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Pilots/Aviation nuts? sound off!


p-factor

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Hey, Thanks for the props on the pic. I worked for Epic for about a year, I was a flight line mechanic there. We focused on the post build/customer service/delivery aspect of the deal. Nice aircraft, fast, clean, but not refined. Had allot of issues typical of kit aircraft such as poor build quality while I was there, but that's what you get when you have a bunch of people not familiar with aircraft building them. My background is ten years in the Air Force as an engine mechanic on C-130's, now three years with my A&P, and planing on my IA this summer. I worked for L3 Comm. for a short while on a T-38 contract with the AF, then over at Epic, now at the local Bend FBO. We work everything from Cessna 152's to the Beechjet 400 (that's right, not even a 400A)and Cessna 425 we have on charter. The FBO is right next to Air Link, an air ambulance service that operates PC-12's, so I'm familiar with them, though never wrenched on one. I have however fixed a toilet on a Piaggio Avanti, one of the finer points in my career I'm sure...

 

BTW Tony D, I would fly with you anytime... as long as I get a parachute!

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KC-10 Crew chief.

 

engine.jpg

 

 

I'm sure you've been into McGuire a few dozen times then. My home airport is right under the approach to rwy 6 at KWRI. I've had a few close run-ins around the area with KC-10s, C-17s, KC-135s, and even the C-141s before they retired.

Nice blog, BTW.

 

Sorry... "journal". :-)

Edited by p-factor
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Been flying before I could legally drive and have been an owner for just the last 25 years. I guess the most interesting times were working with F16 development(C&D)and then the follow on F22. Now most flying is just being mostly retired flying around the country for fun in a Tiger (till the RV-10 gets finished). Actually it's just a lot of fun to tinker in the hanger while listening to the hand held. When the tower broadcasts the phrase "say intentions" it's funny how many people stop what they're doing to listen in on what's about to happen.

Edited by Rolling Parts
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A&P technician, graduated in '83 into an awful job market. Worked for a year at Piper dealer. Went another direction with my career (became a career counselor after 5 more years of school) but I still am nuts about aviation. I miss my time at the FBO but it was not to be.

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When the tower broadcasts the phrase "say intentions" it's funny how many people stop what they're doing to listen in on what's about to happen.

 

Only thing worse is "Say souls on board and fuel remaining in minutes...."

or "...EVERYBODY STOP! Cessna three four Echo, what are you doing!? I TOLD you to turn RIGHT on Bravo...."

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Only thing worse is "Say souls on board and fuel remaining in minutes...."

 

Yea, that is definitely one that gets your attention when on frequency!

Though I did hear a calm (yet interesting) exchange between our tower and a C172.

The 172 was convinced he was on a long final but the tower did not have him in sight.

The tower asked a series of increasingly curious questions about the view the pilot had.

You see, there was a Strategic Air Command base a little over 5 miles west of our our field that had runways in the same orientation and...

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Yea, that is definitely one that gets your attention when on frequency!

Though I did hear a calm (yet interesting) exchange between our tower and a C172.

The 172 was convinced he was on a long final but the tower did not have him in sight.

The tower asked a series of increasingly curious questions about the view the pilot had.

You see, there was a Strategic Air Command base a little over 5 miles west of our our field that had runways in the same orientation and...

 

:oops: If anyone has flown into KGEG (Spokane), Fairchild AFB is only 3-5 miles down the road, with a similar lenght runway in the same orientation. Except Spokane has an intersecting runway, so is fairly easy to distinguish.

 

On my first Stage check with our chief instructor (About 15 hours at this point), I was coming back from the north and got a traffic advisory which just so happened to be directly over where the AFB is. (Still about 15 miles out) sure enough I drifted towards the airport that I saw, never questioning the proximity of the two airfields. My instructor just watched it all happen, and asked me a couple times if I had the airport in sight. I was only about 5 miles away at this point and was tunneled towards the runway i would be dealing with...supposedly. He finally asked me what the runway numbers were to Spokane's intersecting runway. I blurted out the correct response and finally it clicked that I was looking at a single run way.

 

haha wasn't ever to the point where it was dangerous, but obviously had to re-do that stage check. I'm very thankful to that instructor that he didn't just correct me when he saw it coming probably a good 10 minutes prior. I learned a few valuable lessons about Awareness that day.

 

 

And for those who like to just sit and listen to the Radio...

 

- This JFK controller has become quite famous with the multiple situations caught thanks to LiveATC.net Edited by Globerunner513
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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, that confirms my suspicion, that you are indeed, a crazy old man... :D

 

Yeah, probably true. In my next life, I'll come back as the owner of the world's largest wrecking lot.

 

hoov, where are you located? I'd like to stop by and take a gander at that Z you have in front of the garage. Send me a PM.

 

G

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