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Low on gas, tanker overdue...

I spend my time fixing...

There I was...March 22nd 2003, 0330 AM, Western Iraq, just completed a 1 hour scramble to support a Special Ops team in dire need of "Dixie Demolition" ie Bama ANG F-16C+'s dropping heavy Iron.
The fight to gain control of the Hadithah Dam in W. Iraq raged for three hours while we stayed overhead the elite warriors below dropping bombs and directing traffic with our Infrared Targeting Pods. My wingman and I departed the "active" engagement a bit "skosh" low on gas. We pointed our thirsty fighters to the nearest Tanker Cap, reaching it and the most beautiful aircraft you will ever see at Night on NVG's (or day for that matter), the KC-135 literally on kerosene fumes, to be replenished inflight, once again...

Thanks brudda...

V/R
Smokey
 
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There I was...March 22nd 2003, 0330 AM, Western Iraq, just completed a 1 hour scramble to support a Special Ops team in dire need of "Dixie Demolition" ie Bama ANG F-16C+'s dropping heavy Iron.
The fight to gain control of the Hadithah Dam in W. Iraq raged for three hours while we stayed overhead the elite warriors below dropping bombs and directing traffic with our Infrared Targeting Pods. My wingman and I departed the "active" engagement a bit "skosh" low on gas. We pointed our thirsty fighters to the nearest Tanker Cap, reaching it and the most beautiful aircraft you will ever see at Night on NVG's (or day for that matter), the KC-135 literally on kerosene fumes, to be replenished inflight, once again...

Thanks brudda...

V/R
Smokey

I can share several stories as well, tankers saving our butts low on gas trying to put war heads on foreheads. More times than I can count. People may not see them as sexy, but no one kicks *** without tanker gas and I've seen some real feats of airmanship to put them selves in position to support the fight.
 
I'm working with the Olympic team as their javelin
worst%20jobs_4a76f5fd38ff3_hires.jpg
catcher.
 
Looks like modern surface mount components mounted on thick film ceramic modules.

I designed this in 1982. Mitel PBX SX-2000 analog trunk card. You can still buy them.

DSC02406.JPG


Aviation connection: Probably every pilot in the world has used a telephone that communicated on Mitel products.
 
Thanks Matt

Thanks for your service Matt. For those of you who don't remember, Yazman is the guy who finished Tyler Voss's RV and delivered it to his parents.

Best of luck working on your plane and stay safe my friend.

I spend my time fixing...

Sometimes doing this....

And this...

To give gas to These...


To Keep this Free
 
you really want to know........... i give up... waiting for =VAF= moderator to retire so i can go to work.
;)
P1010404.jpg
 
Looks like modern surface mount components mounted on thick film ceramic modules.

I designed this in 1982. Mitel PBX SX-2000 analog trunk card. You can still buy them.

DSC02406.JPG


Aviation connection: Probably every pilot in the world has used a telephone that communicated on Mitel products.

Mitel makes good stuff..to bad they dropped support for the 2000. I do I&R for a lot of Mitel systems ( mostly hospitality ) down here. Also Shoretel and Adtran, but Mitel is still great stuff.
 
I am part owner and manager of a cleaning company
I own Cummins Spinners makers of spinners for Experimental Aircraft
I am the Australian dealer for Zenith Aircraft Company
But it pays for my flying
Cheers from down under
 
I'm a manufacturers representative, selling Liebert HVAC and power systems for data centers. I have offices in Denver and Albuquerque, and our sales territory is Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.
 
High Energy Physics Research

I am the Deputy Division Head for the Accelerator Division of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. I am an E.E. and have 42 years in at the lab.

www.fnal.gov

Paul
 
I am the Deputy Division Head for the Accelerator Division of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. I am an E.E. and have 42 years in at the lab.

www.fnal.gov

Paul

Did you know Jack McCarthy? I worked with him in the late 80's after he left Fermi for Dynapower to work on magnet power supplies for the SSC.
 
He's still around

Jack was in town a while back and we talked about the good old days! :)


Paul
 
Changed Jobs so I guess I could Update. I have waited 14 years since I started flying at 14 years old to get paid to fly... Couldn't be happier.

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IMG_3433_zpsuqkvwcuk.jpg


IMG_3437_zpsuhuhkz90.jpg
 
Couldn't be happier.

IMG_3437_zpsuhuhkz90.jpg

I have one of those!

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Granted, 15 years ago and pretty poor quality - that digital photo is 37kb:D. Glad to hear you're living the dream. Amazing how quickly it all goes by. Best of luck in your big adventure and here's hoping your time is a little less adventurous than ours was.
 
Wing - Drone Delivery and UAS Traffic Management Software

Hi VAF!

Our company Wing is looking to hire for several open roles, including a Chief UAS Pilot. I'll post details in the job section of the forum (click that to go there), but thought this would be a fitting thread to tell you about the company (i.e., my day job, when I'm not working on or flying RV's :) ).


Click any of the links below to see more detailed articles, videos, etc.

Wing is Alphabet?s (i.e., Google?s) drone program. We?re building an aerial delivery system to carry urgently needed items across our cities in just a few minutes, while improving the safety and carbon footprint of our transportation networks.

A few videos/articles that have more details:

* Our drone delivery system provides radically fast (and cheap!) service to customers, as well as helping grow local businesses
* We?re creating a ?UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) Platform? -- basically ?Google maps for the skies? software to help drones fly safer
* Helping develop and demonstrate open-source RemoteID tools that help the FAA meet their security needs while also maintaining user privacy
* Deploying our system to Europe (that's a presentation that tells more about us)

Many on our team come from manned piloting backgrounds as well as the RC hobby community, and we?re committed to building these new drone systems in ways that support the entire aviation community (that?s why we plan to make UTM software available for free to hobbyists, for example, as well as put ADS-B receivers on our drones so they always yield to manned airplanes), as well as keeping the future of aviation open and innovative (which is why we?re pushing open-source solutions that let many companies both play well together and compete with each other)


Our "Hummingbird" Aircraft performing deliveries in Australia:
4gONeJN5SzNMW06UR-ATR0VMiGP9ucXk68QQeZbSss08xEuaifWK3CJQWwJbN88twzZr9ag1GA_U1uk1EUl-VNx4bT0Lz-yBLR7awjR40MnnvuOG0yOG0x-j45JjePXJ45qRcWp4W7Bilki_0gJ8VFmrB7Etv28WTPNg7Ps7fd0mB7QOxpa6p6fWyf6PfcO1WXyC92LwA5X6tzqili05gkay_QvIijiZ7CvFmV267nLbjc_P4uQIM1tXEerVze0AfGxV-TVyIzx5RV4lzLgKnE_GSd7Atcj6QSj-Ruhd0cycc11817odErI8Z-53Pgk2s7r9qn8Fg77m3Xg4To7szei8FH6UhsfMbevrhHoHXSAgRZ8Ct63ARdo4DPUjZRgK11_n5K-uuOXp8PUP3fKul7VcEUf4Iuv9bHF9WofY-z0apisi6iUFTVoiQY7v6jd7tdDiZ-cJObin276vYLlOjFojsxQWEhuwZidqvzckxPILV4wd17wliy8K_PG6HAcknv9vPMoImHtyAPCgFPiqw_DH3CpiJ9xByxfBE6v0JdGcggW6jCM9hLiliRbpn92V5OnMItYSW_VxqbI_6e6AnrGbEByG1lEaSIwnQJwDKZe9LRKjPIXnDCgG6WIHFMTXu82GNAAH7PvOwkzG08HzbORJmrVFZNU=w700-no


Cold (-27C!) weather testing in Finland:
0enSXYEWVTP9vi3hrrMvEHZAphWyR_iIYT6CkZFXHXV46YFWmNh7RmOzSECPn-syOi-UCDt0gmSAxFfa2DYU3ozfKgPOhg0QaXbQxii9o0ZvUyyZlcITeJkXFUQCckuOlgSMmxp5ZlmZcPzt0JT3-wWmnT-0nlLlyGtKk56r74lykvIjST6b-IGTUo7Hcoz16k6fhFnL5UtNUqqxPAbx-Zk0O-nYWHGCz0qTYVJKhH9Zg5_2bxvFMa2zzlWgBOFGmauduexweNVz5OClUPEBU6KEjrr_SSNQOdc8JyMEm70dfgREazBOx6SdS1adTSlTjXCoYhqd4GAdZYqC05DsRQFwbNDucnRlYTDxS9KUDZ1Ezl_QkF7xn0DRQjsm-3IPFA_U7Wy7cGVWcLIi8t-HibHHAx7KIG-5GaG3bWeNqMtGMwPSwavdlSxPlFAt2va2M6qs1IgPDxpa24eDyBL11H2bFOKqM5XkwXrLJx_9QJirbfUU4gSKw1T2pf_9FO7jQ3rs3K0mQrdHcxEuDGTGW2PJ9b6lAtQDvH3woA-tAahBreXe8_DUhwmfdLl5lkjUF6D4cJmxxYdK_idXwJVd2izMvpSKQjtGBFFGUnX2xLOP4AsW0ZKDYalc51CYat461ilFLvi61oba8jIMhZFPrqZLZHro3L0=w700-no


Delivery tests at our CA test site:
QS4IB1_N7QduNT9AfS4Wn54lwq-7Uk894xQtj4i9deOsIffa-M3by7TGPQE7knCEKw2-Krl8Y17yWcKPAmb5gFL6SjIGrMyoUvDOdjAar197QY3Gk4wp3rZI82qx7OeX68cu_hC8xnLX_ob3Vevy1_SL_onxAfIfNODNy-8Ld7XHLxIQRWrQqnDo2XBz88wnMexUsKjuYsDtoA75xD1YU4APCp61OK22KDWykFjofuhknWUrUsYxjh9VyJ81scvxprX3axuU4oh8z1_MZzJZ4eMSvUgwu3-MQguCM2IBURWH2zG4ooQlAesuQDCVTImne1nYJAja4xydBAAHPPEnFTfHqumla-m6PHYPaLk6pIoM09z8hb9kciG0QBbapCmjxivou14Cvyc3gwT42KLUED_8Kd3lppOmF-FcTppXRvFjMgLDIseYKi3yV2JTFDmES2FbtrKSVR8YBI1yYBJuFypIdtthx5CuMEi5-UWnaHpGgfjraa2eJpYDULOePr4NZvWSTmcUdoHcR8Vujp2BumGGNE0cnkcLjAgq0XZa2X_62q-mSyJOZtpOTern6rRHMVeOBuJSrNXMkO_kdY3jtZ1XHmESPDLp8Q5jiqjaH1B6Z9gQfexoVzjHUp6Z8XbaNPGo6ds_PWnjulY0u8OA-smkR-xSKNY=w500-no



More Australia flights:
ps9LcBsBxrmWiixg1e5Fba7vZg16eCLRUi9oC72mKCUbaqE8RijIlHQSsn7cMgTwzpAgrBEriteCa26IsaBflmpZMtaOkQDmk0hOPDRjWMwJ_NOnInj8lHDjNdCoW5bGTkjSNhY_jSYTUHHmz4wzVw2KdCKFV7k1BOtT3Z5ZUcd7zBa2xvtZvZWoMgiLbRCQr1oCmRg9d2mGvFA8xwDK3WFjZfo-CB2dzWByahn5RQLNOob67y30XGpEJje33oLcjPzqbzUbB5GKTEW89gq2dpXFl3PqcrzLjQxz2W82jszNqZ52DKKVcM_00R866HwFm-f8x-sjv_CSCWXKKfRGBGVqOxDx6VTP7LLTI9mS976_xN2jWy_6lr6AiXKbvIt2p3Z3cH_LGOHaB2NSMuFFUzKeSHT0ywiofuAmU8OIoD6a6qxKV8ZC9Oepg0tmnNckIcqkCZ3VFFrt5bUKAbYV24ZLCE6EpHlYzQWAyV2CLots-2R7maNYLtKHCMr3B2bDYo1P2WtRMME28k7THrm85u8RnmFCYkUO_9mJDyA1CYJfjAti6iB2vBkVgx6uUiLokhuhGbXDy8gyMLGS_ipjpoQ99Cr4zmMeD59jA9JpqoOBamn51pT2QU-cwcYaHFlmiYgVG0HrjbnSItwomYvgU7Jf7ksrk_k=w900-no


Oops, wait.. not sure how this picture got in here.. ;-)
TnKpFppHqM-ZyaQjdg49ymtRyZkS6ZUd0izFJifgon2EE4BH1RZtiPurbne6b7TidugHhs069NXaaISo637W5F_z_f_Wvd_mZAzVi79p06VI-VWQbMmvHVJWF683v4daMQpfBr4Yp97M1jqRpKfCqG1D-MKSixFIoIqQo9gG0fodpKXcHQlFyM6mv5jKL66hYWbOB8HOmtcdQF0UaauteEr3_icynLc2zI01ayoAvBgVozzin-lw0gDo_LOg6qN070juOyJNCj4MkG9rFUCIvcJuln8IIrHVDZck8AUp9htyS5Tg5WfLK1uBG8wLoajJPIFRbK5ZiGKFGbF4eaQGPvMD5sUpzK_k2tjQSbs5gaJbjenWGGNPVX4nJFVjDjMC8pEJj6dymOPnEwi1OBlkZqcyzI90RophGBpCn6rPssxGR44rohvQLcF4X0YBu2UdTucTt0TLpONS7dGaYjp5VhpSNTBge8RK2xOj3ht4jtzRnmxIKedG0XmRTOYWm6voDZB1NVw1GLKG-NLtStEcQSQpHTbbVT_Uc9ThHbW8sWAWRGgzaXWuRHQ2xyA_ItBxZPQM2kbhLvVzxxllYP7og6WI_sNSTihAbuqIDMy8RGdiPv27yJ1IzlTBwBFROEilW07L39WHpZVrMb0JWC9k2IvExkl37hYbOFw2xyPQaGI_taQaXRd2Ppua5jBHGbDR2-UI401F6XLnYSgNgcHJ20XSGg=w900-no
 
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Sitting on my arse and getting suckered into showing guys that hold A&P and IAs how to service a strut on a piper like I did today. Retired and apparently free maintenance to my airport ?friends?.
 
I write press releases and press kits for Toyota and Lexus.

Side hustle - I used one of my auto industry contacts to create my own line of ultra-premium quality aircraft cleaning products under the "SUPERBIRD" brand name. These SUPERBIRD products are engineered specifically for use on aircraft paint (aircraft paint is VERY different from automotive paint).

GKc5ybF.jpg
 
Roadie

I work for a touring lighting company.

After a few tours with Paul McCartney and a stint with the Rolling Stones (and many others I've tried to forget about), I am now a Lighting and Media Server tech for WWE. Gave up the international touring to be home every week so I can build my RV-7.

I help build the set, make sure all the lights work, as well as manage all of the Media servers and the lighting networks for the show.

If you're ever at Raw or SmackDown, shoot me a message, I'll come find you and say hello.
 
I work as a certification engineer doing STC work on transport category aircraft and occasionally touch some Part 23 stuff.

I'm the reason you pay $3000 for a $3 part in the certified world. Well, a very small part of the reason.
 
I work as a certification engineer doing STC work on transport category aircraft and occasionally touch some Part 23 stuff.

I'm the reason you pay $3000 for a $3 part in the certified world. Well, a very small part of the reason.

Ever work for AEI?
 
I work as a certification engineer doing STC work on transport category aircraft and occasionally touch some Part 23 stuff.

I'm the reason you pay $3000 for a $3 part in the certified world. Well, a very small part of the reason.

Cool. And you do that from Ocean City? Either that, or you have one **** of a commute!
 
I'm working with the Olympic team as their javelin
worst%20jobs_4a76f5fd38ff3_hires.jpg
catcher.

This is old, but it made me laugh. Hockey goalie, baseball catcher, jousting partner, wild weasel mission pilot, javelin catcher, these are jobs for a certain type of deranged individual who seems to like things coming at them fast. I was a right defenseman on our hockey team in college. One night, our goalie was sick so, what the heck, I put on the pads. How hard can it be? I found out just how deranged this type of person is.
 
Nashville?

I work for a touring lighting company.

After a few tours with Paul McCartney and a stint with the Rolling Stones (and many others I've tried to forget about), I am now a Lighting and Media Server tech for WWE. Gave up the international touring to be home every week so I can build my RV-7.

I help build the set, make sure all the lights work, as well as manage all of the Media servers and the lighting networks for the show.

If you're ever at Raw or SmackDown, shoot me a message, I'll come find you and say hello.

Are you in Nashville?
 
This was taken in the eighties when I was an Instrumentation Engineer on the Space Shuttle. I was out at Edwards to dump the flight recorders. Good times while they lasted. Now I just work on my own personal "space ship".

d9zVs1.jpg
 
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