Rumsfeld and flying

And here I am, 50 years later, getting ready to fly a C-54 next month.

Sure now are ya that a month is long enough to get ready?

Ha, I think so. I have the flight manuals now and have been studying those.
Sure are a lot of systems to learn.

But hey, it will be the first plane I have ever flown with TCAS!

And a 2000 gallon slurry tank too.



Ron
Tanker 65, C-54E (DC-4)

"Stephen Harding" wrote in message
...
George Z. Bush wrote:
Stephen Harding wrote:

I'll ask my mother for info as to where my father might have been
flying during the 51-55 time frame. Could be another "small world"
episode in the making!

Please do....who knows where our paths may have crossed?

Hey George, my mother directed me towards a mug my father
got sometime in 1953-54 for us two (at the time) kids.

It has my name "Steve" on it along with the Japanese equivalent
(I presume) under it. A red seal with a yellow bee in leather
flying helmet and goggles, carrying something with each pair of
its legs, and a star and bar emblem under one of its wings. A
banner under the seal says "21st Troop Carrier Squadron". On the
back a C-54 is pictured with "Bee liners" under it.

I still have a few of those kinds of mugs we all had made while we were there.
Mine had a USAF insignia on one side, and the words "344th Troop Carrier
Squadron" and "Fat Cats" around a cartoon depiction of a smiling pot bellied cat
slouched in a chair holding onto a cocktail glass. A half century later, I
still have a few of them left and occasionally have a beer in one and smile as I
drink from it.

He obtained this while stationed at Tachi in the 53-54 time
period, but apparently was also in the various Japanese bases
you mentioned too from time to time.

What I found especially interesting is that he was basically
"commuting to work". Used Japan as a base and running stuff
back and forth (and everywhere) from Korea and I think focused
on helping out the French in Indochina at the time.

Is this what you were doing too? Of course the hop to Korea
from Japan isn't especially large. A bit more of a haul to
Vietnam. I think it's very likely you guys crossed each
others paths at the time.

We also used to do that kind of stuff. We were in and out of Korea almost on a
daily basis, and sometimes to some of the smaller, hairier places where 4 engine
planes wouldn't safely fit. When I first got there, the vast preponderence of
our flights were into and out of Korea. Later on, we also got some of the
intra-Japan traffic, as well as flights to Okinawa, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Although I never went on one of those flights, we also used to have flights to
Hanoi by way of Taiwan. As I recall, we had to cover up our USAF insignia
before departing home base, and our aircrews always wore civilian clothing.

Interesting times, those. BTW, we used to import fresh fruit and veggies from
Taiwan, and learned from that that Taiwanese pineapples were as good as if not
better than the Hawaiian variety.

George Z.

"George Z. Bush" wrote in message
...
After my time. I was there from '51 through '55. I was with the 344th
TCS,
a tenant outfit flying C-46s. The rest of my outfit were at Brady,
down near
Fukuoka (Kyushu). We moved up to Tachi in Dec. '51, when the 124s were
all
grounded due to inflight generator fires. For a while, our 46s and
the 54
squadron were all there was available for intra-theater traffic in and
out of
Tachi. The 344th deactivated in '55 and became a Flying Training
Squadron
which eventually turned our aircraft over to the Japan Air Self Defense
Force. We had the distinction of being among the very few AF people in
the
world who ever flew airplanes with the Rising Sun insignia on them

Hello George. I was right down ther road from you at Yokota flying
WB-29's and Wb-50's from 1954 to 55, when I was grounded for a
bad eye! Also checked out in our C-54. I learned how to land it
the Berlin Air Lift way: 800 ft final, nose touching the runway, cut
power, full flaps & cowls, gear and nose down. Flare and land on the
stripes. It took a while to get one's courage!


They certainly were. Originally (before my time), the entire TCWg at
Tachi was
a C-54 unit. I think they replaced three 54 squadrons with two 124 units,
obviously with no loss of airlift capability.

I was on base at the time one of the 124s crashed on the outskirts of the
base,
with a loss of 129 souls. It was the worst air disaster in Japanese
history up
till then. Did you ever hear anything about that one?

I think I remember that one. Didn't the farmers riot against the Base?
I think it was weeks before we could use the road to Tokyo.When I
was leaving Larson AFB in Dec 53 for flying school, a 124 crashed after take
off. The control lock were still on. I was an RO
in the 56th FIS then.

Were you there when a Tachi staffer landed the C-47 on the top of
Mt. Fuji? The first time I pulled AO, another Tachi staffer landed at
Yokota rather than Tachi, and even pulled up to base ops. He said he
thought the building looked different. We had a number of touch
and go's. since, as you re-call, the runways were 3mi(?) apart and
in line.

Ron

Ron W wrote:
Hello George. I was right down ther road from you at Yokota flying
WB-29's and Wb-50's from 1954 to 55, when I was grounded for a
bad eye! Also checked out in our C-54. I learned how to land it
the Berlin Air Lift way: 800 ft final, nose touching the runway, cut
power, full flaps & cowls, gear and nose down. Flare and land on the
stripes. It took a while to get one's courage!


You want to explain that again? I'm having trouble getting a mental picture of
what you did. You grind the nose on the runway, then lower the gear? After
grinding, then you flare? I'm missing something.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN


http://www.mortimerschnerd.com

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in message
. com...
Ron W wrote:
Hello George. I was right down ther road from you at Yokota flying
WB-29's and Wb-50's from 1954 to 55, when I was grounded for a
bad eye! Also checked out in our C-54. I learned how to land it
the Berlin Air Lift way: 800 ft final, nose touching the runway, cut
power, full flaps & cowls, gear and nose down. Flare and land on the
stripes. It took a while to get one's courage!


You want to explain that again? I'm having trouble getting a mental
picture of
what you did. You grind the nose on the runway, then lower the gear?
After
grinding, then you flare? I'm missing something.

Sorry I guess I was a little too terse. We flew our final at 800 ft
altitude above ground, (IIRC) until the nose of the a/c just passed
over the end of the runway below, then chopped power, etc, and
flared out of the rather steep end of the final approach.. We didn't
grind anything along the runway if we did things right. Remember during the
air lift, they were hauling loads onto relativly short runways surrounded by
buildings. Their approaches needed to be steep! We
certainly didn't need to did this at Yokota, but the demonstration was
an effective learning tool, if it was needed else where!

When we returned from our weather recce missions off the eastern
coast of Japan we would head for Oshima Island in Tokyo Bay and
with the approval of flight control, again chop power, lower gear,&
flaps with cowl flaps open wide. Airspeed was controlled with the
angle of the dive, again quite steep. The FE maintained engine temps
with a little throttle and cowl adjustments. After using this as a method of
rapid descent in the WB-29's and 50's, the steep final approach in the C-54
wasn't too disconcerting. Exept we were leveling out at about 3000 ft
rather than just above the runway as with the C-54.

During primary, my instructer liked to lose altitude with spins. I
became fairly proficient as most other instructors didn't spin the
T-6 that frequently. I contrast, my ex crop-sprayer T-28 instructor
hated spins, After I successfully demonstrated I could recover, I had
to spin on my solo's if I want to continue. Spining the B-20/50 and
the C-54 wasn't recomended, though I understand a number of 4-engine
a/c, such as B-17's were recovered from spins in WWII

Good luck with the C-54. I enjoyed the short time I spent in in.

Ron

Ron W wrote:
You want to explain that again? I'm having trouble getting a mental picture
of what you did. You grind the nose on the runway, then lower the gear?
After grinding, then you flare? I'm missing something.

Sorry I guess I was a little too terse. We flew our final at 800 ft
altitude above ground, (IIRC) until the nose of the a/c just passed
over the end of the runway below, then chopped power, etc, and
flared out of the rather steep end of the final approach.. We didn't
grind anything along the runway if we did things right. Remember during the
air lift, they were hauling loads onto relativly short runways surrounded by
buildings. Their approaches needed to be steep! We
certainly didn't need to did this at Yokota, but the demonstration was
an effective learning tool, if it was needed else where!


Thanks for the more complete explanation; I got that one. I wish I could say I
was flying the C-54, but the closest I ever got to one was riding in the back as
a kid. There's two other C-54 drivers he one former and one current.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN


http://www.mortimerschnerd.com

Ron W wrote:
"George Z. Bush" wrote in message
...
After my time. I was there from '51 through '55. I was with the 344th
TCS, a tenant outfit flying C-46s. The rest of my outfit were at Brady,
down near Fukuoka (Kyushu). We moved up to Tachi in Dec. '51, when the
124s were all grounded due to inflight generator fires. For a while, our
46s and the 54 squadron were all there was available for intra-theater
traffic in and out of Tachi. The 344th deactivated in '55 and became a
Flying Training Squadron which eventually turned our aircraft over to the
Japan Air Self Defense Force. We had the distinction of being among the
very few AF people in the world who ever flew airplanes with the Rising
Sun insignia on them

Hello George. I was right down ther road from you at Yokota flying
WB-29's and Wb-50's from 1954 to 55, when I was grounded for a
bad eye! Also checked out in our C-54. I learned how to land it
the Berlin Air Lift way: 800 ft final, nose touching the runway, cut
power, full flaps & cowls, gear and nose down. Flare and land on the
stripes. It took a while to get one's courage!

How could we forget you guys at Yokota? Every time you were getting ready to
drop some iron on NK, the preflight noise would start up at about midnight or
so, and there was no way to hide it, and we'd be waiting for the news later in
the day praying that you hadn't had to leave any behind up there.


They certainly were. Originally (before my time), the entire TCWg at Tachi
was a C-54 unit. I think they replaced three 54 squadrons with two 124
units, obviously with no loss of airlift capability.

I was on base at the time one of the 124s crashed on the outskirts of the
base, with a loss of 129 souls. It was the worst air disaster in Japanese
history up till then. Did you ever hear anything about that one?

I think I remember that one. Didn't the farmers riot against the Base?
I think it was weeks before we could use the road to Tokyo.

Yeah, and I never understood what it was that got their undies in an uproar. It
wasn't like it was anything that we wanted to have happen. Maybe they were just
****ed because we were occupying space that they'd rather have had available to
them for more paddies. Tough! If that was the only price they had to pay for
losing the war, they got off scot free.

...When I
was leaving Larson AFB in Dec 53 for flying school, a 124 crashed after take
off. The control lock were still on. I was an RO
in the 56th FIS then.

I once flew a gooney bird from Naples to Nice, France with an aileron lock still
on. No harm done, but it sure was an uncordinated flight experience.

Were you there when a Tachi staffer landed the C-47 on the top of
Mt. Fuji?

I think the word was, when I heard about it, that that was one of those rare
gooney bird landings that nobody walked away from. Actually, one of the guys in
my squadron turned north at one of those islands in Tokyo Bay that had those
strong magnetic anomelies on it thinking he was at the Oshima beacon, and ended
up leaving about ten feet of C-46 wing near the top of Fuji, but he was able to
get back to base without further damage. I still remember his name, but I don't
think I want to give it to you because he (or his family) might suffer some
embarrassment from it. All I will say is that he was a Sergeant in the NYC
Police Department who had been recalled to AD with my AFRes outfit, and he never
lived it down as long as he was with us.

......The first time I pulled AO, another Tachi staffer landed at
Yokota rather than Tachi, and even pulled up to base ops. He said he
thought the building looked different. We had a number of touch
and go's. since, as you re-call, the runways were 3mi(?) apart and
in line.

George Z.

George Z. Bush wrote:

Ron W wrote:

I think I remember that one. Didn't the farmers riot against the Base?
I think it was weeks before we could use the road to Tokyo.

Yeah, and I never understood what it was that got their undies in an uproar. It
wasn't like it was anything that we wanted to have happen. Maybe they were just
****ed because we were occupying space that they'd rather have had available to
them for more paddies. Tough! If that was the only price they had to pay for
losing the war, they got off scot free.

In the '62-'65 period, there used to be scheduled "riots"
outside the main gate at Tachi. I think driven mostly by
the local communist party. "Rioters" allegedly got paid for
the level of mayhem they caused.

Sometime during the 64-65 period I think the F-105s moved in
to Yokota. You could hear them winding up for takeoff.
Protesters outside both Tachi and Yokota by some of the local
Commies, carried signs saying "F-105 Go Home".

Of course the C-124s put out a lot of racket too when the
squadron cranked up to go somewhere en masse (Vietnam mostly).

Was there a stoplight at the start/end of the runway that went
red when an aircraft was landing or taking off? Right at the
fence. Always thought that was sooo cool when on my bike riding
the base perimeter!


SMH

Stephen Harding wrote:
George Z. Bush wrote:

Ron W wrote:

I think I remember that one. Didn't the farmers riot against the Base?
I think it was weeks before we could use the road to Tokyo.

Yeah, and I never understood what it was that got their undies in an uproar.
It wasn't like it was anything that we wanted to have happen. Maybe they
were just ****ed because we were occupying space that they'd rather have had
available to them for more paddies. Tough! If that was the only price they
had to pay for losing the war, they got off scot free.

In the '62-'65 period, there used to be scheduled "riots"
outside the main gate at Tachi. I think driven mostly by
the local communist party. "Rioters" allegedly got paid for
the level of mayhem they caused.

Sometime during the 64-65 period I think the F-105s moved in
to Yokota. You could hear them winding up for takeoff.
Protesters outside both Tachi and Yokota by some of the local
Commies, carried signs saying "F-105 Go Home".

Of course the C-124s put out a lot of racket too when the
squadron cranked up to go somewhere en masse (Vietnam mostly).

Was there a stoplight at the start/end of the runway that went
red when an aircraft was landing or taking off? Right at the
fence. Always thought that was sooo cool when on my bike riding
the base perimeter!

Yep, even back in my time. There also was a sign near where that road ran by a
fuel dump of some sort that said "Speed Limit 5mph". My wife actually got a
ticket for doing 15 in that area. Worse than that, she actually got chewed out
by my boss (dumb **** that he was) for that egregious behavior.

George Z.


SMH