"Break Left" ... A fighter pilot instructor ("Ace") was demonstrating tactics to a slightly "slow" student ("Dilbert"). The situation was 2-v-2. A "break turn" in tactics is a very hard, quick turn, placing high "g" on the airplane. Dilbert had the lead and Ace was the wingman ... to observe and provide guidance. As the situation developed, Ace saw the need to "break left" and made that call. But Dilbert turned RIGHT! Ace responded ... "your other LEFT!"

Saved his life ...  During 1964-65 timeframe, NAS Miramar did not have an O'Club and the folks had to make do with the BOQ bar and dining room. Every Friday afternoon pilots gathered at the bar to install a "snootful" before going into the dining room for the standard roast beef, mashed potatoes with brown gravy and peas. On one particular afternoon, a VF-154 pilot (code name Gus) acquired more than a snootful and proceeded to dinner with his wife. Shortly after being served, Gus passed out with his nose directly in the pool of brown gravy. But his wife saved the day ... she lifted his head, brushed off some of the gravy and rotated his head 90 degrees. She lowered same with his ear right in the gravy.

The box lunch ... Navy box lunches afloat are pathetic: e.g., stale bread with a single slice of pimento loaf, warm half pint of milk, a piece of fruit with age spots, packets with mustard or catsup and a napkin. Whether they are edible depends of how long it's been since you ate. On one occasion off North Viet Nam, VF-154 had a division (4 aircraft) set for strike group escort. There would likely be much maneuvering on this sortie. #4 of the fight was "Al" and Al was lagging well behind the flight going in. The flight lead inquired of Al only to find out that Al was eating a box lunch. There are so many things wrong with this picture ... But I won't bother you further.

Supersonic ... Many aircraft can fly faster than the speed of sound link ... ergo supersonic. Associated with this are "normal" (or standing normal) shocks, oblique shocks and expansion waves. Under certain conditions (robust happy hour, good atmospherics, night and a neophyte audience) there can also be a "BS" shock. The BS shock dictates that, after flying fast enough and long enough, the aircrews will have to wait 2-3 hours after landing for the sound waves to catch up ... and allow any in-flight transmissions to be heard.

You can't land high ... the F-11 link was both fun and easy to fly. One nice feature was "soft oleos" on the main mounts ... you could touch down and hold the nose off for aerodynamic braking. But you needed to make sure you were on the ground first. One student pilot (code name Bob) at Chase Field tried this ... but with the wrong outcome: he stalled (ran out of airspeed) about 3-4 feet off the runway and fell the last few feet. He created a valuable new saying: "You can land fast, long and heavy - but you can't land high."

Survival training ... as a member of the Coral Sea aircrew, I went through much survival training including on-scene for water, sea shore, jungle, desert and mountains. Arctic survival was not on-scene but completed via many briefings. These briefings always included a piece on avoiding the liver of a polar bear - never eat it ... it may be poisonous and kill you. But I never heard any notion that the polar bear might raise lethal objections to having his liver removed in the first place. For well over 50 years I have avoid polar bear liver!

Management briefings ... with almost every position of responsibility there are endless briefings for the chain of command. It is possible that during these briefings, the briefer can be asked about issues and problems for which he bears no responsibility. Standard joke of an earlier Navy: Rough, tough Admiral being briefed says ... "What are you doing about problem xyz. The briefer sees that the problem xyz belongs to someone else and replies: "wringing both hands Sir."

F4B Coral Sea Landing ... I watched flight ops from vulture's row on USS Coral Sea one fine day. The weather was very good, wind over the deck was perfect and right down the angle, the sea calm, and deck steady. It was as good as it gets for carrier ops. A VF-151 F4B was making an approach with full flaps (correct for PA configuration) but boltered the first time. Once back airborne he raised the flaps to half (correct) and raised the gear to save gas. He took interval and turned down wind for another try. At the 180 he dropped the gear but failed to extend the flaps to full (major error - both crewmembers failed to do the landing checklist). His second approach was half flap (wrong) and missed by the crew, paddles watch and paddles. He boltered again.  Once airborne he raised the flaps and gear again ... this time to flaps full up (clean) ... and took interval for the downwind. He came up on the 180 and dropped the gear but left the flaps full up - again the crew did not do the landing check or catch the large increase in airspeed with a clean wing. Again paddles watch missed it as did paddles. The F4 continued, now with about 20+ kts more airspeed than he should have, and touched down. He caught the wire, exploded the starboard tire, wrecked the starboard wheel and punched the  main strut up through he wing. Had he missed the wire this time he might have slid up the deck into the pack of aircraft on the bow. This was a Class A accident - totally preventable.

The wing slap... "Box Lunch Al" was the VF-154 F-8D wingman of a 2-plane sortie coming back to USS Coral Sea. Al decided to come in really, really close to the lead (far closer than the formation position called for). As they came through the "burble" (combination of stack gasses and turbulence from the island) Al's left wing contacted the lead's aircraft with Al's wing scraping marks showing just 3 feet from the lead's fuselage. As a pilot who had flown many times through the burble, I recognize that Al's "performance" was a near disaster. Had he broken off the outer wing panel, his flying would have instantly been over and likely that of the lead as well.

Paul B. Andrews ... Paul was our uncle. He was a self-made man and world-recognized expert in copper and brass. During World War II, he was commissioned LCDR USNR and took duty in Washington D. C. as the Class Desk for copper and brass on the War Materiel Production Board. From his personal observations and involvement with the federal bureaucracy, he developed the Federal Bureaucracy Medal: "Crossed pen and pencil on a field of horseshit surrounded by red tape."

Bridle slap ... VF-162 F-8 pilot LT Jack Kilpatrick was set up on cat #1 USS Oriskany for a normal daytime launch during the Viet Nam War. The F-8 used a bridle attached to the underside of the fuselage as part of the catapult arrangement. Normally at the end of the cat stroke, a bridle arrester caught the bridle as the aircraft left the bow. But Jack's shot was different: the bridle came off and "slapped" the lower fuselage. It tore out the skin and structure right under the main fuel cell. The rate of fuel loss was horrendous ... but Jack made a quick turn downwind and recovered to save the plane.

Republic Aircraft Co ... Republic was an American aircraft manufacturer which produced many aircraft for US military use. Among them was the F-84 Thunderjet series link. They also produced the F-105 Thunderchief link. Both were notoriously underpowered and took exceedingly long runway lengths to get airborne. Republic got an unofficial reputation: "If someone would build a runway around the earth at the equator (e.g., ~25,000 miles) Republic would build an aircraft that would take dern near all of it to get in the air!"

4 v 4 ... I was not on this sortire but was in VF-154 at NAS Miramar at the time. LT Gordy James USN was the Asst Ops Officer of VF-154 F-8Ds. Maj George Shulstadt USAF was a F-104 link instructor at George AFB, Victorville, Ca. Gordy and George set up a training exercise using the Chocolate Mountain Military Operating Area near the Salton Sea. The exercise called for a division (4 aircraft each) of F-104s and F-8s. The agreed rules were: come together in the contrails (e.g., mid 30s) and each pilot confirming sight of all the other aircraft - then have at it. Gordy took his division over the Salton Sea, exactly as agreed. George, however, had a different plan: he came in low and super fast. When the F-8 division finally saw the F-104s, the 104s had already made a low side gun run going straight up and turning for their second. The F-104s completely "destroyed" the F-8s. Did George cheat? ABSOLUTELY NOT! There's a single rule for aerial combat, simulated or real: WIN!

Drone in the dirt ... At NWC China Lake I checked out as a DF-8 drone control pilot to control both a QF-9 drone link and my F-8 simultaneously. It was interesting but not beginners work. The F-8 had a series of switches across the glare shield to control the drone. After checkout I was able to fly in normal parade echelon position. The normal routine was for the ground control folks to get the QF-9 on the runway, run it up and launch. After airborne, they would clean up the aircraft (gear and flaps) and set it up for a climb. At a few hundred feet, ground would coordinate via radio and shut down their command radio link and I'd bring up my command radio link. At that point, I'd have control. Coming back was the reverse with me bringing the drone down to a few hundred feet and, with coordination, shutting down my command link. On one sortie, after I shut down, the ground command link failed to come up and we were too low to do much about it. The QF-9 landed a few hundred feet from the runway and stopped. But Grumman builds very tough airplanes (Grumman Iron Works) and, after cleaning up the engine and removing the main gear doors, the aircraft flew within a few days.

Locked Brakes on the Cat Shot ... What happens if the pilot locks the brakes on a cat shot? The “end speed” is what counts on a cat shot. The “end speed” considers the natural wind, ship’s speed and angle of the natural wind over the deck, and aircraft gross weight. Considering these factors, the “end speed” is the airspeed off the bow (end of the cat stroke) relative to stall speed for your weight (e.g., +2 kts). During the Viet Nam misunderstanding, going off with +1-2 (1or 2 kts above stall) was a routine event. Many pilots, including me, “raised” their gross weight info to the catapult crewmen 1000-2000 pounds to get a higher end speed (more stall margin). If you lock your brakes on the cat stroke: 1) your end speed will not be affected, 2) you will leave tire scraps along the cat tracks (creating a foreign object damage threat for subsequent aircraft in the launch sequence), 3) you will likely destroy both main wheels and leave scrap metal along the cat tracks (creating a foreign object threat for subsequent aircraft in the launch sequence), 4) when you return for an arrested landing, you will likely not have any wheels left and the impact of the landing will likely take off the mains with a very bad conclusion to the landing (you won’t like it whatever happens), and 5) your career as an aviator will likely suffer mightily. Moral: don’t lock the brakes on cat launch!

Intercepts ... intercepts were a daily part of life with F-8Ds and Es. We ran BCI (broadcast control intercepts) and GCI/CCI (ground/carrier control). Regardless of type, the idea was to get the aircraft into a position to acquire a target, then pursue it via weapon control system (e.g., APQ-83 or 94) to a "kill."

NORAD Training ... NORAD was the North American Defense strategy to engage and defeat Russian aircraft coming in toward American airspace. F-8 squadrons periodically had exercises with NORAD as part of our mission spread. On one dark mid-night in VF-154 I had a NORAD mission against B-52s link and B-58s link coming in from Hawaii. I waited a few hundred miles west of San Diego at 40-45,000 feet on a really dark night above a very heavy undercast and no moon. Dark! And I was alone for this sortie. The first inbound was the B-52 ... I could see his nav lights a few miles ahead and slightly above: he "played" with my radar with his DECM stuff for a while and nullified any system threat I had. A few minutes later the B-58 came on scene ... he was well above me and about 15 miles ahead but I could still see his nav lights. He too "played" with my radar with his DECM stuff and nullified any system threat from me ... and after a few minutes of rubbing my "nose in it" he hit the afterburners, "walked off" my radar screen and proceeded to CONUS unscathed. On recovery at NAS Miramar I reported two sure kills and went back to bed.

Ceylon (Sri Lanka) ... Ceylon changed name to Sri Lanka in 1972, shortly after my CTF-70/77 tour. But I was there for the fun. Embarked in USS Carrier Boat we were slated to make a port call at Colombo, Ceylon and "open" that port. "Opening" a port for a carrier means go in and find all the problems for future visits. There were plenty. Most US carrier visitation ports had either barges to transport sailors back and forth (e.g., Hong Kong) or a good pier facility (e.g., Subic Bay PI) to tie up to. Colombo had neither. The fallback plan was to use the ship's B&A (boat and aircraft) crane to lower the Admiral's barge, Captain's gig and the Mike boats for the crew. Good plan ... until the crew attempted to lower the hook. At that point the hook parted a corroded cable and plopped into 3000 fathoms of salt water. The nearest replacement hook was on the west coast of the US, unlikely to reach Colombo in the next few moons. If asked my opinion I would have said, "slice your wrists before going to Colombo."

Rat guards ... rat guards are routinely placed on hawser lines to prevent rats from running up from the pier and getting on board a ship. But 'Rat Guard' can also be a nickname for a poor pilot who wears "rat guards on his ankles to keep the rats from running up and eating his candy ass!"

20mm spacer bands ... on the back of each 20mm round was a small spacer ring. The purpose was to very lightly touch the riffling in the barrel during the exit to impart a spin ... and the stability necessary. VF-154 embarked in USS Coral Sea received a bad batch of 20mm ammo in which these bands came off too soon. The result was each projectile exiting the barrel would immediately tumble and slow down. The firing aircraft would routinely over run the tumbling rounds ... and a few contacted the firing platform, leaving minor damage to the wing leading edge. The typical load was tracer, 2 incendiary, and 2 armor piercing but the tracers were the only ones visible. It's a little worrisome to outrun the projectiles. If you ingested one down the intake, you'd be in big hurt when it hit the engine!

Ensign ... an Ensign (one stripe) is the lowest rank of US Navy commissioned officers. When I joined VF-154 as my first fleet squadron, I was an Ensign USNR - the junior pilot and junior officer in the squadron. As told to me every day ... "Ensigns are lower than whale poop on the bottom of the sea." That may have been true but I have come to see that career federal politicians occupy the next level down!

Lamb and mystery meats ... USS Coral Sea commissary officers were very cost conscientious. In general I have no quibble with that ... but it often resulted in the cheapest menu available: lamb. I was never fond of lamb - in any form. Afloat we got lamb whatever, followed by lamb curry, lamb stew, lamb whatever #2, #3 etc. Then they started with chicken ... roast chicken, baked chicken, etc, etc, etc. For me, it was a relief when they came up with "formed" ground beef in small loaves ... billed by us as Rhodesian Trail Markers. Caution: your taste buds are subject to assault when afloat.

Water hours ... when afloat, ships must make their own water. Coral Sea had Babcock and Wilcox evaporators and condensers to do the job. This equipment was similar to what Noah had on the Ark and helps explain why Noah didn't get very far. Coral Sea prioritized water use as follows: propulsion, catapults, commissary, laundry, drinking and 'Navy' showers. It was common for Coral Sea to go on "Water Hours" immediately when leaving the pier at Cubi Point PI and remain so until the next port call.

USS Oriskany at Cubi Point pier ... bringing in a carrier to tie up at a pier can be a big challenge ... there is much ship surface area to react to any adverse winds. Usually all this uses tug boats to assist. We came into Subic Bay from Yankee Station, anticipating tie up at the Cubi pier. The Executive Officer had the con and, through a series of less-than-diplomatic radio transmissions, had irritated the tug boat crews. There was shouting back and forth for several minutes. Finally the tugs just stood back and left the carrier alone with a very slight but significant side motion. The carrier hit the pier with about 1 kt (~1.7 ft/sec) ... it crushed the camels, set the pilings back about a foot or two and put a big dent in the carrier hull.

Magic Carpet ... contract flights are not uncommon to fly military personnel. Such flights frequently used DC-8s. I was on the 1966 contract flight (Magic Carpet) out of the Philippines: we flew from Clark AFB to Anchorage, then on to Miramar, north of San Diego. I was seated next to a window, just forward of the left wing. The Clark runway was 10,000 feet ... we knew the aircraft was very heavy and needed all the runway available. The pilot taxied out and turned around with the tail over the overrun end. On the edge of the runway were distance-to-go (DTG) markers. I, along with several other pilots, watched the DTGs ... with 1000 left, the pilot had not yet rotated for liftoff. We got airborne just before we ran out of runway but it was close. Federal Magic Carpet flights were typically awarded to the low bidder.

Man overboard! ... man overboard is a very big deal and the carriers did everything possible to recover the person. But this frequently interfered with operations. While I was attached to CTF-70/77, a small group of ship's company (semi-pro glue sniffers) decided to make "man overboard" a game: they took bets ... one person would run out of the hangar deck and jump into the ocean. The bet involved whether he would be rescued. As aircrew, we received many briefings about survival in these waters (e.g., Bay of Bengal survival was advertised as about 30 minutes - after that you would likely be set up for shark poop). The embarked flag officer was "laser beam" straight in all respects and did not negotiate his directives. I recall with perfect clarity that he sent direct orders to the ship's Captain that if the "man overboard" was a bet type and not legitimate, the ship would do nothing. This order was widely promulgated - and the phony man overboard nonsense stopped immediately ... on this ship and throughout the Force.

Trawlers ... Russian trawlers routinely shadowed US Fleet battle groups operating in the Arabian Sea. Occasionally they intentionally interfered with ship movements including cutting across the bow of a carrier in a turn. This is really dangerous. After a few of these reckless maneuvers, the embarked flag sent a message directly to the trawler (paraphrased): "You have demonstrated the most pathetic, unprofessional seamanship I have ever seen. If it happens again I will cut you in two." A ship cutting another in two had already been done: Queen Mary and Canberra.

The Bishop Banker ... the town of Bishop, Ca is located north of China Lake, straight up highway 395. Many private pilots used this highway and the presence of the Sierra Nevada Mountains as VFR nav aids. China Lake weapon ranges (B, C and G) are just across the highway to the east, running north and south. It was not uncommon for these private pilots to wander off track, into the ranges. This is really dangerous! One such private pilot was the "Bishop Banker" who flew back and forth to Los Angeles for banking business. His typical airspeed was around 150 kts. Our typical speed was several hundred kts ... often over 600. A good example was my F-4 MK77 (500#) napalm tests to see how low and how fast you could go and have 6 napalm bombs in a salvo drop still fuse. The answer was at least 650 kts at 25 feet AGL (under Baker Control), they were still fusing OK. When you're that low and that fast, trying to stay out of the dirt, you can't be worried about the Bishop Banker. During my time at China Lake, we never had any collisions but that was just as much luck as anything. More than once, we chased private aircraft off the ranges.

Furnace Creek ... Furnace Creek, Ca link is located on the eastern edge of Death Valley link. Death Valley is about 282 feet below sea level and hot ... really hot much of the time. Furnace Creek, population 24 per 2010 census, has little to shout about. The Valley is about 2 quick blinks east of NWC China Lake and an ideal spot for running a F-8 out to the max ... at 650+ kts (about 1100 ft/sec). On early mornings in the winter, before the thermals have had a chance to disturb the air, I'd take the F-8 up to near the speed of sound and abeam Furnace Creek, hit the burner for a straight up climb. The top out was over 35,000+ ... a max grin!

That's all right now folks ...

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