USAF Urban Legends

maddog2840 · by **maddog2840** » 21 Nov 2008, 07:39

ATC wrote:
maddog2840 wrote:Oh damn, I answered myself...Creech AFB does not have a golf course, or base housing, or a commissary or a chapel.

...Or real airplanes to fly

True.

Q: How do Pred pilots know they're not in a simulator?
A: On "real" flights there's a fan on the dash board blowing in their faces.

Q: How can you tell veteran Pred Pilots from rookies?
A: Veterans lean into the turn.

Q: What's the number reason for students to wash out of the MQ-9 program?
A: Airsickness.

Shall I go on?

t_tail_fe · by **t_tail_fe** » 21 Dec 2008, 04:38

Ok, the pred stuff followed by the net sponsor posting a UAV radio controlled plane advert...

Priceless!

JLMeurs · by **JLMeurs** » 21 Dec 2008, 12:30

[quote="Shortcut"]"At my last base"...

Or "At my last base..." a fire fighter (or specialist somtimes) got sucked up an F-16 intake. (Actually a fireman did get sucked up when I was stationed at Homestead. But I did have a guy tell me it happened at his last base.)

This one's not an AF urban legend. It was January 1983. He was a weapons troop from Hill (421st) on a TDY to Luke. If I remember it right, his last name was Lomas. He was doing an EOR check and got too close while the pilot was running the engine up for an EPU check. He was checking in the nose gear area and the airflow grabbed his field jacket hood and pulled him in headfirst, fatally injuring him.

I was with a bigger group from the 16th who were also TDY to Luke, and did the initial engine run after the investigation was over and we stuffed the first available engine into the jet (the 421st guys had already left Luke). I'm not normally superstitious, but was feeling a little spooked. It was the first time I'd ever run a block 15, and previous F-16s didn't have Betty on board; you can imagine my surprise when I heard someone say "caution" and it wasn't the guy on the ground...

Guys from the 421st told me that the jet (81-0730) was never quite right after that, it crashed into the desert within 2 years.

Tim · by **Tim** » 29 Dec 2008, 20:25

I heard this years ago and was wondering if there was any truth to it. Maybe some of our stick actuators could answer it for me. I heard that if a crew member was forced to eject from the Phantom twice that his flying career was over. Something to do with possibility of spinal damage if forced to eject again. Any truth to that or is that just another Urban legend?

outlaw162 · by **outlaw162** » 30 Dec 2008, 02:47

I’ve got a little Phantom time and I don't think this was part of the initial course in-brief, nor did anybody ever advise me of this while I flew it. I would think just to put that kind of statement on the record might actually end up killing someone.

If I recall correctly, the Martin-Baker Mk 7 seat in the F-4 was a very powerful zero-zero seat and therefore was capable of high acceleration rates (G).

There were a number of severe back and neck injuries historically associated with the escape system, to include paralysis. I think most were due to body positioning problems, but I can’t say for sure.

I think when they put the spreader guns in the chutes they may have backed off on the rockets. The seven years I flew it, we had two crews eject with no back or neck problems. The 2 pilots went on to the 9G F-16 and did fine.

A second F-4 Martin-Baker ejection might have caused the flight surgeons to make a more thorough evaluation (to include some orthopedic work) and may have resulted in some medical disqualifications, but I don’t think it was a done deal. You're probably only talking about a handful of unlucky guys anyway. Maybe the docs had some sort of unwritten rule or secret handshake. Other than once a year, I generally tried to avoid them.

In any case, you could probably figure on being a millimeter or so shorter.

regards, OL

Tim · by **Tim** » 30 Dec 2008, 21:44

Thanx OL, I knew i could count on someone here to shed a little light on that for me. :thanks:

BTW I still think the Rhino is one of the Toughest airframes to to have flown in combat. Not to say she was sexy or anything, but she just looked to be able to bring you guys home more often that not.
P.S. I hated seeing you guys coming in when I worked in T.A. at Kadena. usually meant it was gonna be a long night.

outlaw162 · by **outlaw162** » 01 Jan 2009, 01:41

Never flew any combat, but the guys I flew with who did would certainly agree with you.

Usually anywhere I went with it I'd always try to no-chute and then button it up myself to make it as easy as possible on the TA guys in case I really needed help some day. All they needed to do the next day was give me "air on two" and stay clear of the aux air doors.

F-4 was relatively easy to turn. Ever do an F-100 saddle-back hydraulic check? Ever install a drag chute in an F-100? Both were a pain. Especially Saturday morning. :bang:

regards, OL

maddog2840 · by **maddog2840** » 01 Jan 2009, 18:41

This is more of a "I was there" rather than an urban legend but since we're talking Rhinos...

We had a pilot in the 563rd (F-4G) that was rather "short". LtCol [name withheld] had ejected and his knees impacted the canopy bow going out. Hanging in the chute he had the distinction of watching his legs twisting around at right angles at this knees.

Surgery to to reconnect his knees resulted in him losing a couple (maybe four inches) of height. Another fine example of fighting his way back into the cockpit.

If memory serves, he brought a really broken jet back rather than electing to eject.

TC · by TC » 01 Jan 2009, 23:52

Maddog, I knew a retired LTC (Rhino and Eagle Driver), who was, for a lack of a better term, "vertically challenged". His call sign was "Stump". I don't know of a back story, however (ejections, etc.). Is this the same guy?

maddog2840 · by **maddog2840** » 08 Apr 2010, 07:11

TC wrote:Maddog, I knew a retired LTC (Rhino and Eagle Driver), who was, for a lack of a better term, "vertically challenged". His call sign was "Stump". I don't know of a back story, however (ejections, etc.). Is this the same guy?

Maybe??

maddog2840 · by **maddog2840** » 08 Apr 2010, 07:15

NEW ONE

Were trading "Back in the Day" stories at work last night. Apparently, Sheppard AFB, TX had the world record for Beer consumption back in the early 70's. Guinness was going to put in the Book but the Air Force asked to excluded. Does anyone else know about this record? Was it at the NCO club, the Airman's club or the club that nobody remembers the name of?

darkvarkguy · by **darkvarkguy** » 08 Apr 2010, 14:51

I was at Sheppard for Tech School in '83 and remember hearing about the 'beer consumption record in the U.S.' at that time at the Airmen's Club. We were told that it was a continuing record every year.

Shortcut · by **Shortcut** » 08 Apr 2010, 21:35

Or "At my last base..." a fire fighter (or specialist somtimes) got sucked up an F-16 intake. (Actually a fireman did get sucked up when I was stationed at Homestead. But I did have a guy tell me it happened at his last base.)

Hay, I was there at Homestead when that happened. I jumped the intake after it happened.

dfischer · by **dfischer** » 08 Mar 2011, 19:12

I'm surprised no one has brought up the infamous square needle in the left....errr.....testicle shot in basic training yet. When I went to basic it was told to us while we were in the shot line. Got some of the guys so scared they almost cried. What a crock. Afterall, it was the right one, not the left one anyway.

discofishing · by **discofishing** » 09 Mar 2011, 00:10

You air force guys ever talk about this dude named "Jody"? The guy who is !@#$ing your wife or girlfriend while you're on TDY or deployed.

What about the juicy girls in Korea? Yall ever hear of black syphilis? In the Army, it was told that if you ever caught it, you were quarantined; meaning you stayed in Korea for the rest of your life.