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Herc Love

Alaskarefueling.jpg

03/20/2012
ALASKA REFUELING
An Alaska Air National Guard HC-130 aircraft and HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter practice helicopter aerial refueling over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, March 14, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Sean Mitchell
 
C130JOAX.jpg

A C-130 Hercules aircraft takes off during Joint Operations Access Exercise (JOAX) 12-2 at Fort Bragg, N.C., June 5, 2012. A JOAX is a joint airdrop exercise designed to enhance service cohesiveness between U.S. Army and Air Force personnel, allowing both services an opportunity to properly execute large-scale heavy equipment and troop movement. (DoD photo by Senior Airman Alexandra Hoachlander, U.S. Air Force/Released)
 
C130s.jpg

Coming ‘round the mountain
A formation of C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft fly in formation as they return from the Samurai Surge training mission near Mount Fuji, Japan, June 5, 2012. At 12,388 feet, Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Chad C. Strohmeyer)
 
Harrier Dude said:
What's ridiculous about it? It's about to double in size, by the way.
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Because you have to leave base to get to it? Because it's a vast wasteland of concrete with zero lighting, so it's awesome at night when it's lit by nothing but floodlights at cockpit-level? Because it's a long ass walk from the buildings/gate in the Yuma summer?

When it's RWY03, it's not that bad for traffic flow, but otherwise it could use some work.

/recently spent too much time down there.
//now in a hotter, shittier locale
 
squeeze said:
Because you have to leave base to get to it? Because it's a vast wasteland of concrete with zero lighting, so it's awesome at night when it's lit by nothing but floodlights at cockpit-level? Because it's a long ass walk from the buildings/gate in the Yuma summer?

When it's RWY03, it's not that bad for traffic flow, but otherwise it could use some work.

/recently spent too much time down there.
//now in a hotter, shittier locale
Click to expand...

What he said
 
squeeze said:
Because you have to leave base to get to it? Because it's a vast wasteland of concrete with zero lighting, so it's awesome at night when it's lit by nothing but floodlights at cockpit-level? Because it's a long ass walk from the buildings/gate in the Yuma summer?

When it's RWY03, it's not that bad for traffic flow, but otherwise it could use some work.

/recently spent too much time down there.
//now in a hotter, shittier locale
Click to expand...

What's your solution?

Every single one of your complaints is a direct result of regulations by NOSSA and the FAA.

As long as those rules exist, you get what you've got. It's about to double in size, even though we've already got more CALA space than any other base in the USMC (a good thing).

If you can come up with a better solution with the existing rules and funding available, then let's hear it.
 
Harrier Dude said:
What's your solution?

Every single one of your complaints is a direct result of regulations by NOSSA and the FAA.

As long as those rules exist, you get what you've got. It's about to double in size, even though we've already got more CALA space than any other base in the USMC (a good thing).

If you can come up with a better solution with the existing rules and funding available, then let's hear it.
Click to expand...

-An internal service road that's actually accessible from the flight line. We shouldn't have to pile our flight gear in a pov/govvie and drive off base to drive back on base to fly. I fail to see how a service road to part of base is restricted. It actually makes more sense then the current setup, what with secret material and pyro transport and however deep down that rabbit hole you want to go. The long walk aspect is more a WTI particular than the layout. A service road would do the trick for the resident squadrons.

-Overhead, shielded lighting ala every USAF flight light around. White, generator lights on the perimeter pointed inboard are just awesome on NVGs and/or naked eye night vision, especially when you want to taxi around the perimeter. It's only a matter of time before someone taxis into another aircraft down there at night, probably during a WTI.

-Or just put all the choppers in the S CALA and leave the N CALA to the FW like it used to be. That way, there's more than enough room for the plopters so they won't FOD out the VAL line and Delta.

I'm sure funding is the weak link in all of that anyhow... There's got to be some way to squeeze money out of the JSF. But I guess it's got to be able to carry bombs before it needs a CALA.

/Ideas man
 
squeeze said:
-An internal service road that's actually accessible from the flight line. We shouldn't have to pile our flight gear in a pov/govvie and drive off base to drive back on base to fly. I fail to see how a service road to part of base is restricted. It actually makes more sense then the current setup, what with secret material and pyro transport and however deep down that rabbit hole you want to go. The long walk aspect is more a WTI particular than the layout. A service road would do the trick for the resident squadrons.

-Overhead, shielded lighting ala every USAF flight light around. White, generator lights on the perimeter pointed inboard are just awesome on NVGs and/or naked eye night vision, especially when you want to taxi around the perimeter. It's only a matter of time before someone taxis into another aircraft down there at night, probably during a WTI.

-Or just put all the choppers in the S CALA and leave the N CALA to the FW like it used to be. That way, there's more than enough room for the plopters so they won't FOD out the VAL line and Delta.

I'm sure funding is the weak link in all of that anyhow... There's got to be some way to squeeze money out of the JSF. But I guess it's got to be able to carry bombs before it needs a CALA.

/Ideas man
Click to expand...

The road might be doable if there was funding.

Everything else, particularly the lighting, can't be done because it will create an obstruction too close to the runway.

You have goggles, a FLIR, a probe light, and three landing/taxi/aux lights at your disposal. Use them.

There is not nearly the explosive capacity in the North CALA to support fixed wing operations for WTI.

These CALAs have taken thousands of man hours and tens of millions of dollars, not to mention the specific intervention of Congress twice, to come to fruition.

Be thankful you aren't at almost any other base where launching hundreds of thousands of pounds of live ordnance in a month would be legally if not physically impossible.
 
Swanee said:
Pardon the ignorance gents- ...CALA??? Outlying airfields around Yuma?
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Combat Armed Loading Area. It's a designated area where aircraft are loaded with live ordnance prior to their launch on a training mission.

They have to be placed in such an area that if the ordnance goes off, the rest of the base is relatively safe.

In general it's a good idea, but the TRA idiots have taken it to ever increasing levels of ridiculousness.
 
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