Video: Low Fly
I remember during REFTRA (Refresher Training/War Games) in 1983 off Oahu. I was up on the bridge of our ship (378 ft CG Cutter) and an F14 flew by maybe 50 ft higher than the bridge and about 200 ft off the port side and as she zipped by there was no sound. Quite an interesting experience…about a second later BOOM! Freakin’ awesome.
I once had a nice experience with a fast mover during Air Support Training in the RA. An AF A7 did a low-level overflight of our position and he was so close to the ground that I ducked. Cool as shit man.
February 10th, 2008 at 7:14 pmThat’s some yummy stuff there …
February 10th, 2008 at 7:56 pmThe jet being catapulted off at the beginning of the clip is, I believe, an A-5 Vigilante. It was originally designed to deliver nuclear weapons, but was later adapted to a role as a reconnaissance plane. I got to see one do a low level, supersonic pass over Kittyhawk in 1967. It was very impressive, to say the least.
February 10th, 2008 at 8:59 pmGod, I wish I could do that . . . If I had it all to do over again, man, I would be a military pilot (Navy, Airforce - whatever!) . . . wish I could have been encouraged to be all you can be!
My daughter’s life will be different. She will be all she can be . . . she has been told that ever since she popped out!
February 10th, 2008 at 9:58 pmI understood what it was all about when I was pulling 3 1/2 G doing aerobatics in a PC9, first thing I thought was now I know what the big deal is about.
Also had the pleasure of,
Weightlessness during a free-fall as you would say in a empty C130 as the pilot was bored,
Looking out the side door at the ground in a Sea King with Navy practicing rope insertions,
FA/18 Hornet evasion in a Iroquois in the mountains and we had to fly over the power lines,
Tactical unloading of C130’s loaded with one or two APC’s and only 4 to 5 minutes on the ground at a light aircraft strip,
February 11th, 2008 at 4:41 amI was searching for thermals in a clunky old Shweizer 2-33 glider out of Little River, SC about 20 years ago and all hell broke loose when two A-10’s came up from my aft and roared past the port side. Not sure of the distance but I could see the pilots grinning like Cheshire cats. And me still at 5k feet with no change of pants…
February 11th, 2008 at 8:50 am