Spirit. Despite his experience and such horrible burns, his sense of humor survived intact.

Of all the Safety Talks I have ever suffered through, his was worth every second of it if for no other reason than to have him standing before Us walking, talking, teaching, making Jokes and enjoying Life despite what he had gone through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emHSdz0nWLg

[Wander00]

some guy, some lecture - IMHO should be seen by EVERYONE who gets in an aeroplane or car. Show it in secondary schools (high schools for the colonials)

[Exascot]

Nothing brave or heroic but 9 Royals on board I think comes under an 'odd day' bracket. HRH Prince Philip in the LHS going to Germany for a family wedding. We taxied in at a German military base, there was not a sole in sight. HRH Princess Anne came onto the flight deck and says 'father, are you sure that you have brought us to the right place'. At this moment a stream of limos with an escort of 8 police motorcycles comes screaming around the side of the hangar ahead. The lead motorcyclist lost it in the turn and they all ended up in a heap on the tarmac. No one hurt but two extremely amused Royals on the flight deck.