Flyin' around the sandbox.

[foodstick]

Always incredible pictures ! every time....

[adrianspeeder]

Trip 012, Summer 2013, Wisconsin

250 - Never know what the next haul is goin' to be or where. Need some junk shipped from the midwest to a dirt field up north? Can't wait for 40 sorties from little ole C-130s? Let's play with real airlift...



251 - Indiana afternoon.



252 - Short final to Grissom Air Reserve Base.



253 - Randomly got to meet a man named Irwin Stovroff. He is a WWII veteran and ex-POW having spent 13 months in a Nazi camp after being shot down on his 35th and last mission as a Bombardier with the 44th Bomb Group. Amazing survival story, and I thought it was ironic he was thanking us for our service. We have it easy because of guys like this.



254 – Off to Wisconsin.



255 – Field in sight.



256 – Dirt landing.



257 - Get that four fan trash can out of the way. We got real airlift to do here.



258 - Anyway, no big deal heavyweight dirt landing is a good time. Keep the motors runnin', kick the junk out the back, and let’s get the Hell out.



259 – Ready to roll but another little bird landed.



260 – Hero shot.



261 - LT, get us outta here!



262 - Pit stop in Pittsburgh for some gas and a few little toys to pickup.



263/264/265/266 – Three units need to go up to the dirt strip. They even let me play with the lights and siren on the ladder truck we loaded first.









267 – Back to the dirt with the firetrucks.



268 – Whoaaaa back!



269/270 - Well it was peaceful and nice 'till we showed up.

[Max]

Good stuff as usual!

[foodstick]

Hard to believe all the cool stuff you see along the way...

[adrianspeeder]

271 – Engine Running Offload/Onload in the dirt.



272 – Tire safety check.



273/274 - Engine Running Offload/Onload in the dirt.





Me rollin' footage with the pilots cam.

http://youtu.be/kYB4BLWSNdw

Adrianspeeder

[adrianspeeder]

Trip 013, Summer 2013, Wright Patterson OH

275 – Mount up! We got training to go do.



276 – “This is how we fix things on the Russian Space Station...” The vertical adjustment cable snapped, so I repaired it.



277 – Short flight over to the Medivac school house in Ohio.



278 - Going to fly in circles for four simultaneous final exam check ride evaluations. Run by hardcore instructors and examiners for the soon to graduate students.



279 – I don’t know if the dummies are going to make it.



280-1 – One of the particularly evil examiners came up and found me on the flight deck.
“Hey chief, what are you doing?”
“Not much Cap’n. How can I help you?”
“Go to the back of the jet like you are doing something important, drink some water, take this Alka-Seltzer, drop to the floor, and fake a seizure between the two sets of evaluations.”
“I can do that.”
I just wish someone had it on video. Having never used Alka-Seltzer before, I did not expect the violent amount of foam it spewed forth. Still, I pulled off a performance that had two groupings of students abandoning their dummies to try to save this dummy. The second surprise was how quickly they flipped me on my side, push an artificial airway down my nose, unzip flight suit, cut open my shirt, had an EKG hooked up, flashlight beams in my eyes, and a few other things. Finally, one of them realized the evaluators were just standing taking notes and asked, “Wait is this real or part of the test?” It was tough to smile, but I said, “I think you all might pass…”



280/283 – Recovering from my performance in the back, I chilled up behind the copilot as we flew in more circles chasing our shadow while the students were kept in the meat grinder for hours downstairs. The skills they showcased that day would be the difference between life and death on future missions.









284 – Final exam for myself as well. It isn’t every day that the job title changes. Today it went from, what I absolutely loved doing, a C-17 Aircraft Maintenance Flightline Avionics Craftsman, to what I know I want to do as a full time C-17 Flying Crew Chief. The last two years with these 13 trips was a part time position to get the feel, learn new tricks, go to the school house down at Charleston, sit through a stump the dummy knowledge board, be recommended by the operations group, and the behind the scenes help from everyone that wore a flight suit before me, to say I can make the jump to the varsity team. I am quite thankful for it on this Thanksgiving weekend. Now it is time to pull them belts up tight and boogity boogity boogity lets go flyin’ full time boys!

[6166 Junkyard Dog]

Very Very nice pictures, especially since it's going to be 0 to - whatever here in NC seeing that warmness,,, BRING SOME Back OK Please bring heat

[adrianspeeder]

Trip 014, Winter 2013, Massachusetts

285/286/287 - Took a ride up to Nantucket. Fancy place fer sure. Had some clam chowder.







288/289 - Fill ‘er up Friday. Stackin’ banks while drainin’ tanks. Fuel was over 9 bucks a gallon here.





290 - Ready to ride!



Trip 015, Winter 2013, Germany

291 – New trip, “New jet.” First outing with Dover’s latest toy. It’s a hand-me-down 2001 model from McChord AFB. Of course they aren’t going to give us the best jet they have, nor would I expect them to. Notice the patched over lettering below the tail number. Not a bad jet per-say, but it doesn’t have all the upgrades our 2007 model jets have.



292 – Preflight passed, let’s roll out!



293 – Beautiful morning.



294 – Kickin’ back on the top of the world.



295 – First gas stop and load up.



296 – As soon as I was planning this picture, "Chief, number three doesn't want to start." One Bosch spark plug change and she's good to go. Y ou can see the engine start light in the flightdeck shinin'.

[adrianspeeder]

Trip 016, Winter, Hawaii

297 - "Can you handle a trip to Hawaii?" Sure can!



298 - Almost tough to leave snow and cold behind, but service before self...



299 – Miles high and headin’ west.



300 - Tap the Rockies...



301 – Damn.



302 – Let’s just skip right over that crazy left coast.



303 - 757s have actually the same motors we do with a lil less horsepower and a lack of TR's, but lots skinnier and lighter airframe lets em blow right past us at speed. Also only half of the same motors we have, and she flew on by.



304 – Didn't know it rained in Hawaii.



305 – Nifty manmade runway out in the water that we’ll see later.



306 - Time for tourist pictures.



307 - If this is the "crappy" on base hotel, what does downtown look like?



308/310 - That ain't no pine tree...







311 – Local map.



312 – Days later, Obama is done with his Christmas vacation, let’s roll home.



313 - Taxiway and runway out on the water.



314 - Good safety racm.



315 - Positive rate gear up.



316 - Getting paid to go on vacation.



(post break)

317/320 - Getting paid to go on vacation.









321 - Hell yeah Hawaii was fun, but gotta love goin' home to play with snow.

[Max]

We get these guys in a lot at KEFD since they have the NASA contract now. Very well maintained jet for its age and mission...

[adrianspeeder]

Nice! Love the winglets on that too.

Trip 017, Winter 2019, Florida

323 - Looks warm down there for a trip in the winter time.



324 - Lifestyles of the rich and famous?



325 – Southwest Florida International Airport



326 - Hooked up with a splash of gas.



327 - So just got two little trucks worth of gas, didn't need a whole lot at all. When I went into the terminal to sign for the fuel card, I saw a sign that had a full rewards program list. 300 gallons for a key ring, 500 for a hat, ect. I asked what does 5700 gallons get me? Shirts for the whole crew apparently.



328 - Pile of private jets including a 737. Someone's got money.



329 - Too hot down here. I want to get back to sub freezin' Delaware.



330 - Square neighborhood.



331 - First time I've ever flown over the Bay Bridge Tunnel in the daytime that connects lower DelMarVa.



332 – Hi friends.



Trip 018, Winter 2014, Panama

333 – Powered up for preflight to head to Panama with spare parts and tools for a C5 flap change.



334/341 – It’s a beautiful cold day, but do we have clearance? Nope. So, we sit until the alert burns. Well, I’ll just take nice pictures.

















342 – Reset to fly in 24 hours when the paperwork is square. In the middle of a snow storm, so delayed again to the place is plowed. Had to bust out the cold weather book to put diesel fired heaters in the oil servicing doors to get them to crank.



343 - Who do you think you are? Taylor Swift? Thanks for the cold weather help friend!



344 - Panama was friggin hot and not sure what was sweatin' more. Me or the jet.



345 - Goin' from 10 to 100 in a few hours is a fun time. I like the cold much better.



346 - First time I've ever seen an operational 727. Loud SOB!



347 - Back to the friendly cold on a snowy DelMarVa day.

[adrianspeeder]

Trip 019, Winter 2014, United Arab Emerates

348/349 - First time I've seen the Jersey Shore look nice.





350 - Funny lookin' trees in Turkey.



351/352 – Night shift preflight and launch.





353 – Cold jet fuel + humid hot desert. Stay frosty.



354 - Hi friends.



355/356/357 - Ready to load, let’s get 'er done.







358 - Never quite get the timing right to not be staring at and chasin' the sun west every trip home.



359 - Well this isn't home. At the 11th hour we had a weather divert to New Hampshire.



360/361/362 - Next day clear and some good views of Massachusetts.

[adrianspeeder]

Trip 020, Winter 2014, Uganda

001 – One with flap problems and the other with a slat stuck in transit? We’ll take an intersection departure from Charley please.



002 - Big kids Spanish juice box.



003/004/005 – Beautiful Spanish morning.







006 – Diplomatic clearance into Africa didn’t come through, so shut ‘er down, and head back to the hotel.



007 - Shoulda paid more attention in Spanish class.



008 – Your lips taste like sangria.



009 – Big big fan of dinner.



010 – Pub Los Arcos in Rota Spain



http://youtu.be/v-0OQxEAaqc



011 – After some paperwork delays, my first African sunrise.



012 - African Grand Canyon.



013 – P&W power.



014 – African views.


015 - African super dirt road highway.



016 - African metropolis.



017/23 – So the wikipedia tells me this airport was famous for the divert of a hijacked jet, and Israelis comin' in to get all their hostages back. Should be a good time...













023/024/025 Legit hotel in Africa.

[adrianspeeder]

026/027 Not too bad.





028/29 - Wake up the next mornin' and this is outside my hotel room.





030 – You ain’t at a legit African airport without an old dead L-1011 sitting on flat tires.



031 – Pilot, copilot, one load, and me head in the next day to two engine taxi the airplane to the main terminal to pump a shit ton of gas that they weren’t able to truck out the day before.



032 - Little hoses are my favorite for pumping gas for hours instead of minutes.



033 – West Nile Virus



034 – Ready to launch. These bugs ain’t no joke, we gotta go!



035/41 – We’ve left the bugs behind for dodging some monster African storms. I bless the rains down in Africa.















042/046 - Rollin' into Kenya.











047 - Hey look what's sittin' in the dirt in Kenya. Another dead L-1011.



048 - Friendliest guys I've ever met in Kenya that were around the jet. Prolly had my picture taken with every one of 'em and on all their facebook pages.



049 – Nairobi Kenya, Feb 2014. For the first time on this African safari trip, I had to do a little bit of work. The airport authority wouldn't let us use thrust reversers to back away from the terminal where our parking spot was, and insisted we get a pushback. Not a thing to do with noise, but to snag that $5k pushback fee. Next, the rattiest Uke rolls out without a towbar. Most commercial airports have a 767 or DC-10 bar that works with our nose gear no problems, so I thought for $5k, this was a sham.
“Where is your towbar.”
“Sir it is broken!”
“So can we back out ourselves?”
“Sir, you must have a towbar!”
Not looking to get in an argument, and because we actually did bring a towbar on this mission, let’s just play along. I’ve also found most commercial airports don't like you hanging out on the taxiway while we go through our convoluted engine start checklists compared to civilian world with fast as possible to make money engine start procedures. The A code agreed, and we decided to go with the engine runnin' pushback. I stood ground through the start sequence because it’ll take a minute for the loads to roll the towbar around some rolling stock and down the ramp.
“Is this lugging and chugging crate even going to have the ummph to move us?”
“Sir it will go!”
“Let’s roll!”
To his credit, the driver slowly got us most of the way out of parking, and %100 blocking the taxiway. I brought the show to a stop, had the pilot set brakes, and motion the driver to back up to unload the weight of the jet on the towbar. His frantic pulling on the shifter wasn’t working, so the driver shut down the motor. Finally went to neutral, but then it won't crank. “So there I was,” with an engine running C-17, blocking 2 or 3 other jets now, pinned tight to a dead Uke, with the pilots askin',
“Chief, what’s goin' on down there? We gotta go!"
Yelled at the guy to get on the radio for another tractor so we could pull it back enough to yank the pin, and we’ll back ourselves away from this mess. Minutes later, the littlest 3 cylinder diesel New Holland baggage cart tug makes it's way over. I knew she had no chance of budging a 50 ton Uke, but they tried anyway.
“Screw this.”
Got my toolbox from the jet, and with some resentment they let me pull the two batteries from the New Holland and wire them in series for the 24v Uke. Fired that joker up, backed him a hair, pulled the pin, undid the bar for the loadmasters to winch up the ramp. Came back to the front to reconnect the nose wheel steering, pull the pins, and let’s wrap this checklist up. By that time, I noticed the Uke had driven away before giving the batteries back to the New Holland. Just don’t stall that unit. Ooops, looks like they did. Oh well, had just enough room to steer to the left around 'em. Onward to the next stop!



050 – Embassy rep traded a patch for a coin.

[simonscr]

Thank you for your service! First time I have seen this post, great pictures!

When do you get a chance to play with your collection of fords?

[Max]

I am right next to the Boeing reps at United and always get some good stuff from them. In their trade mag, they published some really cool pics of foreign C17 operators and how they wanted special paint jobs on theirs to distinguish themselves from the rest of the world's C17's...

Qatar:


Kuwait:

[adrianspeeder]

Thank you for your service! First time I have seen this post, great pictures!

When do you get a chance to play with your collection of fords?

You are welcome. Not enough time for sure fer the trucks, but having mo' money makes it easier to get them the parts they need when I am home.

051/052/053 – Leaving Kenya for Burkina Faso.







054 - Cruzin’.



055/056/057 - Kickin' back watchin' Africa fly by.







058 – Why is everything on fire?



059 - Another African highway.



060 - Prepare for landing.



061 - Charlie! The meadow is on fire!



062/063 - Was hopin' to see some wildlife. Like a giraffe or somethin'.





064 - Got the hookup of some local beer and cokes for 5 cents each.



065 - The great debate of how to sleep on the jet. I prefer the crew rest section floor between the CRACM seat and left avionics rack. Lots of loadmasters like the ladder setup with a hammock.



066/067/068 - Normally sitting behind the copilot or pilot seats on takeoff, we'll watch for birds and such. With this brush runnin' right up to the runway we were ready to call out for lions...







069 – By the last stop, look more fire...



070 – Prepare for landing.



071 - Last stop. Pure nothing around. This has been a great trip, but now we need a shit ton of gas to get home. From a tiny hose. Dammit.



072 - 200k lbs please. Dammit. Only had enough ummph to fill one tank at a time.



073 – Slowest refuel ever.



074 – Hero crew shot.



075 – Finally unloaded, fueled, ready for a long flight home. Not going to miss the number of bugs with West Nile Virus on this one. Otherwise a good trip.

[adrianspeeder]

I am right next to the Boeing reps at United and always get some good stuff from them. In their trade mag, they published some really cool pics of foreign C17 operators and how they wanted special paint jobs on theirs to distinguish themselves from the rest of the world's C17's...

I was in the 'Deid when the first two of Qatar's birds showed up back in '09. Big wig cerimony when the first showed up, but the way they parked it took up a few spots.

Adrianspeeder

[Max]

Awesome! Yea the Kuwaiti one darn near resembles something out of the old Starlifter paint jobs from the 60's and Vietnam.

[adrianspeeder]

Awesome! Yea the Kuwaiti one darn near resembles something out of the old Starlifter paint jobs from the 60's and Vietnam.

That's what a few of the older guys that were around then said when it stopped the other week at Dover on it's way across the pond.