Bobola2005
Member
I went to an air show at the first part of May in Central Texas where the headliners were the Aeroshell T-6 Texan acrobatics team and an F-16 from the Viper West Demonstration Team. What I really enjoyed however were the static displays of a legacy Hornet flown by a Naval Aviator and a T-34 flown by a Marine Corps IP and his student, (I think they came from Corpus Christi but I am not sure). The T-34 and the Hornet flew in within about 30 minutes of each other. The Hornet pilot was greeted by his friends and family when he got out of the jet after parking it on the ramp. I later found out he learned how to fly at a nearby flight school and his friends and family lived in a neighboring city. I met both of them briefly and it was good to actually have a fact-to-face chat with someone who is in a position I would like to be at in the future. That being said, I have several questions.
1: I was under the impression that it was kind of frowned upon to fly back to your hometown in a military jet as it may send the wrong type of impression as to what our war birds are used for. Am I mistaken? Either way, I thought it was kind of special to see the guy come back to the place he learned how to fly. I know if I ever got the opportunity to do that it would be a cool feeling to look at one side of the ramp at the Cessna I learned to fly on and then back at the aircraft I showed up in. The awesome aircraft I showed up in.
2: The aircraft themselves never flew for the air show, they were strictly just static displays. Even so, I would have expected that a crew would have come along with them to monitor the planes over night as it was at just a general aviation airport. In fact, the local guys at the FBO got instructions from someone to go refuel the Hornet and when pilot saw them approaching his jet he took off after them and grilled them for getting close to the thing. Is it normal for an Aviator to just show up at an airport and leave his jet unattended overnight. Obviously the things aren't fragile but I figured someone could mess one up if they wanted to. (I never actually saw him leave his jet overnight, I just assumed that he would, and considering it was there the next day I figured he stayed at a hotel)?
3: Were the Marine IP and his student on a X-country or what? I didn't expect to see a student pilot at an air show. Does that kind of thing happen a lot during flight training?
4: What's my chance of getting Jets out of flight school? (just kidding )
Disclaimer: I am not sure what model the Hornet was, I just know it was a single seat and not a Super Hornet. Also, If these questions are answered elsewhere or I come off as an idiot, flame away because I couldn't find the answers to them.
1: I was under the impression that it was kind of frowned upon to fly back to your hometown in a military jet as it may send the wrong type of impression as to what our war birds are used for. Am I mistaken? Either way, I thought it was kind of special to see the guy come back to the place he learned how to fly. I know if I ever got the opportunity to do that it would be a cool feeling to look at one side of the ramp at the Cessna I learned to fly on and then back at the aircraft I showed up in. The awesome aircraft I showed up in.
2: The aircraft themselves never flew for the air show, they were strictly just static displays. Even so, I would have expected that a crew would have come along with them to monitor the planes over night as it was at just a general aviation airport. In fact, the local guys at the FBO got instructions from someone to go refuel the Hornet and when pilot saw them approaching his jet he took off after them and grilled them for getting close to the thing. Is it normal for an Aviator to just show up at an airport and leave his jet unattended overnight. Obviously the things aren't fragile but I figured someone could mess one up if they wanted to. (I never actually saw him leave his jet overnight, I just assumed that he would, and considering it was there the next day I figured he stayed at a hotel)?
3: Were the Marine IP and his student on a X-country or what? I didn't expect to see a student pilot at an air show. Does that kind of thing happen a lot during flight training?
4: What's my chance of getting Jets out of flight school? (just kidding )
Disclaimer: I am not sure what model the Hornet was, I just know it was a single seat and not a Super Hornet. Also, If these questions are answered elsewhere or I come off as an idiot, flame away because I couldn't find the answers to them.
