Pictures while using frequent flyer miles

[NM5K]

You can modify quite a few things with them. There is a PMDG menu that is brought up through the CDU.
It lets me select or delete all the various features. That way you can set up for any particular airline
to match the equipment they use. There are many pages of options.
You can even change the displays from PFD-ND to the EFIS-MAP display that Southwest and Continental used
when they first started running NG's.
I never liked EFIS-MAP myself. Thought it was too cluttered.. I much prefer PFD-ND.
You can also choose between the older Honeywell MCP, or the newer Collins MCP.
Analog backups, or the newer integrated backup instrument, etc, etc, etc, etc.. Almost everything
can be tweaked to what you want. And you can also add a short field package, but I've never used it yet,
even on my little BBJ 600. ETOPS or not too.. The SWA 800's are, the 700's not.. Also all can be had
with or without winglets. But the only one I run that does not have winglets is the 600. All the others I use
do have them.
The only one I run that uses the integrated backup is the 900 that I was using on the DCA video.
It's autoland fail operational, and has rollout guidance. All the SWA jets I run are fail passive, but
SWA does not even do autolands at all, so it doesn't matter.. They can land Cat III hand flying with the HGS,
which all SWA jets have. So..all SWA jets use the analog backups. Southwest was really hardcore manual flying
for many years. And when they first got the 700's, they flew them just like the 300's so everyone would stay
on the same page training wise. Any Southwest pilot can fly any of the planes they use. "300,500,700,800"
They didn't even use VNAV until they recently switched to RNP. But since the switch they are using the automation
to save fuel, so lots of LNAV/VNAV and autothrottle now. They were hand throttlers for a long time before the
switch.

[NM5K]

On a slightly different tangent.. I've been doodling with this plane for a while. Sometimes you want
to get out of the bus, and into something a little sportier.

Been adding various mods and tweaks to this plane. It's much improved vs the original FSX Acceleration F/A 18.
The HUD has been greatly improved and more realistic, the flight model has been tweaked, various mods for
Carrier use have been added, etc, etc..
Anyway, I have been using the improved HUD for a good while, but it never really had the right tint to me..
Or at least compared to the real ones I watch on u-toob.. The real ones have a reddish purplish rose tint.
The one I had that was closest was grey, and no color to it. So I made a new HUD glass for it. Tried various
shades, saturation, etc, and kind of came down to this one as my favorite.
A little run around the block at Ellington, which is next door to JSC, and the usual airfield the astronaut buoys use.
To celebrate 45 years since landing on the moon, I used a NASA plane, and did a "Saturn 5" launch to about 22k,
where I came straight back down. And then a high alpha flyby to stir all the birds up.
And back to the barn..
Have several versions of this.. Navy, Marines, two NASA versions, etc..
Astronaut buoy paint on this one. The other I have is the dark HARV plane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhOW5eH ... redirect=1[/video]

[adrianspeeder]

Do you simulate the jet breaking at all? Are there fun maintenance vs. pilot simulations?

One month deployed down, one night off, and with 100.4 flying hours on the books, it's been non stop action.

http://youtu.be/UcaCqVsLqlo

Lots of bits and pieces come together to get bleed air from the APU, a ground equipment huffer cart, or cross bleeding from another motor wound up at power reverse to spin the starter to spin the motor to life. Sometimes that doesn't all come together, but Pratt & Whitney thought of everything, so all ya need is a speed handle to manually move the starter control valve, and let 'er eat!

Adrianspeeder

[NM5K]

Yes, you can set failures, and also do maintenance, and have maintenance failures.
But I haven't bothered with that too much. I have had a few minor failures since I've
been running it. But nothing major. I think the worst was a engine vibration warning one
time.. And I've had 2-3 pressurization issues, and a couple of door seal warnings.
Had a wheel well overheat once when doing a bunch of touch and go's.
You can set for programmed, random, and service based failures, and can set each section
on it's own if you want..

Failures Master List:
The following failures are possible:
APU: (2)
• APU Bleed Air
• APU Severe
Automatic Flight: (4)
• Autothrottle
• Flight Control Channel A
• Flight Control Channel B
• Autoflight System
Doors: (7)
• Air Stair Hatch
• Forward Cargo Door
• Aft Cargo Door
• Door 1L
• Door 1R
• Door 2L
• Door 2R
*Note: Door failures can manifest either as indication problems or
as an actual failure of the door seal with associated impact on the
pressurization capability of the airplane. The QRH will help you to
determine exactly which you are dealing with.
Electrical: (29)
• Integrated Drive Generator 1
• Integrated Drive Generator 2
• IDG 1 Drive
• IDG 2 Drive
• APU Generator
• Main Battery
• Main Battery Charger
• Aux Battery
• Aux Battery Charger
• Static Inverter
• Transformer Rectifier 1
• Transformer Rectifier 2
• Transformer Rectifier 3
• AC Transfer Bus 1
• AC Transfer Bus 2
• AC Main Bus 1
• AC Main Bus 2
• AC Galley Bus 1
• AC Galley Bus 2
• AC Standby Bus
• AC Ground Service Bus 1
• AC Ground Service Bus 2
• DC Bus 1
• DC Bus 2
• DC Standby Bus
• DC Ground Service Bus
• DC Hot Battery Bus
• DC Hot Battery Bus Switched
• DC Battery Bus
*Note: Failure of any electrical bus will cause equipment assigned to
that bus to fail. Additionally, failure of any generating or backup power
capability will have a realistic impact in terms of load shedding
behavior and equipment sustainability. Survival loads supported by the
standby electrical system will accurately deplete power from the
battery/ies providing a realistic timeframe for standby power support.

Engines: (24)
• Electronic Engine Computer 1
• Electronic Engine Computer 2
• Engine 1 Severe Damage
• Engine 2 Severe Damage
• Engine 1 Flame-Out
• Engine 2 Flame-Out
• Engine 1 EGT Exceedence
• Engine 2 Exceedance
• Engine 1 Oil Leak
• Engine 2 Oil Leak
• Engine 1 Oil Pressure
• Engine 2 Oil Pressure
• Engine 1 Oil Temperature
• Engine 2 Oil Temperature
• Engine 1 Vibration
• Engine 2 Vibration
• Engine 1 V1-Cut
• Engine 2 V1-Cut
• Engine 1 Vr-Cut
• Engine 2 Vr-Cut
• Engine 1 V2-Cut
• Engine 2 V2-Cut
• Engine 1 Reverser
• Engine 2 Reverser
Fire: (7)
• Engine 1 Cowl Overheat
• Engine 2 Cowl Overheat
• Engine 1 Fire
• Engine 2 Fire
• APU Fire
• Forward Cargo Fire
• Aft Cargo Fire
*Note: Failure to handle engine fire events can have follow-on
consequences.
Fire Protection Systems: (22)
• Engine 1 Fire Loop A
• Engine 2 Fire Loop A
• Engine 1 Fire Loop B
• Engine 2 Fire Loop B

• APU Fire Detection System
• Forward Cargo Fire Loop A
• Aft Cargo Fire Loop A
• Forward Cargo Fire Loop B
• Aft Cargo Fire Loop B
• Wheel Well Fire Detection Loop
• Bottle 1 Squib Left
• Bottle 1 Squib Right
• Bottle 2 Squib Left
• Bottle 2 Squib Right
• APU Bottle Squib
• Cargo Bottle Squib Forward
• Cargo Bottle Squib Aft
• Left Engine Fire Bottle Discharged
• Right Engine Fire Bottle Discharged
• APU Fire Bottle Discharged
• Cargo Fire Bottle 1 Discharged
• Cargo Fire Bottle 2 Discharged
Flight Instruments: (10)
• Display Unit Left Outboard (Captain’s PFD)
• Display Unit Left Inboard (Captain’s ND)
• Display Unit Upper (Engine Display)
• Display Unit Lower (Lower Center Display)
• Display Unit Right Inboard (FO’s ND)
• Display Unit Right Outboard (FO’s PFD)
• DEU 1
• DEU 2
• Standby ADI
• RMI
Fuel: (12)
• Left Forward Fuel Pump
• Left Aft Fuel Pump
• Center Left Fuel Pump
• Center Right Fuel Pump
• Right Forward Fuel Pump
• Right Aft Fuel Pump
• Fuel Leak
• Crossfeed Valve
• Left Spar Valve
• Right Spar Valve
• Left Engine Valve
• Right Engine Valve
*Note: The location of a fuel leak will be random, requiring the
crew to use the QRH procedure to identify and resolve the leak.
Hydraulics: (15)
• Engine Driven Pump (EDP) 1
• Engine Driven Pump (EDP) 2
• Electric Motor Driven Pump (EMDP) A
• Electric Motor Driven Pump (EMDP) B
• Standby Hydraulic Pump
• Engine Driven Pump (EDP) 1 Leak
• Engine Driven Pump (EDP) 2 Leak
• Electric Motor Driven Pump (EMDP) A Leak
• Electric Motor Driven Pump (EMDP) B Leak
• Standby Hydraulic Leak
• Electric Motor Driven Pump A Overheat
• Electric Motor Driven Pump B Overheat
• A SYS Quantity Refill Required
• B SYS Quantity Refill Required
• Standby System Quantity Refill Required
Ice/Rain Protection: (20)
• Captain’s Pitot Heat
• Left Elevator Pitot Heat
• Left Alpha Vane Heat
• Temp Probe Heat
• Left Wing Anti Ice Valve
• Left Engine Anti Ice Valve
• Left Side Window Heat
• Left Front Window Heat
• Left Side Window Overheat
• Left Front Window Overheat
• FO Pitot Heat
• Right Elevator Pitot Heat
• Right Alpha Vane Heat
• Aux Pitot Heat
• Right Wing Anti Ice Valve
• Right Engine Anti Ice Valve
• Right Side Window Heat
• Right Front Window Heat
• Right Side Window Overheat
• Right Front Window Overheat
Miscellaneous: (10)
• Transponder 1
• Transponder 2
• TCAS System
• Terrain Detection System Fail
• Integrated Standby Flight Display
• Left Clock Fail
• Right Clock Fail
• Brake Overheat Cooling
• Brakes Failed
• Nose Tire Balance
*Note: Brake Overheat Cooling allows the user to reset normal
brake temperatures after a brake overheat event. It is not possible
to overheat the brakes without appropriate pilot braking action.
*Note 2: Nose tire imbalance can be caused by excessive wear
on the nose gear tires, or by touching down nose wheel first. If you
hear a very loud (and annoying!) rattle as the nose lifts off during
takeoff, you likely need to service the nose tires!)

Navigation: (19)
• Flight Management Computer Left
• Flight Management Computer Right
• Inertial Reference System Left
• Inertial Reference System Right
• Inertial Reference System Display Unit
• GPS Left
• GPS Right
• Computer Display Unit Left
• Computer Display Unit Right
• ILS Left
• ILS Right
• VOR Left
• VOR Right
• DME Left
• DME Right
• ADF Left
• ADF Right
• Radio Altimeter Left
• Radio Altimeter Right
Pneumatic: (12)
• Engine 1 Bleed Over Temp
• Engine 2 Bleed Over Temp
• Engine 1 Bleed Over Pressure
• Engine 2 Bleed Over Pressure
• APU Bleed Valve
• Engine 1 Bleed PRSO Valve
• Engine 2 Bleed PRSO Valve
• Left Bleed Duct Leak
• Right Bleed Duct Leak
• Isolation Valve
• Left 9th Stage Bleed Valve
• Right 9th Stage Bleed Valve

Pressurization: (2)
• Pressure Hull Integrity
• Pax Oxygen Masks Deployed

I think that's all of them separately.. And doo-doo runs downhill, so if you have failures and fail to
deal with them, they can cause even further failures down the chain.
Most of the time I start off the APU, but you can connect to ground air and power also. Also
ground air conditioning. I know SWA uses the APU on the ground a lot less than they used to.
Mainly just for start now at most airports.

[NM5K]

Ran into this.. a C-17 as a people hauler.. Coming back from Afghanistan.. They look kinda tuckered out..

http://photography.nationalgeographic.c ... f4507166=1

[adrianspeeder]

Oh yes, my second and third deployments were nothing but moving pax. With the sidewall and onboard stored centerline seats set up, we can haul 118. What you see in the picture are actually three rows of airliner seats bolted to a pallet loaded in the ADS positions 1 through 7. Bumps the number up to 155.

Adrianspeeder

[adrianspeeder]

1st FCC Stage (OOTH 2014) - Workin' in, above, and around the sandbox on my first deployed flying stage.
001 - Home sweet shipping container home. For sure much much better than a tent.

002 - "Hey Chief!" Yeah? "This fell off the jet all by itself..." Why you *@(!(#*&@^....

003 - Worked on this ole girl a few times in the past, but finally got to crew 'er. Ran damn good too, but they've had 20 years to work out the kinks...

013 – Desert sunrise and the heat is already cranking above 110.

022 – You load 16 tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.

023-025 – Hero Shot!


029-032-034-035 – Roxanne. You don’t have to turn on the red light!




037 – Contract freight dawgs bringing the good stuff for us to haul into Afghanland.

040 - Dubai World International runway 12.

045 - Dubai World International tower.

051 - Chasin' that hot sun.

053 - Northern Afghanistan mountains.

056 – ‘Murica.

061 – I’ve been livin’ on the wrong side of Memphis.

062 - Persian Gulf sunset.

071 – Team America. [censored] Yeah.

[adrianspeeder]

072 – Team America. [censored] Yeah!



073 – Tug life.



074 - Brakes released, clear to tow. Copy that, we're on the move.



079 – Omani horse/camel racing track.



089 - Oil well fire. It's just a choochin'!



093 – You left your spoilers armed ya noodle!



104 - Block 15, non COSA, legacy color weather radar, no forward printer, and confused all the younger people on how to AERO-I. What penalty box has Chucktown been keepin' you in the last few years to not get updated? 022 - Camp Bastian Afghanistan. You call? We haul. Fits through the door? Chain it to the floor.



106 – Boom.



108 - Southern Afghanistan mountains.



111 – My dad always had a towel around his neck. Hot as this place is, it’s a handy item.



120 – The 230 dirty!



122 – Sent the copilot in for smoothies!



125 – “We got guns and ****!”



129 - "Down there is the field where I grow my [censored]. As you can see it is barren, so henceforth, no [censored] to give."



131 - "Yay! I did a maintenance!"



133 - CHEEZEBURGER!!!



136 - Flag flight in combat heavy airlift for 2014-09-11. This morning as the 9/11 sun rose across the wings of my C-17, I realized I'm just a tiny puzzle piece doing what I'm good at to keep the BS of this God forsaken land of sand from ever getting across the ocean again. Ya'll have a great day. 'Murica.



138 – Best launch crew ever!



143 - Ready to ride out on a Mission Recovery Team like in the good ole days.



147 - Hangle of the dangle.

[adrianspeeder]

153 – Stealth C-17.



156 - Edge of one crappy sand land to a different kind of crappy sand land.



158 - Gettin sporty out here in split axis.



162 – This is war ole son!



163 - 2 mission computers, one fuel quantity computer, one MJP, one pilot seat, one wiring repair, one pin replacement, two software loads, one database load, and a partridge in a pear tree.



164 - Ole Balls 4 had been broken for four days straight stranded at Al Maktoum International. No one’s fault sent there to fix it, but every take off attempt cropped up a new non flyable failure. While funny for a day or two, it seemed to have about the same amount of mechanics in Dubai trying to get this one airplane off the ground as our deployed location stretched thinner working the remaining functioning tails. Day five was heading in the same direction when the maintenance group commander knocked on my shipping container turned very nice bedroom’s door.
“Sgt Fargo, how are you tonight?”
“Evenin’ Ma’am. Sorry, I just fell asleep. What’s going on?”
“I just talked to the ADO, and he’s good with it if you are good with it…”
Never a good start to a sentence I thought.
“…But can you go get balls 4 and bring it back no matter what it takes.”
“I thought they had it fixed?”
“It just broke again.”
“When’s the next jet passing through there for me to ride along on?”
“Two pilots and a load are going to fly you there now. Gas them up when you get there, send that jet back, and then Balls 4 is your new home until it’s ready to return.”
“Do you mind if I take some, “Extra parts?””
“What do you need?”
Two pallet positions of every stinkin’ computer, component, and specialized tool that can make or break a C-17 in the middle of nowhere was hand loaded shortly thereafter. Aerial port wanted nothing to do with manifesting non TACC tasked cargo, so we went around them and did it ourselves.
“Ok Cap’n, wake me when we get there.”
“You’ll make sure we take off before you go get wrapped in Balls 4 right?”
The aircraft commander of my ride was worried about being stuck himself leaving after losing his FCC, but it was a great jet to start with, and I had a perfect record of getting every jet I crewed off the ground without having to call in extra help. His worries ended up unfounded with a no-frills departure after I filled up his Jet A1, unloaded my hoard of spare parts, and packed baggage carts to get them moved to Balls 4’s lair of despair.
Cheese and crackers people, it’s just an airplane of nuts and bolts built with parts by the lowest bidder. All week everyone had referenced this parked jet with a mythical aura that it can’t be fixed.
“Will we need Boeing?”
“How long will it be broken?”
“Will Balls 4 replace 90-534 for the title, “Christine”?”
No. Let’s get to work. For all the buildup, it was pretty straight forward to troubleshoot, isolate, and quickly repair everything in a shift or so with all the stuff I brought. I sent all the extra mechanics home on a nearby C-17 that was heading back, and called TACC to alert the crew that was in a hotel downtown.
“She’s ready to go. Send me my crew.”
I remember that call at about 2200ish local, and because I’ve fallen for TACC’s tricks before, I noted the initials RC. It should take them an hour to get checked out, through customs, and out to the airplane. I had the preflight updated, and fuel in the tanks, so we should make midnight chow at home no problem. What a time to take a short nap in the copilot’s seat, and… …And the sun beating through the windshield startled me awake. Who? What? Where? Huh? The [censored]? Watch shows 0500 in the morning, and tank 3 is missing about 3,000 lbs of gas. The crew was supposed to be at the jet hours ago, and I have to pee! I call up TACC, and ask about the crew for Balls 4.
“We’re waiting to alert the crew when XOCL says the jet is repaired.”
Face palm.
“It’s good to go. Is RC still on shift? No? Oh well. Send me my crew.”
This could have all been avoided if I had any of the stranded crew’s phone numbers, but since I didn’t start with them, the info wasn’t in my phone. Amazingly through some modified magic of the system of sitting alert in Charlie, to an instant Bravo, to a crew bus they happily showed up ready to ride. Preflight pass, preloaded flight plan checked for a fifth time, walkaround complete, and right at engine start…
“BEEEEP. Master Caution. FUEL QTY FAIL.”
Tank 2 shows those lovely dash’s from a Multiplex Junction Probe rearing it’s weakness at the exact wrong time. Go to B channel? Nope. Reset computer? Nope. Reset computer again? Nope. Transfer all the gas from two other tanks to wet and cool the probe? Nope. Well friends, this sucks, but I can actually fix it with my hoard of spare parts. One small problem though as this is the only avionics component that requires an In-Process Inspection to be signed off before continuing the job of replacement. Were we getting shot at? No. Were we in a safe place? Yes. Was there another C-17 coming through later that day that could bring along an avionics minion to legally get the signature of a corrected by if I sign the IPI’s and red X? Yes. We’ll go with that plan, but I still had to call TACC, and make the ever-common statement of, “Balls 4 is broken again.”
“What is the part number, TO, figure, and index of what you need for the repair?”
“I actually have one on hand.”
“What career field mechanic do you need for the repair?”
“I’m actually an AFIN 7 level by trade.”
“Why are you calling, and not fixing the airplane?”
Now this is where the Aircraft Commander can make or break a relationship with a below the liner flying crew chief. Thankfully she was a good one, also listening to the call on headset, and broke into the conversation.
“The FCC has not had adequate rest in weeks. We’ll go back to the hotel, wait for an assist to show up later today, they together can make the repair on top of the wing, then we’ll depart tonight. He says it can be safely fixed in under an hour, so that’s what we’ll do.”
TACC stumbled over their words a bit, agreed to the plan, and I was indebted to one of my new favorite A codes to ever fly with. By this point of the deployment, we as a detachment were moving more equipment out of Afghanistan than I’ve ever seen moved at once. It was an amazing airlift achievement with 9 C-17s, 18 sets of pilots and loadmasters, but only 4 flying crew chiefs. A glitch in the matrix, and in my opinion an oversite in the rules, does not hold the FCC to crew rest rules afforded to pilots and loadmasters. As a consequence, myself and three other FCC partners were on average only having 5 hours off between a landing and then alerting with the next crew. In the course of three months I had racked up over 600 hours airborne. By no means was I complaining, but the chance for a day in a Dubai 5 star hotel with an in room hot tub sounded great. The room looked down on the Palm Island, had a great bed, enjoyable dinner.



166 - Downtown Dubai. Vegas of the middle east.



168 - Beats the hell out of a tent.



169 - Gotta love a palm tree shaped island view.



170 – Two days of hard work fixing a plane that was broke down in the desert for over a week and all I get is this tee shirt.



184 - Let’s get the fawk out. "Chalks repositioned."



194 – The man the myth the legend.



195 – Epic DO. I’d fly with her anywhere!



196 – Pilot hero shot.



197 – Loadmaster hero shot.



198 – Shower, shave, pass the [censored] out time.



201 – I always know that nose gear will lock down, but that 2 second delay after the mains gets me looking on every gear extension.



202 - All 5 foots are down and locked…



211 – I think the weather is giving us the finger.



212 – Cloud surfin’

[adrianspeeder]

213/214 – Cloud surfin’.





218 – How bout that? All this time I've been in the desert for years, and the first camels I've seen.



223 – Freight dawgs.



230 – Short final at Dubai World International.



238 – Whooooaaaa back!



241 – Never knew dead L-1011s has the same towbar connection as me.



243/244 – Hangin' at ops when I got back.





245 – Talk about a small Air Force world. After 7+ years, a deployed to the desert 413/414 reunion!



246 - Ain't Coors Lite, but still pretty good for being French.



251 – Where the Hell are we?



253/254 – I “borrowed” a 50 ton crane over from CE in the middle of the night to change a broke APU.





255/256 – The only difference between men and boys is the size of the toys.





257/258 – Way excessive, but we got ‘er done.





261 – Try as I might, I really don’t know how to caption this one.



263 – Nothin’ like the sound of a power run in the desert making a dust cloud miles deep.

[duaneo]

The fuzzy dice made me LOL. Thanks for sharing!

Cheers,
Duane

[NM5K]

Purty old 727.. Looks like a shorty 727-100 model, which the last came out in 1972. So 40+ years old.
Don't see too many around these days. Only ones running in the states are cargo planes, like Kalitta
charters, etc. Had one of those fly over the house about a year or so ago. Flew on a 727-100 once
from KMKC to KIAH back in Nov 69. No hush kits in those days, so I bet we rattled the china in the
houses under our path out of Kansas City. They were loud suckers back in the day.
BTW, one of those high clouds looked like it was giving someone the bird.. chortle..

[Ranchero50]

Good times. Should be seeing some Martinsburg WVANG script on the tails soon. They're transitioning out of the C5's.

[adrianspeeder]

267 – MX Hero shot.



268 – Newer jet, not sure on why the paint patch job.



269/271/274/276 – Crew Hero Shot









282 - Normally don't like McChord birds, and I've found this one to be quirky, but gets me back every time.



295 - 'Murica with a capital apostrophe.



310 - I often wonder how is it possible for such pretty sunrises to be above land with a history of fighting for over 4000 years, but for that moment of flight at level 340, Afghanistan is peaceful.



312 – Ya know yer at a good field with a scrapped out 727. Kinda like an ole Chevy half ton out behind the barn.



313 - From the Boeing YF14 concept the Russians came up with the Antonov AN72.



320 – Damn APU exciter failure. When our APU won’t run, it takes a lot of equipment to make this jet operate. Just like life support.



322 – First time all three of us were on the ground at the same time. Drinks!



327 – Newest jet I’ve been on. Purchased in 2010, third from the newest in the fleet.



329 – Still had that new airplane smell.



330 – We can see you, but you can’t see us.



331 - Fighting ISIS one stash at a time.



332 - Another day done, time fer a 1664. Closest I've found to Coors Lite.



336 – Sometimes you gotta pimp your ride.



337 – Science!

[adrianspeeder]

340 – Big burly man towing a big burly airplane.



342 – Rock star launch crew.



344 – I like this airplane, and that's a lot to say from me about a McChord bird. Flew 5 times in a row, and no hard breaks. She's quirky with needing resets and TLC, but other than needing a cleaning, a great tail.



346 – 1-C17A-2 dash Vargo nose tire inspection: Two round tires in accordance with two thumbs up.



347 – Wells Fargo preflight good to go.



350 – Pilot hero shot. The swagger!



353 – Helmand River Provence.



354 – Suck, squeeze, bang, blow; that’s what makes the motors go.



357 – “Obstacle ahead…”



359 – Little bitty four fans of freedom opposite direction 1000 foot separation.



361 - Hammer down big time! Locked er in 29th gear!



362 – Very last day of operations at Camp Bastion. In all total, we moved 1200 trucks and 4000 people out of there in three months. Second hardest I’ve ever worked. 45 missions at over 300 hours of C17 expeditionary combat heavy airlift all around the sandbox was one hell of a good ride. I’ve met and flown with a lot of professional pilots and loadmasters who kept the airborne time nonstop action. I’ve met and worked with a lot of the hardest working maintainers, pro supers and aerial porters who put the birds in the air no limits. On top of all that, just when I think it’s a short list of new ways how I can see this aircraft break, the bitch comes up with new ways to make the pilots yell, “Chief we got a problem...” I’m quite humbled to have been able to return to base 45 times on time with no recoveries required, and still had time to squeeze in on mission recovery for someone else’s broken bird.



366 – LAST HAUL



370 – This clock made me laugh. Should have a C5 on the hour hand.



363 – Halfway home in Germany. Coors light never tasted so good after a stay in the sandbox.



364 - Warstash is gone along with a three month hippy hairdo.