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#Post#: 6229--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: January 10, 2017, 1:42 pm
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[center][img
width=640]
HTML https://faculty.etsu.edu/gardnerr/wright-brothers/1903photo-small.jpg[/img][/center]
[center]Now if I can just stay clear of those cows, this should
work out all right. :D[/center]
[center]How Newsworthy Were the Wright Brothers’
First Flights? ???[/center]
It may surprise you to learn that news of the first-ever powered
airplane flight was not covered by the mainstream press.
It was actually a beekeeper named A.I. Root
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/170fs799081.gif
who first wrote
about Orville and Wilbur Wright’s early flights in the pages of
his obscure journal[font=times new roman] Gleanings in Bee
Culture[/font]. Although Root didn’t witness the first flight at
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in December 1903, he was on hand in
September 1904 when the brothers took a plane up and circled
around, returning to their starting place.
The Wright brothers had obtained permission to use a local cow
pasture known as Huffman Prairie, a few miles outside Dayton,
Ohio. The owner did not charge them, but he did ask that the
Wrights make sure his livestock were not harmed. Root witnessed
several other flights at Huffman Prairie and reported the
successes in his beekeeping journal.
The first family of fearless flying:
HTML http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Transports/flying-044.gif
•The Wrights built a hangar at Huffman Prairie and began
experimenting with their second airplane. They started to use a
catapult device to assist with takeoff in lighter winds.
•The Wrights added weight to the front of their 1904 Flyer to
shift the center of gravity forward and increase stability. They
also moved the elevator farther ahead of the wings, which made
the plane easier to fly.
•It took 49 flights for the Wrights to equal their Kitty Hawk
flight time. The first circular flight lasted 1 minute, 36
seconds and covered 4,080 feet (1.2 km).
HTML http://www.wisegeek.com/how-newsworthy-were-the-wright-brothers-first-flights.htm
Agelbert NOTE: Cows do not take kindly to being buzzed by
airplanes. Back in 1966, the flight school I was attending at
Opa Locka airport in Florida received numerous complaints from
ranchers north of us (what was designated as the "practice area"
for student pilots) between North Miami and Ft. Lauderdale
(mostly open land at that time). The cows were being buzzed and
having abortions. I never buzzed any cows or people. But there
are stupid, empathy deficit disordered people in every
profession, I guess. The only time you were supposed to be below
600 feet (the lowest altitude for ground reference maneuvers
like turns about a point, pylon eights and S turns above a road)
was when you were simulating an emergency landing (you got to
about a 100 feet and then applied power when the instructor was
satisfied that you would survive the forced landing and possibly
not damage the aircraft).
I never went anywhere near a cow or a person. I saw cows and
people and was perfectly aware of where they were at so I assume
some idiots thought is was "fun" to buzz them. So it goes. There
are way too many Homo SAPS among Homo Sapiens. [img
width=30]
HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_2955.gif[/img]
#Post#: 6721--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: March 21, 2017, 12:06 pm
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[quote author=Eddie link=topic=559.msg127402#msg127402
date=1490065945]
[quote author=agelbert link=topic=559.msg127387#msg127387
date=1490050580]
I like this Texan. [img width=25
height=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]<br
/>
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp<br
/>
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191456.bmp
[center]
HTML https://youtu.be/y7y0uQWdumM[/center][/quote]
I was surprised I don't know this guy. I bet money I know
somebody who knows him. LOL. Thank you!
[/quote]
You are welcome, Eddie. Check that dude out, if you can. He is
having some marital problems but he seems like a straight
shooter. Who knows, he may become a bona-fide Doomstead Diner.
He has a following on U-tube of about 3,500 subscribers. I think
he could use some help from a fellow Texan, even if it's just
moral support.
RE, you may want to give him a holler too. ;)
[quote author=RE link=topic=559.msg127407#msg127407
date=1490069057]
The problem with multi-hull boats is they are not self-righting.
So if you get rolled over or pitch poled, you are seriously
fucked and SOL. If the trimaran folds, you can right it if the
seas calm, but you cannot right a flipped cat in any way.
Trimarans have the serious problem of a lack of room in the main
cabin, not a great living space in general.
I experienced two flying jibes. One not too bad on a small
daysailer boat, it only pulled out a couple of cleats. The
other one worse, the boom got ripped off the mast on a 32
footer. Very ugly, and expensive repairs for dad the pigman.
RE[/quote]
I hear ya, RE, but I want to tell you about something I saw that
you will find hard to believe. I certainly found it hard to
believe. I was at the beach watching a dude sailing a Hobie cat.
Of course that's a bit small for a catamaran but it IS a
catamaran. Well, it FLIPPED! And the dude, WAY out over 200
yards away from the beach, stood on a pontoon and UNFLIPPED IT!.
:o [img width=25
height=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]<br
/>
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191456.bmp<br
/>The mast came out of the water. After some scurrying around, h
e
was sailing again. That guy knew his stuff!
[center][img
width=640]
HTML https://www.westcoastsailing.net/media/wysiwyg/Landing-Pages/Category-pages/Hobie-landing-page/Hobie_14.jpg[/img][/center]
[center]A Hobie Cat in action[/center]
Of course you can't do that with a full sized catamaran but I
like em' anyway! ;D
#Post#: 6723--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: March 21, 2017, 12:43 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Eddie link=topic=559.msg127437#msg127437
date=1490117301]
You are welcome, Eddie. Check that dude out, if you can. He is
having some marital problems but he seems like a straight
shooter. Who knows, he may become a bona-fide Doomstead Diner.
He has a following on U-tube of about 3,500 subscribers. I think
he could use some help from a fellow Texan, even if it's just
moral support.
I dropped a note on his utoob page and he invited me to meet him
sometime soon. I think he's going to be out-of-town for a few
days, though. I'll let you know how it goes.
[/quote]
Great!
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/thankyou.gif
I learned
from watching his screeds that he used to be a Real Estate
salesman and made some big bucks for a while until the crash. It
appears he has struggled for about a decade. I watched the way
he deals with and handles his dog. That alone told me he is a
good, caring man. He cusses up a storm but considering the
present situation, I cannot blame him. 8)
#Post#: 6939--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: April 23, 2017, 8:25 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=azozeo link=topic=9447.msg130056#msg130056
date=1492979678]
[quote author=agelbert link=topic=9434.msg130055#msg130055
date=1492979012]
[quote author=RE link=topic=9434.msg130051#msg130051
date=1492975957]
[quote author=agelbert link=topic=9434.msg130048#msg130048
date=1492974450]
Weren't the Krishnas those folks that hung around airports and
sold pencils in guru outfits or something?
HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_6656.gif
As an
air taxi pilot I had the experience of running in to them often.
I do admit they were always polite and friendly. [img width=25
height=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]<br
/> I kind of felt sorry for them because they always looked like
they hadn't had enough to eat. :(
[/quote]
Given the time period you were doing that job, yes those were
likely Hare Krishnas.
RE
[/quote]
Yeah, they must have been the ones. 8) I think they would have
one shoulder bared in those outfits. That worked okay in the
tropics... ;)
I was kind of hungry in the days of being an air taxi rat
myself. I had a mail run to two small islands for a while
(Vieques and Culebra). I tried to make ends meet by importing
goat cheese from Culebra but I couldn't get connected with the
supermarket personnel that purchased quantities of food items.
[img
width=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113183729.png[/img]<br
/>So, I ended up eating the samples I bought. That was GREAT
cheese! ;D
When I flew from Vieques to Culebra I had to traverse a Navy fun
and games blow stuff up area of the ocean. I got to see depth
charges shot and large guns firing in real time. They were
polluting the crap out of the Caribbean especially after the
bomb, you know. They towed vessels that had been exposed to the
nuke tests in the Pacific ALL THE WAY to Vieques and sank them
off shore. Vieques has one of the highest cancer rates in the
WORLD. Of course I'm sure the U.S. Navy had nuttin' to do wid
dat....
Sorry for the ramblin' I'm getting old.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/301.gif
[/quote]
Great story AG.
Harry's fresh chum for the shark tank. Since JeRM slithered back
under his rock,
I've adopted Harry as my new squeak toy.... [img
width=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185047.png[/img]<br
/>
[/quote]
[quote author=RE link=topic=9434.msg130057#msg130057
date=1492979827]
[quote author=agelbert link=topic=9434.msg130055#msg130055
date=1492979012]
Sorry for the ramblin' I'm getting old.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/301.gif
[/quote]
Don't sweat ramblin' on about your life history. I love hearing
anecdotes about people's lives.
I'm hitting the big 6-OH this year, and I wrote an autobiography
to celebrate this momentous occassion. ::) :icon_sunny: lol.
It's so **** long even by my standards I'm going to spread out
the publication in parts over the next few months. Part 1 will
go up in May.
RE[/quote]
[img
width=100]
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/computer3.gif[/img]
[quote author=luciddreams link=topic=9434.msg130061#msg130061
date=1492980593]
[quote author=azozeo link=topic=9434.msg130056#msg130056
date=1492979678]
Great story AG.
Harry's fresh chum for the shark tank. Since JeRM slithered back
under his rock,
I've adopted Harry as my new squeak toy.... [img
width=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185047.png[/img]<br
/>
[/quote]
lol :D
I needed a good laugh...thanks Azozeo [img width=25
height=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]
[/quote]
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WAR STORY TIME! [img
width=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185047.png[/img]<br
/>
There I was, flying my Piper Navajo in the year of our Lord 1970
through a hellacious thunder storm. I had a full load of
adventurous bidness people (eight ;D), I was young and I COULD
FLY! [img
width=100]
HTML http://www.jrcompton.com/photos/The_Birds/J/Feb-12/Forsters_Tern_Looking_Down-DSC_5644.jpg[/img]
Well, at least I thought so. 8)
Where were we? Right, the San Juan to Ponce run in the afternoon
when the thunderheads on the south of Puerto Rico, which is
usually about as wet as Arizona, were built up to really ugly
dimensions. [img
width=50]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-310714182509.png[/img]
Being a fearless flyer (most of the time), I was up to the task
of delivering my paying passengers smoothly to the Ponce
airport, of course. This was a bit challenging because the
turbulence was a pain in the arse. Aircraft have seat belts for
completely different reasons than cars, ya know.
The Captain's seat in the Navajoe (left seat in the cockpit)
positions you so that you can reach the throttle quadrant with
three pairs of handles on it. The red ones are the mixture
control of avgas (130 octane green color) and oxygen. That
Navajo had superchargers on it so you had to be careful with the
mixture control or you would get power boosts that would unnerve
the passengers. They don't like a twin engine aircraft sashaying
this way and that, even for a few seconds. And it looks bad too.
The whole idea of flying commercially is to convince those fine
folks on board that you are a sort of limo in the sky so they
will come back for another ride. Avoiding wiggles and bumps is a
big deal. :laugh:
[center][img
width=640]
HTML http://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/3/3/8/0760833-v40-10.jpg[/img][/center]
The other pairs of handles on the throttle quadrant are for the
propeller angle (blue color) and for the throttles( black color)
for each 350 HP Lycoming gas hog. The blue ones are called pitch
control handles. These are basically a variable gearshift for
airplanes. They can also be used to "feather" the prop if the
engine quits to avoid drag.
HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_6961.gif
I know.
You are bored to tears so let's get on with the thunder bumper
story.
HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_6869.gif
I was at 5,000 feet on instruments (in the soup) heading
southwest about 15 miles from the airport at around 220 knots. I
was cleared for the "circling" VOR approach to runway 11. All
that techno-babble means that I had to shoot a non-precision
approach because Ponce was a two-by-nothing airport that didn't
merit an instrument landing system (ILS - tells you how high you
are until about 200 feet above the runway a mile or so away from
the threshold).
A VOR is a Very High Frequency Omni-range device/building that
looks like a 100 ft diameter sombrero. It puts out 360 radials
that you can tune into with your VOR gizmo on the panel and tell
if you are on the right or left side of the radial.
In a VOR approach, you first intercept the approach radial and
follow it. If it's a "circling" approach, that means you are NOT
lined up with the runway when you reach the minimum approach
altitude at a specific time for the velocity you are traveling
at.
If you see the runway, you circle (at Ponce I had to circle
about 210 degrees!) to line up with the runway.
IF you do NOT break out of the soup or cannot see the runway at
minimum altitude (it was about 1,500 above the runway here) and
clocked time, you had to shoot a "Missed Approach" and climb
back up to 6,000 feet and Hold (do 4 minute race track patters
of one minute legs) at the PSE VOR on a specific radial and
await another approach clearance (or proceed to your alternate
airport).
In this approach, after spotting the runway, I would be heading
about 260 (west-south-westward) and have to spot the airport,
fly south of, and then parallel to, the runway heading 290.
As soon as I was abeam the runway 11 threshold (it's runway 29
in the other direction but the wind is always coming from the
east there so I couldn't just land on 29), I would circle to the
right to 110 degrees (East-south-eastward) and land. Simple,
RIGHT?
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp
I was traveling on a radial from another VOR station.
I had a second VOR gizmo (you have two on decent aircraft,
sniff) set to the PSE (Ponce) VOR radial I wanted to intercept.
So, as the needle began to center, I passed a fix from which I
could start the approach.
I began a descent using a timed rate of descent along the
approach radial.
You practice all this stuff a lot to get an instrument rating.
BUT, when you are flying routinely, you RARELY need to shoot
approaches on instruments in a DRY place like Ponce.
BUT, some days (it's mostly during the days, not nights) it just
cain't be helped. THIS was one of those days.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/www_MyEmoticons_com__smokelots.gif
It was quite bumpy. as I went through 4,000 feet. I tightened my
seat belt to make sure I would have no difficulty reaching the
props and throttle while being bounced around.
No smoking sign: ON (in air taxis you always require the
passengers to have their seat belts on).
Boost pumps: ON
Fuel: ON MAIN TANKS
Cowl flaps: OPEN
Flaps: 20 degrees
Gear: DOWN with three green lights (locked)
Mixture: FULL RICH (handles full forward)
Prop Pitch control: FLAT PITCH (handles full forward)
Throttle: AS NEEDED to keep 500 feet per minute rate of descent
(unlike a car, the throttle is used to control descent rate in
an approach - you control velocity with the elevators).
CROSS CHECK: constant rescan of instruments and CLOCK to see how
much time you have left to missed approach point. You want to
make sure you reach the minimum altitude just before the time
expires so you have the best chance of being low enough and near
enough to spot the runway.
I checked my speed and the clock. More bumps and flashes of
lightning. :P The tower advises a heavy rain storm is in
progress over the field with a visibility of less than a mile.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714183312.bmp<br
/>That is VERY bad news for me because non-precision approaches
CANNOT be executed completely when the visibility is less than a
mile...
I say "roger" and prepare myself to have to do a Missed
Approach. :P
The tower informs me that the visibility SOUTH of the airport is
above a mile and the storm is mostly on and north of the
airport.
I say "roger" and start to think fast.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191329.bmp<br
/> I know this area like the back of my hand (famous last words
;D) so there is NO WAY I'm gonna let that dumb rain storm GIT
me. I KNOW all the high terrain is north of airport and I KNOW
the land is flat as a pancake and near sea level SOUTH of the
airport for the few miles to ocean.
SO, I figure I can cheat a little. ;)
Descending through 3,000 feet, I deliberately deviate about 8
degrees south of the approach radial. The soup continues as
thick as ever and the lightning is more frequent, instead of
less. I call the tower for a visibility update. They say the
storm appears stationary with no sign of decreasing intensity
except to the south.
I say, "roger" while my hand on the yoke is getting a bit on the
sweaty side. I deviate another 5 degrees or so left of the
approach radial.
I pass 2,000 feet and still nuttin'. I have 500 feet more I can
legally descend and about 30 seconds left.
I keep descending past 1,500 ft (I was STILL in the soup at
1,500 ft) to 1,000 feet and begin to break out of the soup, but
I can't see the runway.
The tower calls and reports the visibility is just above a mile!
[img width=100
height=60]
HTML http://cliparts.co/cliparts/Big/Egq/BigEgqBMT.png[/img]
I say, "Roger, please advise if you go below Special VFR (visual
flight rules). Less than 3 miles but greater than one mile are
known as "special" VFR rules that IFR (instrument flight rules)
rated pilots like me CAN use to get around IFR rules and land in
visual conditions legally.". ;)
I reach the end of my time at 1,000 feet. I'm not in the soup
(barely) but I can't see the airport (I am planning to head
straight south over the ocean to stay away from the soup and
regroup - I have no desire to go up in to that crapola at
moment).
He says, " Roger, report the runway in sight for visual approach
to runway 11. Wind is 090 at 15 gusting to 25 knots. Altimeter
2998 (approximation - that was long arse time ago 8)).
As he says that I realize the tailwind pushed me further towards
the airport than I thought with my timed approach. A look hard
towards that black ugly soup to the right and THERE is the
runway!
Ponce tower, San Juan Air 533 has the runway in sight.
PSE TWR: Roger, San Juan Air 533 is cleared for a visual
approach to runway 11. Visibility continues to be above one mile
(I think he was making that up but what the hell. :laugh: I
knew he just trying to help. I couldn't see the tower cab! :o)
AND NOW is when the FUN began.
HTML http://www.coh2.org/images/Smileys/huhsign.gif
I fly WELL (nearly over the ocean) south and parallel to the
airport at about 800 feet. I then fly over the city and
carefully pick my land marks.
You see, when it's raining real hard, you can NOT see forward,
but you can see straight down. This is a rather dangerous thing
to do, but if you think your a hotshot pilot, you might be dumb
enough to try it. ;D
I knew there is this hill about 500 feet high on the approach
path to runway 11 within a mile or so of the runway. I knew that
there was a hospital on that hill. I planned to have that just
to my left. After passing that hill, there are two rivers, then
an expressway next to the threshold. On the left of the runway
was located the Serralles Rum plant that made Don Q rum. It had
some large stacks on it that I didn't want to run into that also
served as good land marks.
So, as the hill got abeam of my position going west, I circled
to the right, maintaining the fiction that I still had the
runway in sight (I no longer did, but don't tell nobody ;D). I
could see the ground and somewhat forward.
As I turned, over the city, towards the airport, I lost forward
visibility as the rain grew heavy. I applied full flaps for the
landing and increased the power to keep at approach speed (about
130 knots)). I had to keep my eyes glued to the ground and
didn't want the aircraft to get away from me.
In passing, I must tell you that there was a passenger in the
co-pilot's seat. The owner of the air taxi normally allowed that
to make more money.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191329.bmp<br
/>You only needed (FAA regs) a co-pilot when you had to BEGIN th
e
flight in IFR conditions (which rarely happened). I got fired
for organizing a union to force that bastard to put co-pilots on
all flights, but that's another story for another time. 8)
Back to the high pucker factor approach, the tower is calling
the wind and there is Prinair 4 engine De Haviland Heron ready
for take off but being held at the apron due to my imminent
arrival.
The tower clears me to land. I say, "roger".
I'm watching the city go by and the terrain rapidly goes up.
THERE's the hospital on the hill!
I slightly bank left, going through 300 feet and see the two
rivers, now 100 feet.
WHERE is the expressway? It's really coming down HARD!
I start to apply more power to stop the descent while looking
down desperately (although my outward appearance was the calm
cool Captain Kirk of the Star Ship Enterprise LOL!).
THERE I see the Heron 4 engine job right underneath me! I pitch
the nose down slightly. I still can't see forward at all. It's
like a waterfall going UP my windshield.
I'm slightly right of course. I find the runway centerline and
see the left runway lights (they were on despite it being during
the day because of the low visibility) and just try to keep them
the same distance from the aircraft wing. I'm at about 50 feet.
I throttle back all the way.
Rather than bank and lose the visibility I have to stay straight
along the centerline, I use the rudder pedals to move the nose
left or right.
I touch down. The Prinair crew that watched the whole thing
says, "BRAVO!" on the radio. ;D
I still can't see forward. I apply foot breaks while watching
the runway lights to stay straight.
The aircraft stops. It's still raining cats and dogs out there.
The tower orders Prinair to taxi into position and hold and
orders me to taxi to the ramp with instructions to NOT open the
door because the ramp crew has personnel with an umbrella coming
:D (normally the pilot opens that door).
I say "roger" and push hard right rudder to do a circling left
turn on the runway (there was no taxiway at the 29 end of the
runway).
As I did that followed by hard left rudder and differential
engine power to help the turn, the passenger blurted out that he
couldn't figure out how I did that because he couldn't see a
thing.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191404.bmp<br
/>I calmly explained that you could see down and use land marks
in
my best Captain Kirk voice (while I hoped the passenger wasn't
noticing that wiggle that had developed in my two knees right
after the aircraft finally stopped).
When I finally reached the terminal, I smoked the most enjoyable
cigarette I have ever smoked in my LIFE! [img
width=100]
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/acigar.gif[/img]
No, I never had to do that again. When I bragged about it to my
Airline pilot brother, he chewed my arse for 20 minutes
reminding me of all the ways I could have killed myself and a
bunch of other people. :-[
So, I made sure I didn't repeat the risky maneuver.
But, to this day, I'm HAPPY that I got away with it! [img
width=70]
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/47b20s0.gif[/img]
[center]
[img
width=640]
HTML http://lias.cis.rit.edu/sites/default/files/images/wasp-navajo_0.preview.jpg[/img][/center]
[center]Piper Navajoe[/center]
#Post#: 6940--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: April 23, 2017, 8:56 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=RE link=topic=9447.msg130076#msg130076
date=1492995931]
FABULOUS Anecdote AG!!!!! [img
width=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185701.png[/img]
RE
[/quote]
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Sir. I'm glad it
helped you have a better day. [img
width=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185701.png[/img]
I can't wait until Surly finds out I once organized a UNION!
Hopefully, he will relieve me of my "aparatchik" status for
having worked for the feds (just kidding surly! But now you
know I 've always been a socialist at heart. ;D).
#Post#: 6946--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: April 24, 2017, 5:02 pm
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[quote author=Surly1 link=topic=9447.msg130090#msg130090
date=1493031682]
[quote author=agelbert link=topic=9447.msg130080#msg130080
date=1492997645]
[quote author=RE link=topic=9447.msg130076#msg130076
date=1492995931]
FABULOUS Anecdote AG!!!!! :icon_sunny:
I invite all Diners to post an Anecdote from their lives for
publication in a Compilation Blog of Diner Autobiographical
Tales!
RE
[/quote]
I can't wait until Surly finds out I once organized a UNION!
Hopefully, he will relieve me of my "aparatchik" status for
having worked for the feds (just kidding surly! But now you
know I 've always been a socialist at heart. ;D).
[/quote]
Proud of you, AG. What a tale!
Have never doubted your heart is in the right place.
[/quote]
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#Post#: 6947--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: April 24, 2017, 5:18 pm
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[quote author=RE link=topic=9447.msg130094#msg130094
date=1493037857]
[quote author=knarf link=topic=9447.msg130093#msg130093
date=1493037368]
In 1971 I was drafted into the armed service. The Viet Nam war
was in high gear. I was living in the Bay Area, Ca. and there
was a lot of protests against the war. I had read the "The
Pentagon Papers", and had met some guys who had returned from
the war. I had been on my own since about the age of 14, my
Mother died a year earlier and Father became an alcoholic. So I
made the decision to become a Conscientious Objector. You have
to serve 2 years in the States doing community service work, and
can only be paid $100 a month. C.O.'s do not get any Military
help after completion of the 2 years.
My first year I joined a Conservation Corp. and went to a camp
around Mt. Lassen. We helped the US Forest service build roads,
clear messed up terrain, and fought forest fires ( mainly mop up
on the perimeters). I once got doused by fire retardant dropped
by a plane, nice. :)
I was a "born again" Christian at this time. I found out about a
Church of Christ mission in the Ghettos of NYC. I was able to do
my second year at this organization, called "Shiloh". We lived
in East NY and Brownsville from late September through April,
and then brought a ton of kids to a camp in New Jersey.
We lived in a tenement apartment with rats, cockroaches, and
urine in all the halls. One of the leaders almost lost his eye
because he got slugged in a pick up basketball game on the
street park. One staff girl was rapped. There were two robbery's
in our apartments.
While playing vollyball with the staff at the local gym, I
tore my right knee cartilage. I didn't know that yet though. The
first thing I did was go to local doctor. On the way a big older
street bum walked up beside me and started walking with me. He
suddenly said "I have a .45 pointed right at you." ( buldge in
his coat) We keep walking then he say "What are you doing here?"
I said I worked at Shiloh . He says "where do you live?" I said
over on Wilson in an apartment just a few blocks away." We keep
walking, he says "Well, why didn't you tell me so!" Ok, I just
did. Then he slowed down and stopped and turned around.
The doctor was an old Jewish fellow. He said I just sprained
it real bad so he put a cast on my knee to keep it immobile.
Well it didn't and when the cartilage popped out on my knee bone
it felt like being stabbed with a knife. I had the top bunk and
jumped up to get some rest and my knee went out. This time I
couldn't strech my leg out to pop the cartilage back in place.
So I am in the top bunk being stabbed in the knee. I crawled
down and to the kitchen , got a hammer and a butter knife, and
cut the cast off to stretch my leg. It worked. I eventually had
knee surgery in "The Hospital for Special Surgery" where Joe
Namath had his knees repaired. I also roomed with a concert
violinist. I was playing my guitar one day and he says "that
sounded really good." That is when I found out about his mastery
of the violin/music. I was really embarrassed because I just
could play rock, rhythm and blues, and some jazz. But he
insisted that I played really well. That was cool.
Another time I was going through the neighborhoods knocking on
doors to see if anyone had children they wanted to send to camp.
The black guys crossed the street and started following me and
getting closer. I tried to stay cool, and then one of them
mentioned Shiloh. That was enough to back them off. We did a lot
for the neighborhood, and was mostly welcome there.
Two years later my supervisor and friend was shot and killed
while walking a kid to his apartment.
Speaking of these anecdotes from the oil consumption days, we
got put on the even/odd license plate gas fill up. On our day we
had to wait in a line of about 50 cars at time.
[/quote]
ANOTHER FABULOUS ANECDOTE!
This is shaping up well already!
RE
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Knarf, my hat is off to you for making this sad world a better
place. I am indebted to you for your sacrifices on behalf of the
downtrodden. The fact that, though you were forced to be a man
at 14, you went out of your way to help others, is an example to
all of us of what we should be like.
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Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
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#Post#: 6948--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: April 24, 2017, 5:46 pm
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[center]
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Agelbert's
Aerobatic Adventure -[I] In A NON-Aerobatic Aircraft[/I] :o :P
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Once upon a time, I was young and a newly licensed Private
Pilot. I had racked up about 53 hours of flying time, passed my
4 hour written test and my one hour flight test so I figured I
had most of this flying stuff all figured out. I was now
starting my commercail pilot training which required a total of
160 hours. A lot of this time was solo flying practicing
advanced maneuvers such as chandelles, lazy eights, pivotal
altitude hold while circling a ground reference point, several
kinds of stalls, engine out procedures, emergency landing
procedures and some extended cross country flights.
But most of that was in the future. I had already flown my
mother as my mandatory first passenger now that I was a bona
fide licensed pilot and could legally carry passengers (without
charging for it, of course).
[center][img width=640
height=380]
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[center]I modified the last part of the tail number on the
cherokee 140 above. It's not the one I flew but is identical in
appearance and paint job. [/center]
This bright sunny day I boarded Zero Nine Whisky (N--09W tail
number) Cherokee 140 trainer aircraft to accumulate some flying
time towards my minimum required for a commercial pilot license.
Zero Nine Whiskey was my favorite of the aircraft. It had a
pretty paint job and was the plane I had soloed in. It was an
old friend to me by now. I didn't have any particular plan
except to go out over the everglades practice area and repeat
some of the maneuvers I already knew.
Of course, being young, curious, over confident and foolish, I
wanted to expand my knowledge of how the aircraft responded in
somewhat, shall we say, higher pitch attitudes than the every
day dull training fare.
If you have ever heard the expression, "pushing the envelope",
let me tell you that it is originally and aviatior's expression
stolen from us by you ground pounders to make your dull lives
seem more exciting!
Yes, dear readers, Agelbert was fixin' to push the envelope.
The flight "envelope" is the airspeed range and pitch attitude
(angle above or below the horizon) as well as bank angle range
of the wings that the aircraft is designed to fly at. If you
leave the envelope when you are in the air, you are entering the
danger zone. WHY? Because the aircraft can suffer catastrophic
structural damage, engine, failure or a combination thereof. If
this happpens near the ground, you are done. If it happens 4 to
5 thousand feet up, you MIGHT be able to recover and live
through it. You have a little more time but your survival
usually depends more on luck than skill.
Recently licensed Private Pilots are not too long on skill...
I taxied out, took off and flew northwest about 10 miles to the
practice area. This area over the Florida Everglades was (in
1966) in the middle of nowhere. There were a few roads near some
farms that had boundaries by the glades but otherwise it was all
swamp and you were alligator food if you went down there.
[center][img width=640
height=380]
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[center]Cherokee in cruise flight at about 115 mph over Ohio,
not the Everglades. [/center]
On the plus side for a designated practice area, it was flat,
far away from people or cows (our flight school had been told to
NOT allow the student pilots to practice low approaches to
emergency landings near cows because it caused abortions), and
arrival and departure aircraft traffic to Opa Locka or Miami
International Airports. Besides, it was within radio range of
several ATC towers so if you had an emergency, you could set
121.5 on your radio and call for help before you made a forced
landing even if you were at a low altitude.
Out over the practice area at 2,000 feet, I practiced a few
engine out procedures and checked the area for potential landing
sites that I could reach with the power off. It didn't look all
that great but I would pick a spot and pretend I had to put it
down right there. At about 300 feet I would apply full power and
climb away looking down at the spot to see what sort of a mess I
would have made if I had actually landed there.
I then decided to try something new. I knew I might have some
"difficulties" so I climbed to 5,000 feet (the recommended
altitude for stall and spin practice). I may write about an
exciting and humorous adventure with spins someday but that was
still in the future for me then. For this adventure, I must
explain to you what a "stall" is before I explain my imaginative
variation of it.
An aircraft flies because a low pressure area forms over the
upper surface of the wing in direct proportion to the velocity
of said wing and the angle of the wing to the air movement
(relative wind). The point is that the wings are sucked up and
the aircraft flies.
Straight and level flight (arrow) ----> produces enough lift to
not go up or down. When you pull back on the control point the
aircraft nose higher, you are increasing the pitch attitude. A
Cherokee 140 normally flies at a pitch attitude of a few degrees
(positive pitch).
A stall has nothing to do with the engine. A stall is what
happens when the low pressure area over the wing surface gets
disturbed (burble point) by too high a pitch attitude and the
wings no longer produce lift. The maneuver is performed by
gradually increasing the pitch attitude with a certain
designated power on or power off condition (or something in
between) until the nose shakes a little and noses down as the
wings hit the burble point.
Stall recovery is performed by establishing a negative pitch
(nose below normal glide pitch) to pick up flying speed while
applying full power simultaneously. Panicky student pilots have
a tendency to point the nose down steeply and upset their flight
instructors. After some practice, students learn that the secret
of stall recovery is just to put that nose down to a few degrees
below glide pitch and, of course, keep the plane from banking
with the rudder so you don't get into an inadvertent stall-spin.
The most challenging stall recovery is a power on stall because
the nose is pitched about 40 degrees up (much higher than for a
power off stall) and the burble point stall break is snappy.
It's also harder to keep the plane straight to avoit a spin
entry due to one wing stalling before the other.
Well, I knew all that. I had that down! Let us see, I said to
myself, what happens when we REALLY pick up the nose with full
power?
HTML http://yoursmiles.org/psmile/pilot/p0502.gif
I pushed the throttle all the way and pulled the nose as far
back as I could about 60 degrees). The effect was a much more
violent stall (imagine a bucking bronco) break and the plane
trying to spin this way and that. But I recovered within a few
hundred feet of altitude loss which was well within limits for a
power on stall.
I thought about that for a while. I wanted a 90 degree pitch up
nose position (straight up!) but, even with full power, I
couldn't get there before the plane stalled. Bummer.
So, I applied full power again and lowered the nose to pick up
maneuvering speed (129 mph designated aircraft speed where
structural damage could not occur from control movements). ZOOM!
At 129 mph I gradually lifted the nose all the way to 90
degrees! Yippee! There I was, going straight up like a fighter
pilot!
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height=880]
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I then waited for the stall break and the nose to pitch forward.
And I waited. And I waited. The airspeed went down past 60,
which was no flaps stalling speed, and kept going down. Fifty,
forty, THIRTY (WTF!), TWENTY!!! (I pulled the power off and
tried to nose the aircraft over - no response - I was going too
slow to ahve ANY EFFECT on the fight controls - I was basically
a rock tossed in the air at this point approaching the peak of a
ballistic trajectory), TEN, ZERO!
Now it gets really good. The cherokee 140 is a utility trainer
aircraft. That means it is capable of withstanding 4.4 G forces
plus and 2.2 G minus. Aerobatic aircraft can handle 6.6 both
ways with out structural issues. I knew this. I knew I was not
in a Citabria or Stearman that could do whip stalls and tail
slides and hammer head stalls at air shows just for fun.
Cherokees have a stabilator (instead of an elevator) on the tail
that is quite easy to break. If that breaks, you are dead,
period.
You DO NOT want to stress the stabilator, EVER.
I went weightless. My pilot briefcase began floating in the air
next to me. The wind noise was picking up rapidly and the
airspeed still read ZERO!
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height=880]
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Panic time! I decided to release the controls because ANYTHING I
did would translate BACKWARDS because the aircraft was "flying"
backwards. I did NOT want to bust that stabilator. I wanted to
get that nose DOWN somehow. As a kid I had thown gliders in the
air and watched them tail slide and whip stall to a nose down
pitch and recover. I was counting on that but my confidence
level was measurable in fractions of an inch at the moment.
Hanging by my seatbelt, I experienced the most violent forward
whip stall forward you can imagine. That is probably what save
my life. Had the stabilator caused a BACKWARD whip stall, it
would probably have broken off. Without the ability to control
the pitch attitude, even with engine power, a small aircraft
will nose hard into the ground destroying the airframe and
killing the pilot.
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height=880]
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I watched the blue sky instantly change to brown everglades. It
was weird. The nose did not just go from straight up to straight
down; it went from straight up to a pendulum movement. I still
hadn't touched the controls. The airspeed had, of course, been
increasing all along but it didn't show because aircraft measure
airspeed with a pitot tube that faces the relative wind. Planes
don't generally fly backwards. LOL!
The moment the plane whipped over to the glades facing pendulous
rocking movement, the airspeed went from zero to ABOVE VNE
(Never Exceed Velocity - about 160). The airspeed indicator was
PEGGED!
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That was another fright. I realized the flip had occurred above
maneuvering speed and was sweating the possibility I had lost my
stabilator.
I reached for the controls and, ever so gradually, applied back
pressure to get out of the dive without tearing the wings off.
Also, if I pull back too hard and too quick, that was another
chance to over stress the stabilator (if I still had one) that I
didn't want to risk.
It worked. I hadn't lost my stabilator! Gravity returned and I
got the airspeed back to 115 mph normal cruise. I had lost about
3,500 feet. I applied power.
Nothing. [color=red][shadow=red,left]Engine failure.
[/shadow]Argh.
I turned on the electric fuel pump (this aircraft has a manual
fuel pump but uses the electric fuel pump to aid starting and
engine restart in the air) and set 121.5 emergency frequency on
my radio and looked for a place to put Zero Nine Whiskey down.
At 800 feet the best place looked like a dirt embankment in the
Everglades. I began a final approach and had the mike in my hand
to begin transmitting mayday when the engine sputtered on.
Believe it or not, my greatest relief at the moment was not
having to embarrass myself by radioing an emergency.
Such is the foolish pride of the young.
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I hooked the mike back on to the panel and changed to tower
frequency, radioed that I was inbound about 15 miles northwest
and brought her home (without turning the electric fuel pump off
until I was safely on the runway).
I taxied to the grass parking area at the fight school and shut
own the aircraft.
Then I noticed something that needed to be taken care of. The
cowling above the panel was full of dirt! The whip stall had
been so violent that every speck of dirt on the floor had been
thrown up and then forward and down onto the cowling as I
applied gradual back pressure to pull the aircraft out of the
dive. The floor looked like someone had done a great vacuuming
job on it. LOL!
I called a line boy and said there was a lot of dirt on the
cowling that should be cleaned up. He looked at it and asked,
How did that get there?". I said, "I don't know." and quickly
walked into the office to sign out...".
[I]NOTE: Zero Nine Whisky was NOT damaged. I flew over 50 hours
in that aircraft subsequently along with hundreds of hours by
other pilots and flight instructors.
I pre-flighted VERY closely the aircraft a day later and, had I
seen the least bit of evidence of stabilator stress, would have
reported it.
I know, I should have reported it anyway but I was foolishly and
pridefully afraid to besmirch my pilot record because it would
reduce my chances of getting hired by the airlines. [/I]
All I can say is the Piper Cherokee 140 is an excellent trainer
aircraft.
So that is how a foolish young man happened to cheat death in
1966.
If you liked this true story by Agelbert, be nice and register.
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[center]Agelbert giving his first lecture on Renewable Energy.
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Have a pleasant day. ;D
[url=
HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/index.php]Renewable<br
/>Revolution
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#Post#: 6971--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: April 26, 2017, 6:52 pm
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[quote author=azozeo link=topic=6033.msg130303#msg130303
date=1493238493]
Very well put AG.
Don't get me wrong, sign me up for one of these 4th Reichstag's
windup plastic run-abouts, there cool as ****.
I'm seasoned, AG's seasoned. We both possess a ticket to ride.
I'm not current at this point in time. 30 days of
review in reg's, weather, sim time, left seat with an instructor
& whaa-la I'm a Legal Eagle again. Oh, yeah & the medical.
:icon_mrgreen:
SOOOOOO, it's complicated & for "1st timers" that's a BIG
hurdle.
The point is, the ego is being tickled & the brain is in the
caboose. Eye candy with big consequences.
If you'll notice in the vid, no one was aboard. That was a big
boy toy drone test flight. These cats haven't even
received GOOBERmint approval to have a test pilot flight yet.
I'll take a Cherokee 6, an attractive female hostage, leave
Lauderdale airspace & head to little Guana Cay for lunch.
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So, you've flown a six? I put quite a few hours into those birds
way back when. Here's a short war story from my air taxi rat
days:
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[center]Piper Cherokee Six[/center]
It was the San Juan to Vieques flight in a 260 hp Cherokee six
sometime in 1969. The folks that lived in Vieques would fly to
San Juan and buy stuff to take back to their island (half of it
- the other half was routinely being blown to smithereens as a
bomb fun and games place for the Navy and Marines - it looked
like the moon :P).
Vieques islanders were sort of country bumpkins to the average
cosmopolitan San Juan dweller. Country folks are very practical
and aren't real particular about appearances. ;D On this
particular flight I had some people carrying sacks of potatoes
(I eyed these carefully when I did my weight and balance ;))
and a lady that had some live and healthy (and noisy) chickens.
I can't imagine why, but country folks also smell a bit ripe on
a hot day in the tropics... Perhaps it's fear of flying that
makes them perspire a bit more than normal, but I was always
glad for my tiny flip down pilot seat window... :D
Well we, took off and encountered a lot of wind noise.
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I called the tower
at the international airport 5 miles east of my air taxi base
(Isla Grande airport) and asked for a touch and go, which they
approved. It seems the latch over the door had not sealed the
door properly. I had a friend riding in the right seat (he
wasn't a pilot) and I asked him to see if he could force the
door open a bit and then try to pull it closed again (we are in
flight approaching the international airport at this time). He
did that (sound of torrent of air going by at 150 mph) and the
lady with the chickens screamed. The chickens weren't too happy
about that either. :D
It didn't work. So, we landed, slowed down and did that again
until we got that silly latch to catch right. Without ever
coming to a stop, we just took off again and flew east over the
north coast of Puerto Rico and then southeast to the island of
Vieques.
The landing was "routine" but I should explain to you what that
entailed at Vieques. They have a weird runway there. :P The
runway, when you are landing going east (which is almost always)
is much higher than the other end. To further complicate
matters, the runway elevation goes UP after the threshold before
it starts to go DOWN.
All that is a great advantage when you are taking off but a bit
tricky when you are landing. AZ, you obviously know about ground
effect and low wing aircraft fun and games. A runway sloping
down hill is a ground effect nightmare that can lead you to
overrun the runway if you don't watch it!
I don't know if you have ever flown a FULLY LOADED TO THE GILLS
Cherokee six. They are very squirrelly on landing. You know that
the normal drill is to round out and then flare out, right? Well
that would result in way to much FLOAT at Vieques.
So, I came up with a trick to deal with that. ;) ;D I would
establish approach speed at a fixed pitch attitude. That's
right, I would NOT flare. I would bring her over the threshold
watching for the slight runway rise just before the downhill
part started WITH MY HAND ON THE FLAP HANDLE (I had full flaps
at this time, of course 8)). As I reached the bump I would
lower the flaps to touch the main wheels without any pitch
change and remove all flaps and hit the toe brakes. It worked
like a charm. The people, potatoes and chickens all arrived
safely. [img
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I taught a few other pilots to do that and they said, HEY, it
works! Flaps are just supposed to be there to steepen the glide
path on approach when you apply them, not when you remove them,
so we all agreed the FAA would not understand our cool trick and
that we would never tell the feds about it.
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Getting back to the Electric Airplane subject, most people are
not aware that aircraft internal combustion engines mostly fail
when you are at full power, which happens to be when you are
taking off and need that engine the most. Electric motors, can
fail at any time. But when they do, it's almost always
temperature related. Which means they will rarely fail on take
off because they are fresh! For large EV flying machines, having
a bunch of motors will make them far more reliable than internal
combustion or even jet engines (less moving parts to fail).
I can imagine the FAA coming up with some BULLSHIT about having
to learn [s]engine[/s] motor out procedure for 30 different
configurations on an Electric bird with 30 motors just to keep
anybody from ever being able to check out in it. That's what
they do.
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#Post#: 6979--------------------------------------------------
Re: Member Interesting, Hair Raising, Humorous or Otherwise Unus
ual Experiences
By: AGelbert Date: April 27, 2017, 5:54 pm
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[quote author=luciddreams link=topic=9447.msg130367#msg130367
date=1493300553]
I've been thinking about what story to tell here. I've told a
lot of stories on the Diner over the years, and I don't want to
repeat one I've told before. I've probably told most of the
best ones. I don't think I've ever told the story of the
pollywog/shellback nonsense from the Navy days. Basically when
you cross the equator on a Navy ship you have to be initiated
into the kingdom of Neptune :dontknow: It's pretty old
tradition and here's the wiki link on this fiasco:
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-crossing_ceremony
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-crossing_ceremony
[quote]In the 19th century and earlier, the line-crossing
ceremony was quite a brutal event, often involving beating
pollywogs with boards and wet ropes and sometimes throwing the
victims over the side of the ship, dragging the pollywog in the
surf from the stern. In more than one instance, sailors were
reported to have been killed while participating in a
line-crossing ceremony.
As late as World War II, the line-crossing ceremony was still
rather rough and involved activities such as the "Devil's
Tongue", which was an electrified piece of metal poked into the
sides of those deemed pollywogs. Beatings were often still
common, usually with wet firehoses, and several World War II
Navy deck logs speak of sailors visiting sick bay after crossing
the line.
Efforts to curtail the line-crossing ceremony did not begin
until the 1980s, when several reports of blatant hazing began to
circulate regarding the line-crossing ceremony, and at least one
death was attributed to abuse while crossing the line.
[/quote]
Now, y'all know how I felt about the Navy while I was in. Our
crossing of the equator was happening as we were sailing back to
the states after dropping 3 million pounds of ordinance on
Afghanistan days after 9/11. We had just had liberty in
Singapore for a few days (which was the first port since the
bombing campaign started...we were at sea for 115 consecutive
days). While I was in Singapore I almost went UA (unauthorized
absence). I had went into an internet cafe and researched on
how to change my identity. I had paid for some pamphlet with
detailed instructions on how to do it. Minutes before it was
time to get back on the shuttle that would take me back to the
ship I was still contemplating whether to go UA or not.
Ultimately, because I was in a foreign country, and at the
behest of my only friend on the ship, I decided to get on the
damn shuttle and take my sorry ass back to that sorry ass ship.
A couple of days later and we are going out of our way to cross
the equator so that we can be initiated as Shellbacks. From
Singapore to Hawaii you don't cross the equator, but we were
crossing it, going out of our way to do so. This was 2001, and
by then the Navy was allowing sailors to opt out of the
proceedings.
It was highly recommended by the chain of command that all
sailors participate. In fact you were mostly coerced into it
even if you didn't want to, and by the chain of command. Never
mind all of the peer pressuring. Nobody wanted to do the
horrible things that were done to you during this ridiculous
excuse to fuck with your inferiors, and in some cases superiors.
It was a way to get a lot of rage out on your fellow shipmates.
I was bound and determined that I would have nothing to do with
this barbaric display of suppressed anger. I made sure to sign
my waiver and opted out. In my division I think there was only
one other individual that opted out. So, day of the crossing,
and I'm blissfully in my rack, listening to music, enjoying my
time off (that was a rarity).
Disgusting and putrid things were done to you during this hazing
process. Eating jelly out of the fat chiefs belly button,
crawling around on the smoke deck with a leash and collar on,
and all manner of disgusting concoctions were made for the
occasion. Think mayo mixed with syrup and ketchup and pickles
and anything else that was in the galley that could be added to
make the most horrid experience possible for the pollywogs to
endure. Not me, fuck you, I was in my rack enjoying my time off
while all of the idiots participated in the ridiculousness.
Safe and sound, until I wasn't any longer.
You see, in the lounge of my berthing all of the idiots had
assembled and created a mass of crawling worms with their almost
naked bodies. They had all striped down to their skives, my
entire division, and had created a 40 person dog pile of
disgusting sailor bodies mixed with the fore mentioned galley
concoction. I was pulled out of my rack by several mouth
breathers and thrown into this noxious pile of retards. I was
the only one clothed due to my forced participation. I ended up
on the bottom of this pile of odious bodies. Attempting to claw
my way out and some fat ass decided to belly flop onto me from a
couch. He landed and nearly broke my arm. I clawed my way out
of this pile of fat and goo and retreated to my rack. I suppose
the group think was satisfied since I was now covered in goo and
boat funk. I went straight to my rack, grabbed my shower bag,
and headed off to the head to get clean.
On my way up the ladder, just to the top, and that's when the
ship listed 12 degrees to the port side. At 15 degrees the
tower on a carrier is designed to snap off of the ship and into
Davy Jones' locker to keep the ship upright. I had a firm grip
on the ladder when it happened. I watched as the slippery
bodies tossed and turned over one another. A few people went
cruising down the p-ways being unable to pull off enough
traction to stay upright. It seems that we were headed straight
into a tropical storm and it was sufficiently bad enough to
where we had to change course. In perfect navy style we never
crossed the equator :laugh: Also in perfect Navy style they
still allowed all of the pollywogs to become shellbacks even
though it's about crossing the equator and we never did cross
it.
As soon as the p-way was back to an even keel I got my ass to
the head and showered. In the five minutes it took me to shower
the p-ways had turned into a line of sailors all waiting for the
head so they to could shower. Of course they were all covered
from head to toe in pollywog grease and looked exceptionally
miserable. The Captain had informed us all on the 1mc that we
were not going to cross the equator due to the storm, so all of
these idiots were in the state they were in and still gonna be
pollywogs :laughing6: I felt exceptionally justified as I
walked back to my rack past all of these disgusting idiots. I
had just gotten ahead of this line. Every head on the ship had
a line of sailors stretching further than one could see.
Basically the entire ship was trying to catch a shower at the
same time. I had just finished my shower. [img width=25
height=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-080515182559.png[/img]<br
/> I felt like I was the only one that had become a Shellback in
that moment.
[/quote]
[quote author=Surly1 link=topic=9447.msg130378#msg130378
date=1493309402]
Great story.
[/quote]
[img
width=80]
HTML http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_0293.gif[/img]
LD, that was a rather timely tropical storm. [img
width=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185701.png[/img]<br
/>I know you aren't into that sort of belief system, but I think
God has a great sense of humor.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/4fvfcja.gif
I got my share and then some of hazing back at West Point. It
was so bad in the summer of 1964 that a cadet was paralized. It
was inadvertent. They has him doing the roach. That's where you
lay on your back with a rifle at port arms and move your legs
double time. The kid made some kind of move with his neck and,
though he did not break his neck, somehow lost nerve sensation
below the neck. :emthdown:
That slowed the hazing down for a while. One of those fun things
they would make us do is sweat through our bath robes (shower
formation [img
width=40]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-311013200859.png[/img])<br
/>while bracing and reciting at the top of our lung capacity (if
we didn't yell it out, the upperclassmen would say, "POP OFF!")
all kinds of memory crap from our bugle notes plebe 'bible'
(army poems, proverbs, snippets of speeches from generals,
songs, rank insignias for all services from the lowest to the
commander in chief, etc.).
I actually thought some of that idiocy was funny at the time.
But hey, I was 17 and thoroughly brainwashed to worship all
things military.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/gen152.gif
They know how to turn people into mindless killing robots in the
military.
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714183337.bmp
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