rotorwash
30-12-06, 20:45
I recently talked to one of my old buddies from Viet Nam, the guy who was my best friend ever until I met my wife. Anyway, he reminded me of a story that I had forgotten about, it is absolutely true, unfortunately neither he nor I can remember the names of the people involved.
One of our aircraft on flare ship standby was scrambled one night to light up an infantry unit that was in contact. By the time they arrived, the contact was over, but the infantry was still nervous so they asked the flare ship to hang around for a while. Consequently, they spent the better part of the night boring holes in the dark sky, gradually lulling themselves into a relaxed stupor.
The crewchief decided he was bored and would liven things up just a bit, so he climbed out of the left side of the aircraft, carefully so he would not be noticed, and crept along the skid, crouching down below the pilot’s side window. Without putting his hands inside the pilot’s windows and giving himself away, the only thing he had to hang onto was the pilot’s door handle. So hanging on for dear life, he crouched with his foot on the skid toe and then quickly stood up and leaned across the windshield, popping up right in front of the pilot.
The pilot screamed and threw the aircraft into a skid to the right that almost unseated our hero. The only thing that saved him was a quick grab that got him a deathgrip on the windshield wiper, but nothing could save all of the Mk 24 Aircraft Flares stacked in the back of the aircraft, they slid out the left door and disappeared into the darkness.
The pilot was furious and still jabbering nonstop long after they landed. Essentially, he was insisting on a firing squad at sunrise, but no one could quit laughing long enough to take him seriously. Besides how do you take an officer seriously when he has peed his pants.
Regards,
Rotorwash
One of our aircraft on flare ship standby was scrambled one night to light up an infantry unit that was in contact. By the time they arrived, the contact was over, but the infantry was still nervous so they asked the flare ship to hang around for a while. Consequently, they spent the better part of the night boring holes in the dark sky, gradually lulling themselves into a relaxed stupor.
The crewchief decided he was bored and would liven things up just a bit, so he climbed out of the left side of the aircraft, carefully so he would not be noticed, and crept along the skid, crouching down below the pilot’s side window. Without putting his hands inside the pilot’s windows and giving himself away, the only thing he had to hang onto was the pilot’s door handle. So hanging on for dear life, he crouched with his foot on the skid toe and then quickly stood up and leaned across the windshield, popping up right in front of the pilot.
The pilot screamed and threw the aircraft into a skid to the right that almost unseated our hero. The only thing that saved him was a quick grab that got him a deathgrip on the windshield wiper, but nothing could save all of the Mk 24 Aircraft Flares stacked in the back of the aircraft, they slid out the left door and disappeared into the darkness.
The pilot was furious and still jabbering nonstop long after they landed. Essentially, he was insisting on a firing squad at sunrise, but no one could quit laughing long enough to take him seriously. Besides how do you take an officer seriously when he has peed his pants.
Regards,
Rotorwash