ip568 said:
What a difference time makes. .
Yeah, all those planes that were overstressed performing syllabus high G manuevers. Upgrades that were never made (digital autopilot anyone) since the NEXT aircraft is coming any day now.
ip568 said:
When I was flying P-3s, there were 22 squadrons, each with nine aircraft. .
When I finished flying, end of 2003 beginning of 2004, there were only 3 planes on the ramp for 3 squadrons, only one of them was up, the other was a plane we couldn't use.
ip568 said:
We deployed six out of every 14 months. Was a back-breaker but we saw some amazing duty.
- No good deal/API flights for you my friend... If you were a lucky crew you went somewhere cool.
- Airlift onto and from deployment anyone?
- Multiple 5 hour preflights on DIFFERENT aircraft only to have your mission scrubbed since you couldn't get off deck. Repeat the next day.
- Compound malfunctions due to an aging airframe.... flap well cannon plug failure anyone?
- Pilot downsizing, 36-30 in the wardroom
- Not every Pilot will make PPC (not due to ABILITY but due to HOURS), or if they due, shuffle them off on early orders, or have them sit the bench so they can give extra hours to someone that's timing is better so they can make them an IP
- DFW, whats that? Go log some SIM time....
And the list goes on... I had a blast flying the warpig, good times and memories, luckily Zab, I and others on here saw the last of the really good times (for both deployed and home cycle), until the "hammer" fell in 2003/2004.