BillD22 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Here's a quick shot of another addition to my hangar over the weekend - Aerosoft's new F-14 Extended for FSX. In this formation shot we see 2 F-14A "Tomcats" from the VF-1 "Wolfpack" and VF-111 "Sundowners" showcasing the colorful Navy squadron paint jobs of the 80's and 90s before everything went to low visibility gray Bonus NATOPS question: What's different about the squared away Navy crews in the F-14s from the Air Force guys in the F-16s below? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrzippy Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Bonus NATOPS question. What's different about the squared away Navy crews in the F-14s from the Air Force guys in the F-16s below? :D Navy guys are wearing a face shield and Air force isn't?? Air Force guys may get a face full of crap upon ejecting from the aircraft. Great looking shots sir! Still thinking about a new flightsim only computer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillD22 Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Navy guys are wearing a face shield and Air force isn't?? Air Force guys may get a face full of crap upon ejecting from the aircraft. Great looking shots sir! Or when a bird crashes thru the canopy Congratulations Mr Z! You have passed your NATOPs check :cool: Thanks for the good words Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aharon Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 First screenshot is AMAZING. Regards, Aharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTweak Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Fantastic pic's! Thanks for a very nice post! Navy guys are wearing a face shield and Air force isn't?? Air Force guys may get a face full of crap upon ejecting from the aircraft. Great looking shots sir! Well, a few things about that, if I may be so bold. 1) Not many birds at those altitudes, BUT 2) It's kinda sad that the zoomies DON'T have their visors down, especially since it take a good 1/2 second to reach up and slide it down off the top of their helmet... And as far as I recall, it is a requirement to have it down once the seat is armed. Especially since the ACES/NACES seats tend to go through the canopy, rather than jettisoning it first. And lastly, the Navy pilots have the very old style helmets, with the hard-shell visor cover and knurl knob to slide the visor up/down, where as the Air Force guys have the newer style helmets, with the visor out in the open on the top of the helmet, and held on with an elastic band. When not in use, there is a kid-skin cover for it that velcro's on. The pilot just peels the cover off once the helmet is on, and tucks it away in a pocket. The newer style helmet is in use throughout the military now. The visor sits much closer to the eyes than the older style, thus offering more protection. The Navy recommends, strongly, decorating the helmet with reflective tape to make them easier to see during SAR operations. They DO require the use of some kind of reflective tape on the helmet, and of course, prefer a decent decoration of some sort, rather than just a strip down the center, or something like that. I don't know whether the Air Force has such a requirement. The ones in your pics aren't very "decorated"... I can find the NATOPS requirements on that if you like. I've got it someplace... And so ends today's Helmet Lesson of the day :D I still say those are great pictures, no matter what. Pat☺ [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Had a thought...then there was the smell of something burning, and sparks, and then a big fire, and then the lights went out! I guess I better not do that again! Sgt, USMC, 10 years proud service, Inactive reserve now :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillD22 Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 First screenshot is AMAZING. Regards, Aharon Thanks Aharon - I think the credit goes to Aerosoft for their great looking models Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillD22 Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Fantastic pic's! Thanks for a very nice post! Well, a few things about that, if I may be so bold. 1) Not many birds at those altitudes, BUT 2) It's kinda sad that the zoomies DON'T have their visors down, especially since it take a good 1/2 second to reach up and slide it down off the top of their helmet... And as far as I recall, it is a requirement to have it down once the seat is armed And so ends today's Helmet Lesson of the day :D I still say those are great pictures, no matter what. Pat☺ Pat: Thanks for the good words and inside scoop on helmets :cool::cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTweak Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 My pleasure, Bill! Always loved the cat's :) I won't tell the story of the first one I ever saw here, though. On a more somber note, I hope to HECK I never have to scoop out the inside of a helmet. Inside scoop and all that... We had a "hot-shot" Hornet driver kill his wingman coming offtarget the wrong way on a bombing run because "he decided it'd look cooler." Supposed to turn one way, and he went opposite that. His wing-tip missile rail passed through the wingman's canopy. When he taxi'd past our flightline, you could see pieces of the wingman's helmet where his wing-tip missile rail had once been. He lost his wings over that one. He was VMFT-333, they (we, although I never really considered myself part of Trip-Trey) were in Yuma for WTI. When they were still in Phantoms in Beaufort, he went through several RIO's. He liked to fly under a bridge there. One even threatened to eject them both if he tried it again, so he went through inverted. The RIO was going to turn in his wings, but the CO talked him out of it. Like I said, "Hot-Shot". Thought he was Maverik from Top Gun or something. I guess that ended pretty quick that day... I was working on a KFIR at the end of the flightline when all this went down, and I thought the SAR bird was going to take my head off. They went past, on the taxi-way right beside me where I was on top of the bird, nose low, and accelerating. Turned onto the runway and was gone. I swear, if I hadn't jumped off and flattened on the cement, that main rotor would have gotten me. Probably not, but it sure LOOKED like it was going to! ANYWAY... I STILL say those are some great pics :D Pat☺ [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Had a thought...then there was the smell of something burning, and sparks, and then a big fire, and then the lights went out! I guess I better not do that again! Sgt, USMC, 10 years proud service, Inactive reserve now :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peer01 Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Excellent CAT pics Bill :cool::cool::eek: [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMLW Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 A coupe of great shots here Bill. :cool: :cool: :D Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolf2 Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 love your multi plane shots bill, two more nice ones! Phil Colvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillD22 Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Many thanks Phil, Larry, & Jan Pat: Your helmet story certainly makes the point that aviation is an unforgiving profession where carelessness or arrogance - either in the air or on the ground - is involved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTweak Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Pat: Your helmet story certainly makes the point that aviation is an unforgiving profession where carelessness or arrogance - either in the air or on the ground - is involved It sure is. Although the military has gotten a lot more restrictive nowadays, and less forgiving of the "Hot-dog" than it used to be. Ask Rupert about the F-4's flying through the hangar at Tustin. I can understand their "enthusiasm". Let's face it, the military gives a young, fresh out of college man (or woman, nowadays!) machine capable of things they only dreamed of. I understand it, not condone it though. The hotter the dog, so to speak, the more likely they are to get someone on their own side killed, and a fighter pilot, heck, ANY pilot, is a huge monetary and temporal investment by the military. And in this day and age of super restrictive budgets, even barring the cost of a human life, I can understand their point of coming down hard on the show-off, Top Gun types. Having said that, the agression, and willingness to do "whatever it takes" may be the difference between success and failure in aerial combat. Two sides of the whole thing have to balance properly. Hard to say what the critical factor can be. Safety or chance-taking to win the fight. Both sides of the coin have their merits. Still, great pics! I am extremely glad that we fly in a computer, where any accident or incident just resets the flight, not costs someone their life. Have a great day everyone! Fly hard and fast, but safely! :D Pat☺ [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Had a thought...then there was the smell of something burning, and sparks, and then a big fire, and then the lights went out! I guess I better not do that again! Sgt, USMC, 10 years proud service, Inactive reserve now :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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