Putting this big ole girl into a 3500ft by 90ft patch of ground at the heavyweights we can haul is an impressive feat of piloting made possible by the awesome engineering that makes the C-17 the best in the airlift business.
Not gonna make it on the first try. "Go around!" Hammer down! "Royal 451 is on the go."
Almost…
Practice makes perfect. Do it again.
Very nice training field. Jackson MS Air National Guard built this C-17 specific assault strip to give the operators of the community the most realistic controlled environment to push the upper limits of landing capabilities. I'd love to come back and do this again in the dark, blacked out, and on NVG's.
Watching the world go by, and getting paid to do it.
Bossman's turn to drive the boat, and show us how it's really done.
Nailed it, but he's been doing this since I was in middle school.
In the slickest example of instructing I can remember watching, and after a few more tries, LT was nailing the landing within 50 feet of the 500 feet landing zone. Now time to go back and pick up our passengers from their field trip.
Kick ass day learning how to put a big ole girl into a patch of pavement measuring 3500x90 feet.
Landing on 3500ft by 90ft at the heavyweights we can haul is an impressive feat of piloting made possible by the awesome engineering that makes the C-17 the best in the airlift business.
For the LT that never has seen something that small, and only a simulated box painted on a 12,000ft runway, it's a real world reality check.
When a young copilot gets the chance to fly with an experienced and seasoned commander at a C-17 purpose built 3500x90 foot runway, it is the perfect training opportunity of how to make this airplane do the unimaginable.
Jackson Mississippi ANG really put together an amazing training tool to practice at. By the end of the day, she was hitting less than 50ft from the middle of the 500ft zone.
Next trip was a quick run to Spain, Germany, and Fort Bliss TX.
Chemtrail shadow showing on a lower deck of haze from previous sprayings.
Remember, dimmer skies are safer skies. Spray on!
Some people ask how I pack. No matter the location, I bring a 7 day bag that gets me through most trips without laundry. Here I had tore the world apart looking for the ipad charger. Oh well, off to the store for another one.
Had a great chilly night in a German Christmas village.
Looong flight from Germany to Texas. Full tank of 36,000 gallons of gas.
Looking across the Texas/Mexico border.
Middle America
"Chief, why do maintainers draw dicks on everything?" I didn't do it this time! Silly Army passengers set me up.
This was a slightly disorienting picture. Like water washing up onto a rocky beach, but at 10k+ feet.
Years ago I could never imagine making it to 2500 hours flying along in this aero plane. Drinks on me tonight boys!
Just like out of the Tom Clancy novel, we were picking up personnel and collected intelligence by any means necessary sanctioned by orders direct from the POTUS.
Boots on ground for the first time in my grandfather's native land of Hungary.
The Mig 29, NATO codename: Fulcrum. Smuggled photograph from behind the Iron Curtain enemy lines by CIA agent codename CARDINAL.
The Chengdu J-7, NATO codename: Fishbed. Chinese export copy of the Soviet Mig 21. Smuggled photograph from behind the Iron Curtain enemy lines by CIA agent codename CARDINAL.
Agent codename CARDNAL, Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov
is safely onboard, and headed to stateside debriefing. When asked why defect from the Soviet Union, "One way or another, we all fight for what we believe in. Doesn't that give us some common ground?" In reality, saying goodbye to Hungary. Wish we could have stayed longer.
Lower Swatara Pennsylvania! The place I'll always call home. Go figure the one time I get to fly over my house I grew up at, there is a cloud in the way.
Jersey in the house!
Spending the night in somewhere in Ohio, so they gave us a sweet van, and off to find sam'mich's.
Too bad you guys didn't stay over in Mansfield Ohio instead of Toledo....... You could have hung out with the 179th airlift guys and learned the fine art of buzzing our factory.........some nights it sounds like they are trying to land on our roof..........
Keep the photos coming and stay safe!
"Life is a garden - dig it"...........
1968 F100 2wd - Rangoon Red - 360 w/T18 - power steering and brakes
1997 Honda CBR 900RR
Load up, we gotta go to the desert again boys. You've seen those kinda pictures a lot already, so didn't shoot anything new until our return stopping point in Trier Germany. First time to that city.
North Atlantic Tracks; truckin’ high above the cold.
Land ho!
Field off to the left on the scope is called Narsarsuaq Airport. Diverted there a few years ago to get Greenland pinned on the map, and was my second most northern landing. Won’t be needing that today.
Looked outside, but we couldn’t see it. Tiny little spot.
