Humor in the air
A lite approach, in plain language
Jack Hartmann
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: Final Approach
Q: Is there "friendly" competition between different fighter aircraft?
A: In my younger days when my "hair was on fire" (a pilot term for multi-tasking at breakneck speed), I flew the F-105 Thunderchief - nicknamed the "Thud". The Thud looked mean and fast, even parked on the ramp. It was a real "Babe Magnet" - I loved to walk into the Officers Club wearing an F-105 patch on my flight suit.
At one time, the F-105 held the record for high speed, low altitude flight. It could really "Haul A___" (Along? - Away? - Ashes?) close to the ground.
In the 1970s, I volunteered to be a "bad guy" in some war games in Florida. My wingman, Lt. Nick Vrettos and I took off from McDill AFB near Tampa and were told to attack a target near Eglin AFB across the Gulf of Mexico. The target was defended by 2 F-4 "Phantoms". Why they called it the Phantom is beyond me - the F-4 would turn jet fuel into a thick, black, greasy smoke which could be seen from 20 miles away. Thud pilots called it the "double ugly" because it had 2 engines, took 2 pilots to fly it and looked really ugly.
About 100 miles from the coast, our friendly radar guys told us some F-4s were "rolling-in" on us and were 20 miles at our 6 o'clock and closing fast. I signaled to Nick to light the afterburner and we dove for the deck. Our airspeed indicators went from 400 to 850 Knots in less than 10 seconds. "So long you ugly F-4 jocks!"
As we went through the speed of sound (Mach 1), the cockpit became eerily quiet - we were outrunning the sound of the engine! (Ahhh - I'm just kidding. That doesn't really happen). What did happen was a shock wave formed around each aircraft. Due to the humidity over the Gulf, you could see the shock wave as a cloud.
At 850 knots, the shock wave was well behind our aircraft. I glanced at Nick and saw that his shock wave was kicking up a "rooster tail" of water about 100 feet into the air! HOLY S____(Smoke? - Sugar?) - we could cut a small fishing boat in half with our shock wave! I signaled to Nick to put out the speedbrakes and just as we slowed to sub-sonic speed, I sighted the coastline. If we hadn't slowed when we did, Nick and I would have broken every window in the Florida panhandle.
Several years later, a pair of Thud pilots broke most of the windows in the Air Force Academy during a ceremonial flyby. They had to "tap dance" in front of the Wing Commander for hours. A "tap dance" in the military is just like a "rug dance" in the airlines - you shuffle your feet in front of the boss while explaining what you did!
Jack Hartmann has been an aviator for over 44 years - Airline Captain (TWA), Corporate Pilot, Sky Marshal, Fighter Pilot (USAF & ANG), General Aviation pilot (CFII) and Asst. Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Prescott).
A: In my younger days when my "hair was on fire" (a pilot term for multi-tasking at breakneck speed), I flew the F-105 Thunderchief - nicknamed the "Thud". The Thud looked mean and fast, even parked on the ramp. It was a real "Babe Magnet" - I loved to walk into the Officers Club wearing an F-105 patch on my flight suit.
At one time, the F-105 held the record for high speed, low altitude flight. It could really "Haul A___" (Along? - Away? - Ashes?) close to the ground.
In the 1970s, I volunteered to be a "bad guy" in some war games in Florida. My wingman, Lt. Nick Vrettos and I took off from McDill AFB near Tampa and were told to attack a target near Eglin AFB across the Gulf of Mexico. The target was defended by 2 F-4 "Phantoms". Why they called it the Phantom is beyond me - the F-4 would turn jet fuel into a thick, black, greasy smoke which could be seen from 20 miles away. Thud pilots called it the "double ugly" because it had 2 engines, took 2 pilots to fly it and looked really ugly.
About 100 miles from the coast, our friendly radar guys told us some F-4s were "rolling-in" on us and were 20 miles at our 6 o'clock and closing fast. I signaled to Nick to light the afterburner and we dove for the deck. Our airspeed indicators went from 400 to 850 Knots in less than 10 seconds. "So long you ugly F-4 jocks!"
As we went through the speed of sound (Mach 1), the cockpit became eerily quiet - we were outrunning the sound of the engine! (Ahhh - I'm just kidding. That doesn't really happen). What did happen was a shock wave formed around each aircraft. Due to the humidity over the Gulf, you could see the shock wave as a cloud.
At 850 knots, the shock wave was well behind our aircraft. I glanced at Nick and saw that his shock wave was kicking up a "rooster tail" of water about 100 feet into the air! HOLY S____(Smoke? - Sugar?) - we could cut a small fishing boat in half with our shock wave! I signaled to Nick to put out the speedbrakes and just as we slowed to sub-sonic speed, I sighted the coastline. If we hadn't slowed when we did, Nick and I would have broken every window in the Florida panhandle.
Several years later, a pair of Thud pilots broke most of the windows in the Air Force Academy during a ceremonial flyby. They had to "tap dance" in front of the Wing Commander for hours. A "tap dance" in the military is just like a "rug dance" in the airlines - you shuffle your feet in front of the boss while explaining what you did!
Jack Hartmann has been an aviator for over 44 years - Airline Captain (TWA), Corporate Pilot, Sky Marshal, Fighter Pilot (USAF & ANG), General Aviation pilot (CFII) and Asst. Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Prescott).
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