Canute
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Everything posted by Canute
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As some wise man said, we are our own worst critics for models. I think a lot of us who flew lost high end hearing from the turbine whine we endured. My low end hearing is OK, but at mid range it goes down at about a 45 degree angle. Hi squeaky voices are almost unheard by me.
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Yep, I was Hawkeye until about age 43 or so. Then I flunked a flight physical. Bifocals and stuff ever since.
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Optivisor Lou, with glass lenses, for magnification. Bright LED light on a swing arm, with a sunlight rated lamp.
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FINISHED - TBM3 Avenger by CDW - Trumpeter - 1:32 scale
Canute replied to CDW's topic in Non-ship/categorised builds
Beautiful work, Craig. -
Did anyone 'splain to Lt Dumbjohn what he'd have to do? Or was it easier to let the lad flail. Guess we took a long time to get aviators into combat, with the schooling we did. Heck, the time I got to drive an M-60, in Schweinfurt, Germany, I got a 3 minute briefing on steering (like a bicycle), gear selection(one forward, I think) and speed(the long wide one on the right). Just don't get too close to the HAWK battery and no, you can't turn the turret to put the barrel forward. I drove one tank across a good sized ditch and went into their parade ground? We took 3 tanks into this huge field and immediately got into a wheel of the 3 tanks chasing each other's tail. The Army captain wasn't too amused until he saw our AF Colonel driving one of the tanks in this rat race.
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Will we see a gunner Lou hanging out the side?
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Lou, those guys look pretty good.
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Nicely done, Ekis.
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I won enough money to get a keg of beer for my Frat House!
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FINISHED - TBM3 Avenger by CDW - Trumpeter - 1:32 scale
Canute replied to CDW's topic in Non-ship/categorised builds
Craig, whatever you need. I got minimal time in C models, pretty much phased out of the force by the time I got back to the States. Most of my time was in E models. And I still have my F-4E flight manual and weapons manual. -
I was #5 in that 1969 lottery. I got drafted in early '72, too. I "dodged' if by sending some gummint form, saying I already had a blue suit and was a real 1st Lieutenant. 😝
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Soap and warm water, for 20 seconds or so, works better on viruses than rubbing alcohol does.
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I'm in for this build, Jack.
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FINISHED - TBM3 Avenger by CDW - Trumpeter - 1:32 scale
Canute replied to CDW's topic in Non-ship/categorised builds
Sorry to read about that wreck, Craig. But a heck of a recovery. It looks good. It's a big bird. -
FINISHED - TBM3 Avenger by CDW - Trumpeter - 1:32 scale
Canute replied to CDW's topic in Non-ship/categorised builds
I agree with Craig. I used that same Badger for years. I've replaced seals (worn out) and the nozzle (dropped off workbench); it allows for good coverage for priming and general finish work. The fine tip ABs are for the fine work, like the squiggle camo on a German bomber. -
That's what they call a rolling takeoff Lou. The multiengine/cargo planes did it a lot. We ex-fighter guys called it a strolling takeoff. We fighter types normally pulled onto the runway, lined up in formation, closed the canopies, ran the engines up holding brakes to check the instruments, nodded to the flight lead that we were ready and watched him go into afterburner. 10 seconds later #2 rolled and so on. Afterburners (or reheat for the Brits) were orange red with Mach diamonds for the Phantom. The flame shape had multiple diamond shapes coming out of the afterburner nozzles, what you're looking at at the read ends of the engines. If we rolled more than 4,000' on the runway we were heavily loaded, it was hot or we were flying from a very high altitude airport. Nam was the first two. Flying in Colorado or Utah was the last.
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I remember that story, too, Mark. Details aren't important; the fact the airliner guys mistook Marble Mountain and DaNang is hilarious. I watched an IG guy mistake two US bases in Germany and land at the wrong field. Talk about a ration of grief.
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Amen, brothers.
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Going to Nam was Travis, Hawaii, Wake Island (Semper Fi), Clark (Jungle survival school) and Thailand. Back was Thailand, Clark, Yakota, Anchorage and Travis. Braniff jets both ways in crazy colors. The designers must have been dropping acid? Two cattle cars full of GIs. Me and my buddy Doug snagged two seats by the front door going home. Lots of leg room and we could chat up the stewardesses/flight attendants. Some looked a tad older, but they spoke American and we were going home to the big BX. No ration cards needed. No experimentation with what we carried. All came out via frag orders. The loads varied by where we went and the task we were performing. MiG Cap was wall to wall missiles. Hunter Killer was cluster bombs, since SAM batteries were wide spread and thin skinned. Working down South, we loaded out 500 lb. bombs. Once in a while, we might haul bigger stuff. The F4 wasn't limited by weight, except takeoff rolls got longer. A-7s did have some problems since they were turbo fan engines. Climbing the hill to get on the runway, something got reset in their fuel control and limiting their available thrust. Jeez, that was a deep memory.
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Whenever it was we closed Korat (late 70s, I guess), they must have packed everything up, including Roscoe pup. Nowadays, the K-9s come home and get adopted out to families. Happy endings there.
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FINISHED - TBM3 Avenger by CDW - Trumpeter - 1:32 scale
Canute replied to CDW's topic in Non-ship/categorised builds
I am in awe of the weathering job. Good, but subtle, too. I look at a lot of the IPMS and model railroad stuff and I think some of them are overdone. Your weathering looks like what I looked at on aircraft for 28 years. Two 👍 -
I'm with you, Lou. Except I flew my last mission with another short timer about 3 days before we went home. Big to do for us, much imbibing of adult beverages and munching Thai "spring rolls". Got a Thai version of a lei, too (I think. It got pretty blurry there at the end).
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Well, Roscoe made it back to the States, to Hill AFB, Utah, where he lived for a number of years. He supposedly came to Korat in one of the early arrival aircraft in 65-66 or so, from Kadena AB on Okinawa. He had his own party suit, a blue dog's coat with the rank of Colonel. He had the run of the base, even stopping the CO's jeeps if he wanted a ride by sitting in the appropriate lane facing the Colonel. He could forecast how tough our missions up over the North of Viet Nam would be by whether he was sitting up paying attention to the briefers or laying on a chair, napping. His forecasts were better than the success rates for the weather briefers. That's why one of my current dogs is named Roscoe, in memory of the mascot at Korat.
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A couple of my veteran groups run trips over to Nam on a random basis. I didn't leave anything over that way, except friends who won't be back. I know the Thais ate dog, saw some in their butcher shops in Korat City. They were always eying our mascot, Roscoe dog, with bad intent. And Roscoe gave it as good as he got; chased the guys off on a routine basis.
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We had those helmet/boots patches, too. Some guys had countdown calendars for their return to the States date. I felt you were tempting fate, as an aviator, to post a real date. Too many variables on every flight. A REMF might be able to hold to a date, not grunts or aviators. And you might remember the expression FIGMO. Since this is a family friendly site, I won't spell it out.
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