C-5 Galaxy, air interceptor

MikeD

MikeD

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Interesting history from 30 years ago. C-5 Galaxy vectored by ATC to intercept a NORDO RAF GR5 Harrier fighter over the UK. Galaxy crew completes intercept to a formation position close enough to check the cockpit, and take still photos and video for the investigation. That's a heck of a handful of airplane to be maneuvering in close formation with a small plane. Well done.

Pretty cool.

https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1988/1988 - 0914.PDF
 
Those damn lights. Also, thank God the MOR handle doesn't fire any rockets anymore. We would have lost all manner of ding-dong flight docs and VIPs (in the back seat of the 2-seaters) like this.

Good find, btw. Way different from the USN/USMC safety investigation "privileged" protocol.
 
Flyinthrew said:
Those damn lights. Also, thank God the MOR handle doesn't fire any rockets anymore. We would have lost all manner of ding-dong flight docs and VIPs (in the back seat of the 2-seaters) like this.

Good find, btw. Way different from the USN/USMC safety investigation "privileged" protocol.
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GR5 more similar to an AV-8B, or the earlier AV-8A/C?
 
MikeD said:
GR5 more similar to an AV-8B, or the earlier AV-8A/C?
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The GR5 iwoulvariant of AV8B, and is more or less what we colloquially refer to as a "Day Attack." It's the variant that was pretty common in the Gulf War but they've all been heavily upgraded/remanufactured. There were some differences between the Brit GR5 and the US Day Attacks, but none that the air show crowd would be able to pick up on.
 
Flyinthrew said:
The GR5 is a variant of AV8B, and is more or less what we colloquially refer to as a "Day Attack." It's the variant that was pretty common in the Gulf War but they've all been heavily upgraded/remanufactured. There were some differences between the GR5 and the Day Attacks, but none that the air show crowd would be able to pick up on.
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I remember the day attack B-models before the night versions came out. Cool birds all.

What are you guys doing with all the GR7 fuselages and wings sitting in the boneyard here?
 
MikeD said:
I remember the day attack B-models before the night versions came out. Cool birds all.

What are you guys doing with all the GR7 fuselages and wings sitting in the boneyard here?
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We're using the GR 7/9s as much as we can for spare parts. Some items don't translate(especially avionics) but lots of the airframe/hyds/engine/fuel stuff does. As far as fuselages and wings, fuselages are a little tough to canni, and wings only get cannibalized when something happens that damages a spar, which isn't exactly every day. The GR 7/9 thing was a win, and it may be why we're not the headliner for readiness articles the way the Hornet is.
 
That's interesting stuff. I figured some kinds of spares, but didn't know the extent of it. Definitely aren't any spare B-models just sitting around.

Interesting seeing the changes too in the fleet. Just in MAG-13 alone, -121 PCSd to Iwakuni, -211 is converting to F-35s. Don't know how long -214 and -311 will remain Harriers. And the weird one was the closure of -513...the first Harrier squadron in the USMC, rather than converting them to F-35s. Lots of history done away with there.
 
MikeD said:
That's interesting stuff. I figured some kinds of spares, but didn't know the extent of it. Definitely aren't any spare B-models just sitting around.

Interesting seeing the changes too in the fleet. Just in MAG-13 alone, -121 PCSd to Iwakuni, -211 is converting to F-35s. Don't know how long -214 and -311 will remain Harriers. And the weird one was the closure of -513...the first Harrier squadron in the USMC, rather than converting them to F-35s. Lots of history done away with there.
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One would think lots of history was lost, but as far as history goes, they couldn't even carry any of the other three MAG-13 squadrons' gym bags. I'm not a west coast guy, but everybody I know from there recounts that the Nightmares were lagging behind culturally as well and needed to go.

311 was supposed to be next to go the way of the unicorn-jet, but Hornet's doldrums sorta called for an audible over the past 18 months. A great cheer arose when 121 left for Japan because it means we don't have to cover that stupid deployment anymore.
 
Flyinthrew said:
One would think lots of history was lost, but as far as history goes, they couldn't even carry any of the other three MAG-13 squadrons' gym bags. I'm not a west coast guy, but everybody I know from there recounts that the Nightmares were lagging behind culturally as well and needed to go.

311 was supposed to be next to go the way of the unicorn-jet, but Hornet's doldrums sorta called for an audible over the past 18 months. A great cheer arose when 121 left for Japan because it means we don't have to cover that stupid deployment anymore.
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Not a fan of Atsugi?

My D model buddy wouldn't shut up about that "deployment."
 
Derg said:
"Wandering Lamp" — you mean the "Grimes"? :)

Old school 727 term.
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That's the word we use every day, too. I've never heard of it called a wandering lamp, even though that's pretty much what it does. The fan favorite being when it "wanders" onto the g-suit test button.
 
Lawman said:
Not a fan of Atsugi?

My D model buddy wouldn't shut up about that "deployment."
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I'm OK with Japan, and I know we're pivoting to the Pacific, but if I'm going to spend 7 months away from my family I'd rather be in a shooting war rather than shooting pics of my food to put on Instagram.
 
Flyinthrew said:
I'm OK with Japan, and I know we're pivoting to the Pacific, but if I'm going to spend 7 months away from my family I'd rather be in a shooting war rather than shooting pics of my food to put on Instagram.
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What deployment since 2008 were you that constituted a "shooting war?"

Some of the years spent in the desert by friends and myself have been abject wastes of combat power due to political infighting. At least the work hard/play hard Pacific and Euro deployments actually serve a long term benefit of getting us ready for the next real very scary war and deterring it in the process.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Lawman said:
What deployment since 2008 were you that constituted a "shooting war?"

Some of the years spent in the desert by friends and myself have been abject wastes of combat power due to political infighting. At least the work hard/play hard Pacific and Euro deployments actually serve a long term benefit of getting us ready for the next real very scary war and deterring it in the process.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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OIR mostly. Odyssey Dawn before that. Every single MEU that has departed the US for the past two years has been kinetic in Centcom or Africom. OIR deployments have been dumpex's. Afghanistan is probably about to open back up, too, but we'll see.

I completely understand the big picture on the Asian deployments. However, I'd rather have memories of lazing gbu-54s into a courtyard with 20 bad guys in it or dropping a house with a machine gun keeping the grunts pinned down 120 meters away than of sitting in Iwakuni doing my annual CBTs while deterring violence in the Pacific Rim.
 
NovemberEcho said:
CBT's will be the death of the USAF.
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This past drill weekend, I had to do a Self Aid Buddy Care CBT, and attend a few hours hands on course that was as basic as basic gets. Forget the fact that I've been an active EMT for a little over 20 years and in the fire service, nope, can't "CLEP out of it".
 
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