Fly thru the mountains

JLDickmon

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kinda cool, but would be more fun if you could crash & burn it...
 

Tail_Gunner

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kinda cool, but would be more fun if you could crash & burn it...
I've almost crashed & burned, in the mountains at night, not fun.

On a moonless night about 3 am, when it was darker than a well digger's arse, we missed smacking a mountain by about 50' while going about 400 mph. We were flying a low-level traing route in MT & WY.

I know another gunner who did die when his crew hit a mesa in Monument Valley back around '84.

Don't mean to sound like a party pooper, but it just brings back scarey memories.
 
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Tbar

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I've almost crashed & burned, in the mountains at night, not fun.

On a moonless night about 3 am, when it was darker than a well digger's arse, we missed smacking a mountain by about 50' while going about 400 mph. We were flying a low-level traing route in MT & WY.

I know another gunner who did die when his crew hit a mesa in Monument Valley back around '84.

Don't mean to sound like a party pooper, but it just brings back scarey memories.

What was a B52 doing flying that low............


Tbar
 

JLDickmon

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I've almost crashed & burned, in the mountains at night, not fun.

On a moonless night about 3 am, when it was darker than a well digger's arse, we missed smacking a mountain by about 50' while going about 400 mph. We were flying a low-level traing route in MT & WY.

I know another gunner who did die when his crew hit a mesa in Monument Valley back around '84.

Don't mean to sound like a party pooper, but it just brings back scarey memories.

having never been in that situation, no one can fully appreciate the ramifications of such an event. :sorry

Furthermore, if I've never thanked you for your service to our country, let me do it now, publicly. :hail

however, the fact does remain that, video games are much more fun when you can break, blow up, and crash stuff. :sweet

I know that's not really a game that Bill posted, more of a web-illustration demonstrator, but it needs a throttle and an altitude control
 
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Tail_Gunner

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What was a B52 doing flying that low............


Tbar

Up until the fall of the Soviet Union around 1990, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) had armed & ready B-52's to launch at a moments notice against targets I can't tell you where. This was better known as SAC Alert.

Because of the extensive network of fighter & missles defenses the Soviet Union had deployed, to only way get past those defenses was at very low altitude. Since flying at low level was the tactic that we would have to use in war, we had to practice or train while flying in that manner in peacetime. Those altitudes were typically around 400' to 600'. Wartime altitudes were, lets say considerably "less".

Trying to find places around the country where we could train wasn't easy. There were always issues of people b****in' about the noise, populated areas, airports etc. Some of the more suitable areas were the less populated areas of the western US; MT, WY, UT, AZ & NM. Since no one could predict if such a battle would be flown at day or night, we had to train under both conditions. Hence the need for flying through the mountains, at low level, at night. Unfortunately, practicing such a dangerous activity sometimes led to mishaps, which a few times I came scary close to experiencing.
 

mp18d

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Fun Stuff

On active duty, I was on a mountain team. Spent alot of time low level in both helos and C-130 varients in the Alps and Sierras. As the jumpmaster in the -130s we would actually arch our bodies out of the aircraft door to do safety checks, then come back inside for the jump commands. Simply beautiful scenery.
Once we were out and on the ground, however...............Sometimes ya just cant carry enough stuff to stay warm. Hence the term "tactical bonfire":D
 

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