#sierrahotel — Public Fediverse posts

Not mine. Reminds me of a guy I flew with at Kadena who, as flight lead, would brief the exact opposite of squadron standards (altitude blocks for red/blue air, radar sorting order, etc) just to be contrary. #bigseiko #airminded #sierrahotel

The touches of orange on my watch o' the day remind me of the oranges on a unit patch I once proudly wore. #BigSeiko #SierraHotel #EagleBot

Aerobraking is an effective way of slowing the F-15 Eagle after landing, but you have to watch your pitch or you'll scrape the tailcones. In this case, in front of witnesses. #EagleBot #SierraHotel

Wood model of the F-15C I flew at Kadena in the early 1990s. Had it made in Angeles City, Philippines, as a gift to my father, then inherited it on his passing. #EagleBot #SierraHotel

Interesting old photo; no idea who took it. Might have been taken on the Nellis range in Nevada, or possibly near Edwards AFB in SoCal. Love the '58 Ford ... we had one as our family car in my high school days; might even have taken my future bride on a date in it. #SierraHotel #BongoFiveTwo

I often post F-15 Eagle content here. The old, now almost retired air-to-air Eagle is a single-seat fighter, but every unit had a couple of two-seaters on hand for training, check rides, and orientation flights. Here's a nice (uncredited) photo of both versions together. They're identical except for the second seat and bulgier canopy. #eaglebot #sierrahotel

Stumbled on this earlier today (creator unknown) and got a laugh. Back in the days when gun cameras didn't record sound and we carried tape recorders, I had one get loose during a BFM engagement. I could see it in the mirrors, all the way back on the turtleneck (the flat surface the photoshopped raccoon is on). Negative Gs and fanning the speedbrake summoned it back, no harm done. #EagleBot #F15Eagle #SierraHotel

The last F-15C has left Kadena Air Base. My last USAF flying assignment was Kadena, where I flew F-15s, so I've been following news of the drawdown. Some C models are still flying for the Air National Guard, but this was the end of an era for the active Air Force. #SierraHotel #Eaglebot
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/u-s-pulls-out-last-f-15c-eagle-from-japans-kadena-ab-in-ceremonial-flight-now-f-15ex-jets-to-hold-fort/#google_vignette

Folks mad at Apple over the piano probably won't like the Air Force either. #SierraHotel

There's a new Air-Minded post on my blog, this one about pilot training assignment night. https://pwoodford.net/blog/?p=34986 #EagleBot #MilAir #SierraHotel

One of many photos from a flight I led in Alaska in the mid-80s. Elmendorf AFB went all-out w/sequentially-numbered tails, 4X4 missiles, no tanks. The photographer rode in a 5th jet flying alongside, a 2-seater. We squeezed every last possible photo from this flight, and I'm willing to bet we all landed emergency fuel ... I know I did. Prints were used for publicity purposes by McDonnell-Douglas, which explains the factory test pilot autograph on the photo (he wasn't there). #SierraHotel

Today's #wristwatch choice, along with a beer ad you've probably never seen before. Anchorage distributor left a bunch of them in the officers' club bar at Elmendorf AFB in the mid-1980s and I snagged one. #F15Eagle #SierraHotel

You sometimes hear single-seat F-15 Eagles and two-seat F-15 Strike Eagles called "light greys" and "dark greys." Pretty good illustration of that here. #EagleBot #F15Eagle #MilAir #SierraHotel

Now that's a flight deck! Boeing Stratocruiser. One of my all-time favorite aviation photos. Taken by Eric Stoller in 1947 back when crews still called their aircraft "ships." #SierraHotel

Great Ken Middleton photo. Nose wheel comes off the ground at 120 knots (138 mph) on takeoff. An unbalanced one will keep spinning for a while. When retracted it's right under you. Feels like an unbalanced tire on your car, only over several seconds the vibration slows and eventually stops. #EagleBot #F15Eagle #SierraHotel

I'll take Things Only a Crew Chief or Pilot Would Find Amazing for $400, Ken. #EagleBot #MilAir #SierraHotel

New on the blog: The End of the Whip (formation flying & aerial refueling). https://pwoodford.net/blog/?p=33950 #EagleBot #MilAir #SierraHotel

Great mid-80s photo of Soesterberg Air Base in the Netherlands. Talk about a cozy little airfield. Those were glory days indeed. Thanks to Mario Warnaar for the photo. #EagleBot #DutchAirNationalGuard #F15Eagle #SierraHotel

Happy National Aviation Day! #EagleBot #F15Eagle #SierraHotel

Not used any more, but a big deal in the F-15 community of the 70s & 80s, the "Eagle Eye": a rifle scope mounted to the side of the HUD, used to get earlier visual IDs on targeted aircraft. #EagleBot #F15Eagle #MilAir #SierraHotel

43rd TFS (Elmendorf AFB, Alaska) F-15A Eagles near Denali, 1983. Capt Paul Woodford, acft 74-092; Capt Rick Pialet, acft 74-093; Capt Walt DeBord, acft 74-094; Capt John Lasley, acft 74-095 (photo: Bob Williams, McDonnell-Douglas) #milair #GloryDays #SierraHotel #F15Eagle