GREAT story! Thanks for sharing.
And don't forget your own advice - don't give up until you're licked.....
Best Regards,
Snoopy
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the only time you can have too much fuel is if you're on fire...
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Maverick
Joined: Oct 11, 2002
Posts: 36
From: CYVK and/or CYYC
Posted: 2003-01-22 09:30
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That was probably the most intresting thread ever to be posted here...it actually made me Read on!
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The Liberal Party is a bunch of Deratives of Acceleration. So there. I want to scare ppl on the path at the end of 13 in CAH3.
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Duke Elegant
Joined: Nov 28, 2002
Posts: 259 Posted: 2003-01-22 12:55
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Maverick ..mmmm
Yep! Courtney Airpark...1800 feet...King Air A100...they were the days eh?
Navajo's too.
They probably wouldn't believe us.
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endless
Joined: Jan 10, 2002
Posts: 773
From: The heart of darkness
Posted: 2003-01-22 13:58
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That was indeed a good one.
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Schooner69
Joined: Oct 18, 2001
Posts: 200
From: Atlantic Canada
Posted: 2003-01-22 14:28
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Duke: one hell of a story. I'll bet there was several yards of seat cushion removed from various nether regions on the ground at Cape Cod.
Regarding the "Big C" thing: you've just reached two thousand feet; wait for the level off. You'll beat it.
God bless.
John
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FixedWing, GoldWing, FlingWing..Life is good!
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Duke Elegant
Joined: Nov 28, 2002
Posts: 259 Posted: 2003-01-22 15:15
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Thanks for the encouragement fellow Aviators.
Here's how it works.....
WE HAVE A MAN DOWN
As I was nearing the end of my last chemo I heard that a fellow Aviator had been stricken with the Big C. He was an ex F18 fighter pilot, ex Boeing Captain and then flew Invaders. He was a collegue but we weren't particularly close buddies as we were never based together.
He had a very good Cathay medical plan and I tracked him down through his mother and phoned him at a clinic in Texas. He couldn't thank me enough as I rallied support for him through e-mail and he got lots of calls.
One day he phoned me to tell me how guilty he felt that he never supported me although I was sure he gave me some thought.
I told him I had lots of friends and that he should pass support along one day....not backwards to me..to someone who needed it.
That, my friends, is how it works.
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Glideslope
Joined: May 24, 2002
Posts: 134
From: YVR
Posted: 2003-01-22 15:49
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Well said.
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Boeing Driver
Joined: Jan 06, 2002
Posts: 140 Posted: 2003-01-22 16:19
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Best of luck Duke, Go get 'em.
Cheers!
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Rudy
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 86
From: BC coast
Posted: 2003-01-22 17:43
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The Lobster story is a good one. Les told me about it a couple of years ago. I remember someone jokingly saying, "at least the lobsters got back to the water!" Les replied, "Yes that's true but what are they gonna do with their pinchers taped shut!" Everybody laughed.
Good luck with your battle Duke!
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Pratt
Joined: Oct 18, 2001
Posts: 239
From: YVR
Posted: 2003-01-22 19:38
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Great writing Duke, and best of luck.
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king air guy
Joined: Sep 08, 2002
Posts: 638
From: Calgary, AB
Posted: 2003-01-23 00:04
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Duke....that was one hell of a story, one for the books!!!
I think you missed another calling - author.
As for the Big "C", I wish you all the best. You have our hopes and prayers.
Cheers.
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Duke Elegant
Joined: Nov 28, 2002
Posts: 259 Posted: 2003-01-23 12:03
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Thanks King Air Guy...and all of you .. you all help me keep focused.
I sat down last night, fingers poised ready to share another tale but I partook a little too liberally in some "Golden Throat Charmers".
Spring 1983.
I had overstayed my visit to Australia but was still confident to get a seat on the Budworm Program. I needed the money as my many wives had shared in the booty from previous adventures.It was a six week project and big bucks. Spray pilots ,some Swiss, Americans, Chechs, poles, Aussies and South Africans to name a few.Frenchmen too. They all came to fly the TBM Avenger, a 2000HP US Navy torpedo bomber.We sprayed the whole forest of New Brunswick in formations of three at about fifty feet.In the past there had been about thirty TBM's on the job, spread out on bases with usually nine on each base.
The turns at the end of the line were like mini airshows and dangerous. Imagine pulling 17,000lbs around at 2 G's...that made the slipstream 34,000lbs....enter it and you were a smoking hole in the jungle.
I was number two to a tall, hawkfaced, old ex F104 Starfighter pilot who had an ego as big as his balls. Number three was Farrell and he was not happy with the maintainence. None of us were..hell...at a hundred bucks a trip...Shutup.
We were spraying in the hills to the North and Farrells plane was running rough. If one guy went back we all went back...."Shutup" it was hinted to him..A hundred bucks.
But he had had enough and quit leaving his plane sitting on the ramp. Frank and I were elated as we could do faster turns with two airplanes and make good dough. The competetion was brutal. Once off line we would look for another team, also calling off line and, without any calls, just push it up to METO. First team midfield on the carrier break had the right of way. We always wanted the last load of the day. It was not uncommon to duke it out in the mess shack after flying.
MORE TO FOLLOW, OVER!
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