F106A

Folks, this one hit me hard. Even though I never met the man I read his blog almost daily, and this really hit harder than I thought it would. Perhaps because it was so sudden, and unexpected. (Aren't all of these like this?) I just went to his blog yesterday like I always do expecting to read some his wisdom, and observations on flying, politics, and life. He was a retired USN fighter pilot who only fairly recently began flying as an adversary pilot for ATAC. Only this Tuesday (3/6/12) "Lex" blogged of having a "streamer" upon landing at NAS Fallon the day before. He posted one last bl

I worked on that plane as a crew chief when it carried markings of the 134th ARW, Tennessee ANG. Still trying to dig up some photos I may or may not have of her in those markings. That was in my 35mm print days!

Seriously? Dude, you need to spend time on other sites besides ARC. 14 thousand some odd posts here, and you've never heard of Gunsmoke, or James Arness? Wow.

The last of the photos I took. I'm sure I could have taken better shots, but I arrived just as the museum was closing, and the host allowed me just a short time to walk through. Maybe next time! Enjoy! Mark

I had an opportunity to make a short visit to the USAF Airman Heritage Museum at Lackland AFB, TX last week, and couldn't resist taking these photos of their collection of scale models on display. I would like to share them with you all that don't get chances to visit some of these museums. I have no idea who the modelers are who made these, but they are all very nice. Please enjoy. Mark

53-7543 at Little Rock AFB, AR. The first photo was taken when I was going through flight engineer school in 2007, and the second after a repaint, and a spurious tail number change to 51-1882, when I went through instructor school in 2010. I suspect the Arkansas Guard folks changed the serial number to reflect an actual RF-84F that flew with the unit. Mark

Just in case some of you all don't make it over to the General Discussion section, I posted this over there this morning. From a friend of mine who created the F-106, and F-101 websites comes a new one he created for another friend of his. http://www.712tomcats.com It's a work in progress, but I figured there would be some folks here who would be interested in it. Mark

"There are old pilots, and bold pilots..." Mark

I have to admit I enjoyed the original movie. Watching "Hearts of Darkness" when it came out added a lot to my understanding of the movie, the story, and the process. When "Redux" came out, I watched it too, but was left feeling that the additional scenes added nothing to the story. Most were meaningless to me; some even just stupid. I even read Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" after the film was released, and actually enjoyed the book. I have to admit however, it was pretty heavy reading for a high school kid in the early 1980s! One thing that I've always kept in mind is most films a

You were kidding, right? Remember President Gerald Ford? Anyway, I have to agree with Expat Tomcat. That might be wierd, but I think most kids have other things to think about besides "Murphy's Law", and the old salts would put an end to such scuttlebutt in a hurry. That said, there was a USS Murphy during WWII, and now there is a new one, albeit called the USS Michael Murphy. (I know, it was mentioned above.) WWII ship named after Civil War Navy vet John McLeod Murphy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Murphy_(DD-603) Current ship named after MOH recipient LT Michael P. Murphy http://e

From a friend of mine who created the F-106, and F-101 websites comes a new one he created for another friend of his. http://www.712tomcats.com It's a work in progress, but I figured there would be some folks here who would be interested in it. Mark

Just two less than the number of times this question has been asked here. I know! I'm really close! Mark

March Field Museum 12/20/05 Mark

I'm pretty sure he meant the PM was for me regarding the photos. I'm sending them to his personal e-mail. Mark

51-9432 F-84F on display at the March Field museum. Note the SAC insignia. This was snapped by me on December 20, 2005. Mark

52-6359 F-84F on display at Travis AFB. I took this one on February 19, 2006. Mark

51-9350 F-84F on display at the Edwards AFB museum. I took this back on April 28, 2004. Mark

Not the greatest photos, but since the C-5 school is at Kelly, and those guys are flying around Lackland all the time, I couldn't help getting a few pics. Mark

USAF Security Forces training area on the Medina Annex at Lackland AFB taken by me today. Note the "SF" insignia on the tails of these Vipers! I'm thinking this has replaced the old F-105 ramp on the south side of Lackland-proper the cops used to use as a training area. I do recall these being there back in 2006 when I was in EAUC, so I think this has been used as least since then, maybe earlier. Mark 2006 photos by me...

Yea, I think you're right. I haven't seen anyone over on the F-105 pad in a few years, but everytime I drive over to the Medina Annex, they have SP students training there. Go to the F-16 thread for a couple pics I took today. Of course, these F-16s have been there for some time. Mark

Current photo of the JF-105B, 54-0105, over on the Medina Annex at Lackland AFB. Boy, they sure do weather quickly! Mark

A couple comments. I too remember when my 9th grade math teacher told us hand-held calculators would cost less than $10.00 soon, and they would be able to do more than the basic four functions! That was in 1978! I think we could get a "decent" calculator for around/~ $30.00 back then. Next, the medical resources on this intertube thingy. I've had some medical issues lately necessitating several trips to my flight surgeon. Discussing my issues I told him I did some research on my own through the internet, and he said, "Don't tell anyone this, but we docs do the same thing." Yea, like I'm

Yea, I'll say! First thing I noticed was the birdcage canopy. This is what Joe Baugher's site has to say about this one-of-a-kind F-84. 49-2430 Republic YF-84F Thunderstreak Originally on F-84E contract as YF-96A. Later modified as YRF-84F parasite fighter in combination with GRB-36F. I recall reading that when Republic redesigned the F-84 with a swept-wing, the USAF wanted to redesignate it as the F-96, but couldn't get funding for a "new" aircraft, so they just added a new letter to the F-84 series. That's the way I remember it anyway. If anyone knows for sure, please let us know. M

The wife and kids are gone visiting her mother, so.... Yes! Checking my schedule, I am available this weekend! I can get the F-100, F-101, F-104, and F-105 for sure as they have those aircraft on display at Dyess. The closest F-106 I know of is on a pole at Kelly (I was just there!), and you really can't get any good measurements of the pitot tube. It's about 30 feet in the air! Maybe someone else can help with the F-102, and F-106. Mark

B-52D, 55-0068 on display at Lackland AFB. Not the greatest pic (taken through my front windshield!), but I forgot I needed one! Too much traffic to pull over and stop since it was graduation Friday! Mark