Originally Posted by
Sleeve Wing
Sometimes it's nice to talk about it instead of bottling it up, isn't it ? Thanks for the opportunity. PDAR.
My recollections are mainly from years ago when we were just young kids straight out of training. Some of the transition era of jet aircraft had a number of "nasty habits" to consider. There were drills but occasionally these were not effective.
In those cases it was mainly that the airframes and engines of the time were just not up to the job expected of them.
Among a few of the problems, one could talk about seats that didn't fire on request when another known weakness showed itself and the aircraft had to be abandoned. Complex hydraulic systems operating at very high pressures and electrical systems that failed and caused further system losses, particularly in bad weather, were commonplace.
Early days of AAR resulting in broken hoses ; underwing stores mounted on dubious WW2 and Korean War load carriers designed for piston and turboprop aircraft; landing gear with more limited life than expected. I reckon I lost about 15 friends in such circumstances, sometimes two at a time. I stiff-upper-lipped it up for years but the last time I visited a certain graveyard, on my own fortunately, I just blubbed uncontrollably.
Since then, in later life, a further 6 are no longer with us mainly due to operating at the extent of the aircraft envelope.
I sometimes just feel guilty that, besides missing their company, I myself have come through it.
I have frightened myself a number of times since, both by overconfident stupidity or failures that I have dealt with and walked away. I have done many years of maintenance flight testing that could be construed as asking for it. I have also done a lot of what could be described as exploring the edges of the envelope as an instructor teaching advanced handling. Fortunately, with such experience and by taking their deaths to heart and trying to avoid getting too enthusiastic, I am still here.
Yes. Fortunately God has been with us, It is strange to me, but as I get older, I remember more of the ways I nearly died..