F-15 Fleet grounded

[m50a1ontos]

To add something back on topic here...

In the late 90's when I was in the Navy our Hornets were all grounded because a Hornet on the Independence had a main mount failure on the Cat stroke. It took a few weeks to get the "failing" piece replaced fleet wide and the Navy Lawn Dart was back in the air KEEPING THE PEACE.

I'm surprised Boeing did not try and Blame it on Mac-Doug.

Tim

Oh yay...I remember that fluster cuck. nothing like 12 drop checks in two days on the flight deck just before pulling into Pearl after a Wespac (Kitty Hawk)...correction 10 drop checks, we dumped a bird off HK and torched the centerline bulkhead after a NLG wheel grenade-ex and a dual engine FOD on a cat stroke. War Chickens SQUAAAAAWK!

[JDK]

Oh yay...I remember that fluster cuck. nothing like 12 drop checks in two days on the flight deck just before pulling into Pearl after a Wespac (Kitty Hawk)...correction 10 drop checks, we dumped a bird off HK and torched the centerline bulkhead after a NLG wheel grenade-ex and a dual engine FOD on a cat stroke. War Chickens SQUAAAAAWK!

Also available in English?

I mean I get the general feel, but it's kinda like the neighbours fighting. You can't make out the words, but it's not good.

[Randy Haskin]

I keep wondering how you feel about the old Eagles. With the new Raptor coming online, are you anxious to fly them, will you miss the F15, wrinkles and all? I saw a Raptor at Edwards the other day, and it is a beautiful bird, but that F15 has sure seen us through some bad days. What are you guys saying about it?

An interesting question.

Without a doubt, I'm very much for the F-22. It is NOT the single-source answer to all our prayers, nor is it a perfect machine by any means. It IS, however an amazing warhorse that is amazingly capable and outclasses anything flying currently (including my jet) by a long shot.

The F-15 is a phenomenal airplane...I love it like my own wife (don't tell her that, although she probably all ready knows...). It was an amazing design in the early 70s, and the fact that it's even still relevant today is a credit to how ahead of its time it was when originally built.

It is, however, a 30 year old machine. Technology has advanced significantly in that time, and unfortunately the "rest of the world" has caught up with the capabilities that were once exclusively ours. I don't have a single fear about flying the airplane because it's "old" -- in fact some of the jets on the ramp where I'm flying currently were built less than 4 years ago!! It is a very solid airplane and I dare compare it to the B-17 (that's a little like a rockband comparing themselves to the Beatles, so I tread carefully here!) in that it can take a lot of damage and still get me home. One only needs to look at the Israeli jet that flew home without a wing or the F-15C that was "shot down" by another F-15C by accident, yet flew home just fine.



So, my concerns with the F-15 don't have anything to do with the airplane itself. My concerns all have to do with the capabilities of any potential enemies it may have to face in the future. As posted in another thread, aircraft like the SU-30 MKK and missiles like the PL-12 are very close in performance to the Eagle and the AMRAAM.

I am betting that the F-15 will continue to soldier on for years to come, just like it's older brother the Phantom II.

[m50a1ontos]

Oh yay...I remember that fluster cuck. nothing like 12 drop checks in two days on the flight deck just before pulling into Pearl after a Wespac (Kitty Hawk)...correction 10 drop checks, we dumped a bird off HK and torched the centerline bulkhead after a NLG wheel grenade-ex and a dual engine FOD on a cat stroke. War Chickens SQUAAAAAWK!

Also available in English?

I mean I get the general feel, but it's kinda like the neighbours fighting. You can't make out the words, but it's not good.

Right-o! A translation then!

"fluster cuck" switch the f and the c...

"Drop Check" Jack the aircraft up, 3 aircraft jacks required, two people to operate each jack (one pumps the handle, the other keeps the ram lock ring 1/2 inch above the seat so if the darn thing fails it only smashes a finger or two instead of crushing everybody under the jet when it falls off the jacks) 36 or so tiedown chains that have to be tensioned or slacked as the bird goes up or down. Hook two hyd power units up, cycle the gear as many times as the book or message says, inspect the bad thingy, adjust said bad thingy, cycle some more. When all is good, lower the aircraft back onto the deck and do it again to the next bird in line.

"Pearl" Pearl Harbor, we were picking up several hundred family members for the ride back to San Diego....this is called a "Tiger Cruise"

"Wespac" Western Pacific Cruise. Perth and Hobart are very nice to visit! Got inside the Lanc in Perth, got pics somewhere....

"HK" Hong Kong. VFA-97 left a Hornet on the bottom (dumped a bird) two cruises in a row either heading to or just after leaving "HK".
"Torched the centerline" "NLG grenade-ex" There was a problem with Nose Landing Gear wheel bearings from EA-6B's getting installed in Hornet NLG wheel assemblys. They are VERY similar and I beleive even the part numbers are close. When the wrong bearings are installed, the wheel explodes at high speed. Chuncks of wheel and tire FODed (Foreign Object Damage) the starboard engine which shredded the compressor section, blowing a fist sized hole in the casing. Almost plasma hot gas burnt a hole in the centerline bulkhead separating the engines. The port engine got the slag from the stbd engine and the shrapnel from the bulkhead which burnt a hole in IT'S compressor case and it puked it's guts out as the bird crossed the fantail (stern of the ship). When it stopped, most of the loose bits of both engines flew out the intakes and all over the flight deck. It were VERY ugly to clean up.

VFA-97 are the "Warhawks"....or as we called ourselves "The Warchickens" with the ensuing clucking and squawking....

[airnutz]

Oh yay...I remember that fluster cuck. nothing like 12 drop checks in two days on the flight deck just before pulling into Pearl after a Wespac (Kitty Hawk)...correction 10 drop checks, we dumped a bird off HK and torched the centerline bulkhead after a NLG wheel grenade-ex and a dual engine FOD on a cat stroke. War Chickens SQUAAAAAWK!

Also available in English?

I mean I get the general feel, but it's kinda like the neighbours fighting. You can't make out the words, but it's not good.

Right-o! A translation then!

"fluster cuck" switch the f and the c...

"Drop Check" Jack the aircraft up, 3 aircraft jacks required, two people to operate each jack (one pumps the handle, the other keeps the ram lock ring 1/2 inch above the seat so if the darn thing fails it only smashes a finger or two instead of crushing everybody under the jet when it falls off the jacks) 36 or so tiedown chains that have to be tensioned or slacked as the bird goes up or down. Hook two hyd power units up, cycle the gear as many times as the book or message says, inspect the bad thingy, adjust said bad thingy, cycle some more. When all is good, lower the aircraft back onto the deck and do it again to the next bird in line.

"Pearl" Pearl Harbor, we were picking up several hundred family members for the ride back to San Diego....this is called a "Tiger Cruise"

"Wespac" Western Pacific Cruise. Perth and Hobart are very nice to visit! Got inside the Lanc in Perth, got pics somewhere....

"HK" Hong Kong. VFA-97 left a Hornet on the bottom (dumped a bird) two cruises in a row either heading to or just after leaving "HK".
"Torched the centerline" "NLG grenade-ex" There was a problem with Nose Landing Gear wheel bearings from EA-6B's getting installed in Hornet NLG wheel assemblys. They are VERY similar and I beleive even the part numbers are close. When the wrong bearings are installed, the wheel explodes at high speed. Chuncks of wheel and tire FODed (Foreign Object Damage) the starboard engine which shredded the compressor section, blowing a fist sized hole in the casing. Almost plasma hot gas burnt a hole in the centerline bulkhead separating the engines. The port engine got the slag from the stbd engine and the shrapnel from the bulkhead which burnt a hole in IT'S compressor case and it puked it's guts out as the bird crossed the fantail (stern of the ship). When it stopped, most of the loose bits of both engines flew out the intakes and all over the flight deck. It were VERY ugly to clean up.

VFA-97 are the "Warhawks"....or as we called ourselves "The Warchickens" with the ensuing clucking and squawking....

I prefered the Ameri-Cockney PG-13 1st version...informative, but a lot less scary!

Ontos..when were you with Kittyhawk? We Op'd with her quite a few times and I visited her
once at 32nd Street..IIRC.

[APG85]

Was there ever a C-130 gronding with the whole wingspar deal, or was is caught in time cycles.

Way back in 1986ish when HC-130P 66-0211 crashed after it's outter wing departed, all C-130's with the "old" wings (prior to TCTO 1039) were grounded until they were NDI'd and then they were flown on restriction...

[JDK]

Hi m50a1ontos,
Well, I consider myself eddicated. I've noted the abbreviated version on a cue card, which I'll whip out at the next cocktail party during a slow moment...

Seriously though, thanks for elabourating - no easy days on carriers.

Cheers,

[TimAPNY]

Oh yay...I remember that fluster cuck. nothing like 12 drop checks in two days on the flight deck just before pulling into Pearl after a Wespac (Kitty Hawk)...correction 10 drop checks, we dumped a bird off HK and torched the centerline bulkhead after a NLG wheel grenade-ex and a dual engine FOD on a cat stroke. War Chickens SQUAAAAAWK!

Also available in English?

I mean I get the general feel, but it's kinda like the neighbours fighting. You can't make out the words, but it's not good.

Right-o! A translation then!

"fluster cuck" switch the f and the c...

"Drop Check" Jack the aircraft up, 3 aircraft jacks required, two people to operate each jack (one pumps the handle, the other keeps the ram lock ring 1/2 inch above the seat so if the darn thing fails it only smashes a finger or two instead of crushing everybody under the jet when it falls off the jacks) 36 or so tiedown chains that have to be tensioned or slacked as the bird goes up or down. Hook two hyd power units up, cycle the gear as many times as the book or message says, inspect the bad thingy, adjust said bad thingy, cycle some more. When all is good, lower the aircraft back onto the deck and do it again to the next bird in line.

"Pearl" Pearl Harbor, we were picking up several hundred family members for the ride back to San Diego....this is called a "Tiger Cruise"

"Wespac" Western Pacific Cruise. Perth and Hobart are very nice to visit! Got inside the Lanc in Perth, got pics somewhere....

"HK" Hong Kong. VFA-97 left a Hornet on the bottom (dumped a bird) two cruises in a row either heading to or just after leaving "HK".
"Torched the centerline" "NLG grenade-ex" There was a problem with Nose Landing Gear wheel bearings from EA-6B's getting installed in Hornet NLG wheel assemblys. They are VERY similar and I beleive even the part numbers are close. When the wrong bearings are installed, the wheel explodes at high speed. Chuncks of wheel and tire FODed (Foreign Object Damage) the starboard engine which shredded the compressor section, blowing a fist sized hole in the casing. Almost plasma hot gas burnt a hole in the centerline bulkhead separating the engines. The port engine got the slag from the stbd engine and the shrapnel from the bulkhead which burnt a hole in IT'S compressor case and it puked it's guts out as the bird crossed the fantail (stern of the ship). When it stopped, most of the loose bits of both engines flew out the intakes and all over the flight deck. It were VERY ugly to clean up.

VFA-97 are the "Warhawks"....or as we called ourselves "The Warchickens" with the ensuing clucking and squawking....

I remember the Drop Checks, There were far to many going on at once for my liking, Something about jacked up aircraft on a rolling ship never sat well with me. Then to have the gear SLAM shut and the whole aircraft shake. I was lucky and did not get volunteered to help. Those A's you guys full were some tired birds. When did you guys splash some birds? Was that before you came over to CAG-11 or after the 96/97 West-pac? I thought Vf-213 and my squadron (VFA-22) were the only making it a habit of crashing aircraft.

Tim

[Jack Cook]

Ontos..when were you with Kittyhawk?

We had a different nickname for the Hawk.
"Sh-tty Kitty"

[m50a1ontos]

Hmm....lemme think, I did two cruises with 97 on the Hawk. They dumped a bird the cruise prior to my arrival and another during my first cruise with 'em. Sorry guys....got my dates mixed up. My second cruise with 'em would have been with CAG 11 after CAG 7? (Wolfpack) decommed and we joined 11. Right after this the Kitty went to Japan and we went to the Chucky-V (Carl Vinson)

I remember 213....and they (almost) flew a Turkey into the fantail. Half of it stopped on the angle and the rear half went in the drink....also remember a Prowler played submarine and the biggest part they found was part of the rudder.

So my total time on the Sh!tty Kitty was two cruises and workups between 1994 and 1997

Yeah, our old "A"s were weary....and contrary to Supply's thinking were NOT "just like a C model" Fortunatly we flew while everybody else was dealing with Mac/Boeings Technical Directive love letters every other week

[airnutz]

Thanks Ontos and thanks for the details of your not-so-average days aboard Kittyhawk.
Could you fill in a CRS blank for me? Did she normally tie-up at 32nd street but layup at Coronado for
airedale business, or was she regularly moored at Coronado when in port?
It was 31 years ago, so I'm a bit sketchy on that detail...

[m50a1ontos]

All the big carriers tied up at North Island.....they wouldn't fit under the bridge unless the mast was unstepped.

On a side note....somewhere I have a pic of "The Big E" tied up at North Island just before she got sent to the scrappers I was a kid back then with a 110 instamatic something or other.

[airnutz]

All the big carriers tied up at North Island.....they wouldn't fit under the bridge unless the mast was unstepped.

On a side note....somewhere I have a pic of "The Big E" tied up at North Island just before she got sent to the scrappers I was a kid back then with a 110 instamatic something or other.

Ahhh..thanks. That detail was bugging me today after I posted, thanks for clearing my cobwebs, and
the detail of Coronado Bridge.
We Op'ed with Kittyhawk and Ranger quite bit, and with Enterprise once.
They were awsome as they slowly passed by us at the low docks at Ballast Point as they entered San Diego Harbor.
A small town on water with all the infrastructure of a city...and a Navy air base to boot...awsome power projection...heady
stuff for a 19 or 20 year old kid to wrap his mind around!

110 stuff..yeah they were trendy then..a camera you could carry in your shirt pocket...too bad all my stuff from
that period is in 110, but the imaqes are there nonetheless..tho grainy!


Edit: Oops..sorry all, the Navy has invaded the F-15 thread...

[John Ceglarek]

Back on target....Randy, has there been any more news regarding the Eagles? Did they ground the -E Strike Eagles too, or just the air-to-air birds?

Thanks,

John

[Mark Nankivil]

All have been grounded though those in the war zones are available if needed:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washi ... _of_f_15s/

Foreign users (Israel and Japan) have also grounded their Eagles.

I have a pic of 0034 from a few years ago - will resize and post later....

Enjoy the Day! Mark