Military Aviation | Aviation Guy

Flying Somewhere New Can Reinvigorate You

The mountains of Japan are simply stunning.

It is hard to admit that sometimes I get a little bored flying, but I do. For the first few years I was on the C-130, most of my flying was at about 300 feet above the ground out in the open terrain of Arkansas. While the skyline was not particularly magnificent, and the terrain was not exactly rugged, it is an incredible rush to move that fast, that low, in a plane that big.

Coming to Japan has been an incredible experience with all of the places I have gotten to visit and the incredible people who I have gotten to meet from so many different countries. With that being said, the flying in the local area can often be a little less than spectacular.

As you may know, Tokyo is the most densely populated city in the world so it can be challenging to find a piece of land that isn’t covered with people. For that reason we are forced to fly more than three times higher than I was accustomed to before coming here.

You have to get a good steep bank angle in to really have fun, and fly safe, in the mountains.

However, the reason that Tokyo, and most of Japan for that matter, is so densely populated is because about 73% of the country is mountainous and uninhabitable. What that means for flying, is that there is some incredible terrain out there to be explored. The obvious question then is why don’t we spend all of our time flying in those areas? The short answer is weather. Wind, turbulence, and cloud cover all keep us out of those areas a lot of the time. (To read more about the challenges and dangers of mountain flying check out my post on the Advanced Mountain Airlift Tactics School.)

As luck would have it last week, I was scheduled to fly on a pilot’s last flight here in Japan and he wanted to go and rage through the mountains one last time. It even looked like the weather was going to cooperate for us. I had never been to this area before, but in his 6+ years here our pilot had flown it numerous times. It is worth mentioning that if you are not familiar with mountain flying you should really take a course or at least go with someone who is before attempting it.

The aforementioned weather that cut into the route but still didn’t stop us from some amazing fun.

My biggest regret was that I didn’t bring my GoPro because the scenery was simply stunning. The weather did force us to skip a big chunk of the route, but overall it was just a wonderful experience. As you can see from the few pictures I took, the mountains were the most beautiful shade of green and it was just all around beautiful.

While I could go on and on about how stunning it was, and how much fun it always is to rage through the mountains, that is not what I would like to focus on today.

It is not uncommon when you fly for a living to get into a rhythm and fly the same stuff over and over. That may be flying the same routes repeatedly as an airline pilot, or flying the same maneuvers as a flight instructor, but it is easy to get into a rut. As easy as it is to get into that rut I would submit that it is just as easy to get back out of it, assuming you want to.

The ground breaking solution to getting out of this rut is to do something different. Maybe that is getting back into a small general aviation plane and go and get a $100 hamburger for the first time in decades. Maybe you could go and get your float plane rating (I have often heard this referred to as the most fun rating a pilot can get). Or maybe you could take an aerobatics course and pull some G’s and improve your understanding of how an aircraft handles in all different attitudes.

Full yoke deflection means you are about to feel the pull through a turn.

It doesn’t really matter what you do as long as it breaks up the monotony for you. For me it was getting into a new area of Japan that I had never seen before. We raged through some amazing scenery and just had an amazing time. By the end of the flight, which I am a little ashamed to admit was only about three hours, I was pretty exhausted because I hadn’t flown like that in a long time and it takes it out of you physically. In my defense I do stand the whole time, but it was an incredible feeling to be so tired after a flight again.

Flying is the most fun thing you can do in this world in my opinion. It is one of the few ways we can overcome the laws of physics and put ourselves somewhere that the human body cannot go on its own; flying through the air. If you have gotten bored with it, or thing it is just not fun anymore than you need to change it up and get out and do something new. Life’s too short to not enjoy something so incredibly fun.

Cope North 2016 Video

Once again I realize I am behind the power curve on this one since the 2017 version of Cope North was over a few months ago as well, but I had too much great footage to just let this one go. Hopefully I can get some more videos done faster so that won’t be so dated.

The 2016 edition of Cope North was the largest version of the exercise to date with participants from no less than 9 different countries. The exercise involves dozens of fighters from numerous countries, and multiple branches. There are also AWACS, Tankers, and of course the best type of aircraft, C-130s.

We were joined in our airlift efforts by the South Korean Air Force as well as the Japanese Air Self Defense Force, who we work with on a regular basis. As a group we executed numerous air drops, and a massive amount of airlift in a humanitarian aid simulation. It is always a pleasure working with our international partners learning from each other and having a few laughs.

One of the most fun things we get to do at this exercise, other than flying around all of these gorgeous islands with incredibly blue water, is execute unimproved surface landings on the island of Tinian at the old North Field. If that name sounds vaguely familiar that is because some pretty important history took place there.

North Field was the departure field for a couple of B-29s that you may have heard of, The Enola Gay and Bockscar. I have mentioned before how much I love walking where history has happened, and in this case I actually got to fly there. To utilize such a historic runway leaves me just a little bit speechless. It is a lot of work for our crews to clear back the jungle each year so that we can utilize the runway for this exercise, but it is invaluable for all of the crews.

I will spare you any more of the details since it happened so long ago, and just leave you with the awesome footage I was able to gather below. If you want to learn more about the exercise a simple Google search will take you to official Air Force articles.

I hope you enjoy and I would love to get your feedback.

Post a Comment(0)

June 13, 2017 I Written By David

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Filed Under: Aviation Aviation Videos C-130 Hercules Military Aviation

Tags:C-130 Assualt Landing C-130 Flying C-130 Video Cope North 2016 JASDF Pacific Flying Tinian North Field USAF

Year In Review: Operation Christmas Drop 2015

Yeah, I know it has been more than a year since I promised this video, but here it is finally. While I am by no means a professional video maker, there is some pretty awesome footage in there.

Operation Christmas Drop 2015 was the 64th annual edition of this humanitarian operation, making it the longest running humanitarian aid mission in DOD history. Over a seven-day period we dropped to 56 islands covering more than 2 million square miles of mostly water. To give you some perspective, that is an area larger than the continental United States.

This was the first year that the US Air Force was joined by the Royal Australian Air Force and Japanese Air Self Defense Force, and it was a tremendous success. All three nations gained valuable knowledge and experience from this amazing operation.

I have done some amazing things over the past year, but I honestly don’t know that I could ever have more fun flying than I did for this week. Cruising out at altitude for hours and then descending into the middle of the Pacific Ocean and picking out an island that is less than a square mile in area is incredibly fulfilling.

As you level off over the islands you see the bluest blue waters surrounding stunningly green palm trees with small groups of people waving and excited to see you. It is hard to imagine a more remote location and that makes the airdrops that much more challenging.

Normally we airdrop on surveyed drop zones with ground controllers that increase our situational awareness by giving us winds and ensuring the drop zone is secure. In this case we have to estimate the winds ourselves, and make multiple passes to ensure that we drop in a safe location free of people and structures.

While this can be extremely challenging, it is also incredibly rewarding to see all of the countless hours of training we do pay off as we deliver Christmas to people who wouldn’t receive it in any other way.

It is a little weird to celebrate Christmas in the toasty region of Guam and the South Pacific, but I also can’t think of a much more rewarding and fulfilling way to enjoy the season.

While I am no professional video maker, I hope you enjoy the footage, and I would love to hear any comments you may have to share.

2016+ Year in Review

I know it is cliche, but I really can’t believe another year has gone by. Even more unbelievable to me is how much I have actually done this year, and some of the incredible experiences that I have had.

With all of the time I have spent all over the Pacific I have neglected this writing, which I am just now realizing was a sort of therapy that I have also been missing out on. Such is life though and all I can do is work at getting back into it.

So rather than try to cram everything into one post, I am going to work on getting out one a week or so which will hopefully give me some time to really internalize everything I have learned this year, while at the same time not overwhelming myself and then just giving up.

So here is a quick overview of some of the things I will be writing about over the next few months:

Operation Christmas Drop 2015– I have mentioned this before, and a year later I am going to actually get to it. I was on a crew for this operation which was an amazing opportunity to fly all over the islands of the Pacific bringing Christmas joy to people who live about as remotely as you possibly can in this world.

Cope North 2016- This is a massive exercise that takes place in Guam every year involving 8-9 different countries in this instance. Once again I was on a flying crew, which was one of the best crews I have ever flown with. This was the first time I had ever trained with fighter aircraft which was a whole lot of fun. As well as visiting some pretty historic sites.

Balikatan 2016- Another large-scale exercise but in the Philippines. For this exercise I went as a mission planning cell chief working at a location we had never fully manned before. While I didn’t get to do any real exciting flying, it did really open my eyes to the time and effort that is required to pull off these vitally important exercises.

Red Flag Alaska 2016- Surprise, surprise, another exercise, though most people who have interest in military aviation have likely heard of it, or at least the Nellis AFB version. While I was back to flying for this exercise, it is structured differently than the other exercises so I also did a massive amount of mission planning. It was some of the most incredible flying I have ever done, with a fun crew, and some amazing off duty time in the awe-inspiring Alaskan mountains.

Becoming an evaluator Not exactly an exciting flying adventure, but something that has shaped the way I view being a flyer. I have written numerous times about how much I love instructing, and evaluating has only deepened my love of instruction, but on a much deeper level.

Operation Christmas Drop 2016- This year I went as the mission planning cell chief and there are few times I have worked so many hours and felt so completely fulfilled by what I have done. To be very clear, there are a lot of people who did a lot of work to make this operation happen, and it was an honor to be a part of it. It will be hard to beat the value of this experience in my life.

So there it is. I am sure I forgot events that I will write about as well. It seems so short listing them all like this, but I am excited to go back and relive all of these experiences again. I know it will put a lot of smiles on my face, and I hope that you will find some enjoyment from reading about it. Thank you for all of your support in the past, and I look forward to your comments in the future.

Post a Comment(0)

January 6, 2017 I Written By David

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Filed Under: Aviation Aviation Education/Training Aviation People C-130 Hercules Lessons Learned Military Aviation

Tags:Balikatan 2016 C-130 Adventures Cope North 2016 Operation Christmas Drop Red Flag Alaska Year in Review

A New Year, Some of the Same Thoughts

I’m not really sure where I am going with this post, but I find that sometimes just writing about the things that are on my mind can help me come up with solutions, or at least help me to feel more comfortable with my decisions.

I am at the point in my flying career where a change of some sort must happen and I have some mixed feelings about which direction that I want to go. It doesn’t matter if you fly in the civilian wold or in the military, change is just a part of the industry, and as technology improves, sometimes we are forced into change whether we want it or not.

In my case The C-130H is finally being entirely replaced by the C-130J in the Active Duty Air Force. I had previously thought my time in the Herk was going to be over a couple of years ago, but as luck would have it, I got almost another two years, and some of the most incredible experiences I have ever had in my life. Unfortunately, the end is officially here, and I have to make some changes.

The Air Force is more than happy to retrain me into a new airframe, or more likely just another version of the C-130, but that would most likely mean a move to the Special Operations community, and that is just not the right place for me and my family situation. The other options leave me in essentially the same position again in a few years as they phase out their navigators, and would ultimately lead to every aviators’ worst nightmare, flying a desk. There is one opportunity that would keep me on the beloved Herk, and on active duty, but unfortunately bureaucracy has made that not an option.

That leads me to the path that I am likely to take at this point. The National Guard and Air Force Reserves are still chock full of H-models, and every unit in the country, except maybe Texas, is hurting for experienced Navigators. After much deliberation with my wife and some trusted advisers, I have come to essentially the same conclusion that Rob Burgon over at TallyOne did as he reached a similar transition point.

Moving to the National Guard allows me to keep flying the plane that I love while also being able to put my family, and our future, first. If I am being honest though, I can’t help but wonder what opportunities I am leaving behind by making this switch. There is obviously no way of knowing what the future down either path would bring, but it is in my nature to wonder what could happen.

As I write this, I find myself feeling more and more certain that making the switch is the right move, and that it will pay the greatest dividends in the long run. I wish I had more to say in terms of certainty and knowing that the whole thing is going to work out as I would like, but then that would not be military life would it?

If I had anything to pass along to others who may be in some sort of similar situation I would say stick with your heart and don’t be afraid to pursue a path that is different from what you intended or that others expect of you. Listen to those that have gone before and take into account as much information as you can, but at the end of the day you will find happiness doing what you love and are passionate about.

“A date which will live in infamy.”

These words evoke an incredible range of emotions for millions of people every year around this time. Even for those of us who were not yet living, or even our parents for that matter, they strike an instant chord to something deep inside us.

When FDR said those words 75 years ago I seriously wonder if he would believe what I did today would have ever been possible.

I am currently in Guam participating in Operation Christmas Drop as the Mission Planning Chief for the exercise. If you don’t know what this is look it up on YouTube because there are some amazing videos.

In short, it is an operation to deliver supplies and Christmas presents to the people of Micronesia and the Marianas islands utilizing C-130s to airdrop these much needed supplies. This is the 65th installment of the operation and it gets more awesome every year.

What made today special for me was the magnitude of what I was able to witness. You see, 75 years after that infamous day, I was part of an operation where American and Japanese military members flew on each other’s aircraft to deliver goodwill and happiness to people across the islands of the Pacific.

Two nations that fought bitterly so many years ago teamed up, along with our Australian brothers and sisters, to drop not bombs but food, gifts, and other vital supplies to people they will never meet in person. In one day they delivered nearly 10,000 pounds of cargo in a joint operation that demonstrates the amazing relationship we have developed.

As I lay here about to go to sleep almost 75 years to the hour that Pearl Harbor was attacked, I almost cannot fathom the magnitude of what took place today, yesterday, and will again tomorrow.

In a world that can so often be viciously divided it was awe inspiring to see how much good former enemies can do when we unite together for the greater good. May we all take a minute today to remember those that were lost, but also take a minute to find our own battles that we can bring to a peaceful resolution.

If the flag of the rising sun and the stars and stripes can literally fly together after all they endured three quarters of a century ago, then any quarrel can be settled and instead good deeds can be done.

Post a Comment(0)

December 7, 2016 I Written By David

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Filed Under: C-130 Hercules Military Aviation

Tags:C-130 JASDF Operation Christmas Drop Pacific Airdrop Pearl Harbor Day RAAF USAF

A Few Shots of Everyone’s Favorite C-130: Fat Albert

The Blue Angels are the highlight of pretty much every airshow they fly at. They put on an exhilarating show that is almost impossible not to enjoy.

The part of the show that many people unfortunately overlook is one of my favorite parts. Fat Albert is the workhorse of the show as the transport for the maintainers, as well as the only propeller driven aircraft in the show. I had the opportunity to see Fat Albert back when they still utilized JATO bottles for some incredible takeoffs, and I have been hooked ever since. In case you are wondering what a JATO takeoff is, check this out:

While living in Pensacola, FL, the home of the Blue Angels, I got to see Fat Albert quite often, but there is just something special about seeing him on the road. I had that opportunity again last August while in Seattle during the SeaFair Air Show.

While most of the action took place out over the water, I actually think Fat Albert’s part of the show is better at the airport itself. In this case that would be King County International Airport, better know as Boeing Field. The outdoor static displays of the Museum of Flight is a unique and wonderful place to watch an airshow. Though you will notice a few of those planes peeking into some of my pictures.

Every show starts with a takeoff.

A zoom climb takeoff like this is incredibly uncomfortable since you are flying at maybe 10-20 feet with the gear up as fast as you can. Keep in mind, that this is not a little Cessna 172, but a 100,000+ pound cargo plane. That makes for an incredibly exhilarating experience, and some pretty insane takeoff angles for such a large, propeller-driven plane.

While it can sustain this angle forever, it does get you away from the ground, fast.

While it can’t sustain this angle forever, it does get you away from the ground, fast.

If you have ever watched a “normal” C-130 takeoff, it is not very exciting, and it takes a long time to get up and away. While this is nothing compared to the old JATO takeoffs, it is fun to take off at this steep of an angle.

C-130s don’t necessarily translate to air show excitement.

In terms of the air show itself, this picture really sums up most of what a C-130 can do in an air show. It can be fun to see some big banking 60 degree turns and high-speed passes, but the real power and utility of the C-130 can’t really be shown at an airshow, with the exception of the takeoff we already talked about, and maybe even more nerve-wracking, intense landings.

The C-130 was designed to go into austere locations and provide support to forces that otherwise would not receive it. I often explain to friends that all we need is an area free of trees and other tall objects and we could get in there. While that may not be 100% accurate, it really isn’t too far off.

When all you see out the window is ground, it can be quite unnerving.

One important aspect of this unique ability is approaching airfields at an incredibly steep angle. We often refer to it as riding the elevator because you watch the altitude just spin off the altimeter. I read an article from a reporter who got to take a ride on Fat Albert and she said that the most scary part was this steep descent into the runway.

You would never know that this plane just descended about 1000 feet in about 20 seconds.

While it may make the untrained civilian uncomfortable, it is things like this that get all of us Herc crew members excited about what we do. It feels amazing when the pilot rounds it out and you touch softly down after screaming towards good old terra firma.

What a beautiful sight.

Everyone is attracted to the fast and agile planes at an airshow, and for good reason, because they are exciting. However, the older I get the more I appreciate the wonder of some of these unsung heroes at airshows. There may be no greater unsung hero than Fat Albert, but I may be a little biased.

Post a Comment(0)

May 14, 2016 I Written By David

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Filed Under: Air Shows Aircraft Aviation C-130 Hercules Military Aviation

Tags:Blue Angels C-130 Airshows Fat Albert JATO Takeoff SeaFair Air Show Zoom Climb

I Promise I am Still Alive (Video to Spark Your Interest)

Has it really been more than two months since I have posted?

As much as it pains me, I have to be honest: for some reason I just had no desire to write. Admittedly, I have been busy going to two major multi-national exercises, not to mention some pretty significant family stuff going on.

With all of that being said, those are just excuses, and I apologize. I promise to get back on the horse now that I have a little more free time. Besides, I could really use some therapeutic writing to get the avgeekiness flowing again.

In the meantime, enjoy a little snippet of some of the amazing flying I got to do recently. I will put together some better stuff soon. Of particular note in this video is the runway at the end is actually where the Enola Gay took off from on its historic mission. I also think it is awesome to see the propellers go into reverse shortly after we landed. Enjoy.

What is The Goal of Aviation?

I am still collecting some videos from Operation Christmas Drop so that post will have to wait a little longer, but there is another topic that has been on my mind a lot recently that seems applicable at this time of the year.

The new year is a time when it is extremely common for people to make resolutions which are really just another name for goals. People generally think about weight loss, money, and other personal concerns when it comes to setting these goals. Goals are an important part of any real success in this world which is why it is important to make them and do everything possible to reach them. This is true for people as well as businesses.

No matter if you are a person, business, industry, non-profit, or any other group for that matter, you must understand what your main goal is if you are to find any level of success. Once you understand your main goal, you can then set secondary goals to get you to your main goal. This whole line of thinking started for me a couple of months ago when I read the book The Goal, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. There are many great business insights in the book, as well as many other insights that are applicable to individuals as well. I highly recommend it if you are looking for something to read. It reads as a novel, not a business textbook so it is actually quite pleasant to read.

The main insight that drives the rest of the story is that a business must first understand what their main goal is, as I already mentioned. Once we understand the main goal all of our efforts can be focused on accomplishing it, and anything that stands in the way of that goal can be removed or worked around. Spoiler alert, the main goal of every business is to make money. If you want to get more details, read the book. For the purposes of this post I pose the same question for us lovers of aviation who anxiously want to promote its growth.

What is THE Goal of aviation?

For aviation businesses the goal is the same as any other industry, to make money. Without that they go out of business and any other goals, no matter how noble, are lost forever.

Aviation organizations like AOPA, AAAE, NBAA, WAI, and numerous others all have similar goals of promoting aviation but generally focus on one particular group like business flyers or women. They all provide invaluable support to their constituents and the industry as a whole, but they are not really unified in working towards one particular goal. I am not really surprised though because I don’t know that I have seen a legitimate, unifying goal put forth by anyone.

Don’t get me wrong, many have put forth great ideas, but nothing has really been effective, or else I think we would have seen more growth because people generally do pretty well when they have a clear goal set before them.

Dan Pimentel presented a great goal around this time two years ago of increasing the pilot population to 1 million through focusing on bringing more girls and women into the industry, so is THE goal simply to increase the number of pilots?

I also had an interesting discussion with someone last year about creating an incentive program, possibly through AOPA, where participants could get discounts at hotels, rental car companies, entertainment venues, and other businesses that pilots might utilize when flying to improve the quality of the whole experience. Does that make THE goal a better experience for those who are already flying?

Eddie Rickenbacker is quoted as saying, “Aviation is proof that – given the will – we can do the impossible.” This has been true from the Wright Brothers all the way up to Elon Musk and his groundbreaking Falcon 9 reusable rocket. Aviation has pushed the limits of human ingenuity and innovation leading to developments that have benefited all of society. So is innovation THE goal of aviation?

A few other potential options for our goal could be to transport people and goods, to connect the world in a more efficient manner, to safely accomplish all of the other things mentioned, or even to return the wonder to flying rather than the commonplace occurrence that it has become.

I don’t think that I have THE answer, but I do have a few thoughts that I hope might start a discussion amongst all of us so that we can focus our efforts to achieve this goal rather than to each pursue our own course of action and have our efforts not be as effective, because as we all know, the sum of our efforts can be much greater than our individual parts.

To start I think I may have already established a goal without even really thinking about it, we want to see growth. Growth could be seen in many areas to include more pilots, more passengers, more planes, more use of airports, or any number of different metrics, and maybe all of them should matter, but what growth would really show is good health in the industry. While I think my focus is really on general aviation, I don’t think we can segment the industry if we are truly to see growth. For most people, commercial aviation is their only connection with flying so to exclude them would be to exclude one of our greatest resources. Military aviation also provides a vital connection to the mass public as it is often what lights the fire in many individuals.

No matter which metric we choose to focus on, growth in and of itself is no guarantee of success. A business can sell more product or generate more revenue and still go out of business because it is not managed well. So I think we need to have more organized management of the industry. Right now everyone seems to be working in their own little niche to “look out for number one” because no one has stepped up to bring us all together. One would hope the FAA would play some role in that since aviation is their sole purpose, but we all know that will never happen. But what is it about aviation that we could all rally around with all of our mixed agendas? Not since the space race has the world as a whole cared more about aviation. Maybe the new commercial space race will create some unity.

There is also no doubt that we need some innovation on the people front. There is as much innovation as ever in aviation technology when you look at the 787, A350, and Falcon 9, but have we really changed the way people interact with the industry, maybe ever? It is people that are going to keep the aviation industry healthy and we need to find a way to get the absolute most that we can out of those people. It was people that made that first courageous flight at Kitty Hawk over 100 years ago, and it will be people that will keep aviation strong throughout the next 100 years.

I realize I have asked as many questions as I have given answers, but like I said, I would really love to see what kind of ideas we could come up with if we put our heads together. There is no doubt that we will all be in love with aviation for the rest of our lives, but the question remains, what is THE goal of aviation, and what are we doing to accomplish it?