Some Place Warmer?

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

I figured I would take a virtual vacation to Florida to think about warmth. With my luck, a cold front went through yesterday! Now it's like 60 today. I may need to go further south.

 

My approach to Jacksonville NAS was the GPS 27 circle to 32. Nice to have enough room and visibility to be set up for a right base to 32 :rolleyes:

 

Wheeler Downtown (KMKC) Kansas City, Missouri to Jacksonville NAS (KNIP) Jacksonville, Florida

 

PART 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please see PART 2

Edited April 16, 2020 by DAVIDSTRAKA

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

PART 2

 

 

Right base for runway 32

 

 

 

 

 

 

32 is a bit of a short runway

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by DAVIDSTRAKA

[Rupert]

That's a pretty long flight to be greeted by temps in the '60s and rain!!! Those prop planes, even turbo props, seem to take forever!!

 

Around 1967 I was on a military charter flight from SFO to HNL in a C-121G Super Constellation operated by SATURN airways. Their insignia included a depiction of the planet Saturn. It was oive drab, if I remember correctly, and not spelled out the way your is shown. That was the longest in the air time non-stop flight I was ever one. They even had two complete crews and were on port and starboard duty for the flight.

 

The rumor at the time was SATURN was owned by Lady Bird Johnson. Probably not true, but who cared. The flight was just way too long. Especially since we were all troops on our way back to Vietnam who had been med-evacuated earlier.

 

Michael

Edited April 16, 2020 by Rupert

[flightsimg]

Great views of the U.S. anyway! :pilot:

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

That's a pretty long flight to be greeted by temps in the '60s and rain!!! Those prop planes, even turbo props, seem to take forever!!

 

Around 1967 I was on a military charter flight from SFO to HNL in a C-121G Super Constellation operated by SATURN airways. Their insignia included a depiction of the planet Saturn. It was oive drab, if I remember correctly, and not spelled out the way your is shown. That was the longest in the air time non-stop flight I was ever one. They even had two complete crews and were on port and starboard duty for the flight.

 

The rumor at the time was SATURN was owned by Lady Bird Johnson. Probably not true, but who cared. The flight was just way too long. Especially since we were all troops on our way back to Vietnam who had been med-evacuated earlier.

 

Michael

 

You have a very interesting history and well traveled! I have never been in a commercial or even prop military for any travel. I could imagine it takes a while.

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

Great views of the U.S. anyway! :pilot:

 

Thanks Gerard!

[Rupert]

You have a very interesting history and well traveled! I have never been in a commercial or even prop military for any travel. I could imagine it takes a while.

 

While stateside we ferried a lot of CH-46s from the Boeing factory in Philadelphia back to Santa Ana California. Trying to find a hop to the east coast was probably more challenging than the ferry flights back.

 

One flight to the East we had three Ch-46s to pick up, so we flew three crews to Philly. Nothing was available but a P-3 that had just been redone at the North Island Air Base and was needed in Norfolk Va. None of us had even been inside a P-3, much less flown it. But we were all type certified in other turbo-props, both rotary and fixed wing. Other than being bigger than what we'd flown, how different could it be?

 

So we read the in-plane manuals, wrote down the relevant speeds, engine temps, etc. and then flew non-stop to Norfolk. We requested a "Straight in" to an open runway at Norfolk and were initially denied permission.

 

Then the most senior pilot in our group got on the radio and informed Norfolk that no one on that airplane had ever been inside much less flown a P-3, and certainly never landed one before. And he felt a little extra safety precautions would be a good idea for all involved, both in the air and on the ground.

 

It took a few minutes in holding pattern but they did manage to provide an open, unused runway, complete with crash crew on standby and let us land. So we landed and taxied in like we did that sort of thing every day!

 

Our C.O. back in Santa Ana even had to answer to the Pentagon about that flight. But afterwards we continued to do the same procedure anyway.

 

Sometimes war needs can even overcome Pentagon bullshit! ;) And no, I've never been inside another P3 and probably no one else on that trip has either.

 

I've always thought it was a good thing I was disabled out of the Corps. We got so used to doing things the fastest practical way instead of the military way, I'd probably have ended up with a Dishonorable Discharge at best from the non-war Marines!! :p

 

Michael

Edited April 16, 2020 by Rupert