The USS Flag Burner - Coming To A Navy Near You

Ray Mabus, Obama's Navy Secretary, has taken it upon himself to use his time in office to leave a mark on the Navy forever - kind of like a permanent underwear skid mark.

First, Mabus directed the naming of the San Antonio class amphibious support ship LPD-26 the 'USS John Murtha', after the corrupt Democratic Congressman, the same one that called our Marines in Iraq 'murderers'.

Second, Mabus had a  Lews and Clark class dry cargo ship named the USS Cesar Chavez, after the migrant rights leader - the same leader who called his time in the military the worst period of his life.  The USS Chavez was christened on Cinco de Mayo this year in San Diego.

Third, Mabus directed that a new Littoral Combat Ship, LCS-10, will be named the USS Gabrielle Giffords, after the Congressperson who was tragically shot and has retired from Congress.  I have nothing against Ms. Giffords, but she has nothing to do with the military whatsoever (except for the man she is married to), and her claim to being a 'heroic figure' was that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now, out of San Francisco comes an effort to name a new ship after Harvey Milk, the gay rights rabble rouser who was gunned down in San Francisco in 1978.  Milk had been a Navy diver during the '50s, receiving an honorable discharge after an undistinguished service period.  Milk's fervent anti-war and anti-military stance during Vietnam made it clear to everyone what his feelings towards the military were.

It is amazing to me the arrogance of Obama and his minions.  With these namings, they are making a mockery of the military.  With all the historic ships names that are currently not used, and heroic combat veterans who deserve recognition, why are these controversial military 'haters' being honored?  We don't have a USS Lexington, a Yorktown, a Saratoga afloat.  The Enterprise is about to be retired and cut up, yet there are no plans to move the name to another ship.

Just another reason to get Obama and these jerks out of power.

Hawg Slaughter

Part of Obama's Pentagon leadership's attempt to cut an incredible amount out of the defense budget has resulted in a horrendous decision to retire a third of our A-10 force.

Tha A-10 has been, arguably, our most important and effective fixed wing weapon since 9/11.  It has been indispensible during Iraq and Afghanistan, providing Close Air Support for troops on the ground.  In fact, there has been an A-10 squadron based (on a rotational basis) in Afghanistan constantly since the Taliban was originally defeated.

The A-10 is perfectly suited to such mission, its tremendous weaponry, ability to loiter over the battlefield, and redundant systems that allow it to survive battle damage that would bring down other aircraft have meant it has been a constant presence for our forces in conflict.

There are currently 348 operational A-10s, about half of those that were originally produced back in the 70s and early 80s.  Almost all of the survivors have recently been upgraded to the latest standard, the A-10C.  That, combined with a re-wing project that has just started, was projected to keep the force combat effective until 2040.

Obama's puppets in the Pentagon have decided that five squadrons currently flying the A-10 will be dissolved, and their 102 A-10Cs will be retired to the boneyard.  This will leave 246 A-10s operational.  Work to take down these squadrons has already begun, and all five are to be gone by the end of this year.  The victims are:

47th Fighter Squadron, Air Force Reserve, Barksdale AFB LA
81st Fighter Squadron, USAF, Spangdahlem AB, Germany
107th Fighter Squadron, MI ANG, Selfridge ANGB MI
184th Fighter Squadron, AR ANG, Ft. Smith AR
163rd Fighter Squadron, IN ANG, Ft. Wayne IN

The Arkansas Guard A-10s are currently deployed to Afghanistan.  When they get back, they shut down, aircraft are sent to the boneyard, and people are fired.

This represents a huge loss for the Air Force in terms of capability and experienced personnel.  It is, to be blunt, a stupid decision.

Supposedly, this action is being taken to help preserve funds for the golden goose, the F-35.  There is no replacement for the A-10 on the books, or even being considered.  F-35 proponents will try to tell you that it will replace the Hawg, but that is bullshit.  The F-35, if it is ever built in sufficient numbers, will not be capable to performing the A-10's mission.

Hopefully, a change in the US administration will lead to at least a partial reversal of this action.  It will have to take place quickly, for once the units are shut down and the aircraft are processed into desert storage, it will be too late.

A Hero Passes ...

George Vujnovich passed away on April 24, at the age of 96.

Mr. Vujnovich was an OSS intelligence agent during WWII.  (The OSS was the father of today's CIA.)

In 1944, he organized Operation Halyard, a behind enemy lines mission that rescued over 500 downed US airmen who were hiding at various locations in Serbia.  The fact the mission happened, along with the details, were lost in classified history for many years, until uncovered and documented in Gregory Freeman's 2007 book, The Forgotten 500.

Although I consider myself knowledgable about WWII, I had never heard about this mission until I read Mr. Freeman's book.  If you have an interest in the subject, I highly recommend reading the book - it is an incredible story, one that reads like fiction.

Dyess AFB Heritage Flight

I participated in the Heritage Flight at Dyess AFB this past weekend, again with Tarheel Hal.  The P-47 flew with an A-10C Thunderbolt II from Davis-Monthan AFB.  It was very cool, seeing the two generations of Thunderbolts flying in front of the crowd together.

Barksdale AFB Heritage

Had a blast this past weekend supporting the USAF Heritage Flight at Barksdale AFB.  Tuna in the P-47, coupled with Bluto and Holy in the QF-4s from Tyndall, put on a wonderful show for the crowd.  Weather was great, for the most part.

Thunderbird came up from Galveston and put on a spirited show for the crowd.

A Hero Passes ...

Col. Van Barfoot (US Army - Ret.) passed away on March 2nd, at the age of 92.

As a Sergeant fighting in Italy during WWII, Barfoot was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on May 23, 1944. Here is the writeup:

http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/2625/barfoot-van-t.php

More recently, Col. Barfoot waged another heroic campaign, when he flew our nation's flag from a flagpole in front of his house. His neighborhood HOA threatened to sue him for the display, until outcry from the public and local lawmakers shamed them into submission.

Col. Barfoot flew that flag in his front yard until just a few days before his passing.

Godspeed, Colonel ...

A Hero Passes ...

Howard Pardue, a legend in the Warbird community, has passed away. His F8F Bearcat fighter crashed on takeoff at his home field of Breckenridge, TX this afternoon. Howard did not survive.

I knew Howard, though not well. I had spent some time over dinner with him and my cousin, and at various airshows over the years. Though I was not a member of the 'pilot clique', he always treated me well.

I am stunned. This man was larger than life, one of those characters you think will live forever.

Godspeed Howard ... you will be missed.

Phantom Eye - Dayum ... That's Ugly!

Boeing rolled out its Phantom Eye unmanned aircraft for a high speed taxi test at Edwards AFB on March 10. No problems were reported.

Except, that is, it's so damn ugly.

I admit to not knowing much about this aircraft except that it is supposed to be a hydrogen powered, high altitude, long endurance test bed, and the guppy shaped mid section contains about a ton of hydrogen fuel.

I was trying to think of other aircraft or combinations of aircraft that would approximate what this thing looks like, and I failed. It's just yuck ...

Photo credit NASA.

Here's a link to a Boeing produced video of the taxi test ...

http://bcove.me/cq9a80xx

Nice Day At The Local Airpatch

A nice sunny day out at NAS Ft. Worth recently produced some very nice aircraft. Pretty busy day, lots of traffic.


Lockheed-Martin flew two F-35As on test flights. 09-5001 and 09-5002 were already carrying the markings of their soon to be owners, the 58th Fighter Squadron, 33rd Fighter Wing, at Eglin AFB.



One of L-M's chase Vipers, F-16D 90-0848, provided escort duties during the test flights.




L-M is in the midst of a production run of F-16s for the Morroccan Air Force. 08-8015 was beating up the field on pre-acceptance test flights.



The home based US Army C-12 outfit was conducting normal training flights, with three different models of the C-12 being airborne.



A pair of 64AS, 57Wg aggressor F-16s were present. The Nellis AFB based aircraft were in helping the home based 457th Fighter Squadron during an ORI. 86-273, above, is carrying a beautiful arctic camoflage scheme, applied while the jet was based up in Alaska for aggressor duties. 84-1301, below, is an old friend. I have photographed this aircraft now with 3 different units - the 64th AS (current owner), the Ft. Worth based 457th FS, and the Houston based 111th Fighter Squadron.



A grey on grey camoflage scheme cupled with a Red Star on the tail on this VFA-204 F-18A+ Hornet denotes its main mission as an aggressor. The jet is based at NAS New Orleans, was apparently in to do some local missions out of Ft. Worth.




A nice surprise was this Dyess AFB based B-1B, which dropped by for a touch-and-go approach.

B-29/X-1 Flying Model

This link will connect you to a video of an RC controlled B-29/X-1 model, and its flight.

I am not a fan of RC models - they sound obnoxious, like a flying weed whacker. Some people who fly them are OK, some of them are kind of like refugees from Big Bang Theory.

In any case, what this fellow built is astounding, and he should be applauded for his efforts.

http://users.skynet.be/fa926657/files/B29.wmv

TX ANG To Lose Its C-130s

A rather nasty bombshell has been dropped on Texas in the Pentagon budget cut mess. The 136th Airlift Wing is a Texas ANG C-130 unit, based at NAS Ft. Worth. Under Obama/Panetta's plan, the unit's 8 C-130H transport aircraft will be taken from them and given to the Montana ANG.

The Texas C-130s have served a critical need, being the only medium sized transport aircraft available to cover the Gulf Coast. The aircraft have been instumental in responding to multiple natural disasters - hurricanes, floods, fires, etc. The C-130's size is perfect for this type of work, giving the ability of transporting large numbers of people and supplies into small airfields. None of the other Gulf Coast states have this type of asset, and Texas has repeatedly helped its neighbor states by providing these aircraft to support their needs.

In addition, the 136th has been in the rotation, supplying aircraft and crew to support overseas USAF operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, its primary focus is supporting the people of the State of Texas and its neighbors in fighting natural disasters, under control of the Governor.

When these aircraft leave, the nearest available asset of this type will be in Arkansas.

The move is a political one. The Montana ANG has a single unit, serving as Air Defense at Great Falls IAP, with F-15 Eagles. The Eagles are due for retirement. Rather than kill off the unit or turn it into a drone support unit, someone has pushed to strip aircraft from somewhere else. Texas is on the Obama Administration's black list, so why not from there? What natural disasters are these C-130s going to be positioned to repond to in Montana?

If this plan is allowed to go through, the 136th will become a Recon wing, gaining a handful of MC-12W aircraft. These are used as passive video and signal intelligence platforms. These could potential be used along the Texas/Mexico border IF anyone in Washington gets serious about border control, but would be useless for anything else. Why not give those aircraft to Montana, and leave the C-130s here where they will actually do some good?

Photo - C-130H 85-1366, 181AS 136AW, TX ANG, NAS Ft. Worth. Photo by yours truly.

Update - After the Governors of all the Gulf Coast States wrote to the Pentagon, upset with this plan and asking that the planes be left in place to respond to natural disasters, it appears that the USAF is reconsidering the plan. No word on when a final decision might be made.

B-36 Flyby - Incredible!

Found a link over at WIX to this video. Back in the early 50s, B-36s were commonplace over at Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth. In addition to being built there by (then) Convair on the west side of the base, the east side ramps held two wings of the huge bombers. The B-36s were long gone before I had the chance to see one flying. From what I've heard from veterans and folks who lived near the base, having one go over on takeoff or landing shook the ground - the noise and vibration from the 6 props must have been incredible.

Which makes this buzz job even more spectacular. Sure wish there was surround sound with it!

I saw some comments that indicated the pilot was buzzing the house of a friend when he took off. Don't know if that's the case, but after that it may have been an ex-friend!