Now for my Prowler X-cnty story:
Crew of 3 J.O's have to deliver a Prowler to the Grumman facility in St. Augustine, FL for rewinging.
The jet is due at Grumman at 0900 on Monday so we have to spend the weekend within a short distance. Answer - Pensacola.
Saturday launch O'dark thirty. Have to arrive at P'Cola by 1600.
Gorgeous VFR day down in L.A. (Lower Alabama) has Approach hands us off to tower. Overhead. At 10,000 feet.
#1, cleared for the carrier break (800' break, 600' pattern).
Now, here is the kicker. A Prowler is normally limited to 550 KIAS/.86 IMN with pods and/or drops. However, when the jets go to Grumman, we send them slick. And a slick Prowler's airspeed limit is LBA (Limited By Airframe

) which translated means as fast as the war pig can fly.
Squawk stby, throttles up, downhill from our overhead perch to the initial.
To protect the innocent, I won't divulge numbers, but suffice to say that we were a little wide abeam coming out of the break (~2.5 miles) and we didn't get slow enough for gear and flaps till the 90.
As for P'Cola, all I can remember is McGuire's, Sammy's and the Waffle House. :icon_drin But then, what else do you need.