How to irritate a Fighter Pilot

[dragon_rider10]

So I spent yesterday at NAS Jax for the annual air show. I try my best to never miss this fantastic show. Each year they alternate whether it's at the beach or the Naval air station. My favorite shows are the ones at NAS, because you have the static displays of all sorts of aircraft, civilian, military, etc.

Usually the aircraft are loaded up with external stores, so I was hoping for some good reference photos of missiles, but except for a few inert Hellfires on the HH-60s, there was nothing. Dissappointing. Probably better this way though, as dozens of patrons were ignoring the yellow tape around the aircraft to sit under the wings (only source of shade). I was going to get a shot of an Mk1 Torpedo on a Seahawk, but someone was sitting on it. So that didn't work out well. Got some great references to accurize my 1/72 scale Seahawk tho. (did you know the tail on that trailing MAD detector is made of foam?)

Anyhoo, one of the static displays was a fresh new EA-18 Growler, the ECM version of the Hornet. Fairly new and not really well known to those outside of geekdom, I thought I would impress the pilots who were standing next to it. I walked up to one, said, "Is that a Growler?" He said, "Yep." and walked away. Real friendly type.

Next to the Growler is a T-45 Goshawk trainer.

A few hours later, after the show is coming to an end, I walk back by this area of the displays and see that the pilot standing next to the Goshawk is standing on the wing of his aircraft. I also notice that he is accompanied by an attractive young lady. Curious, I thought.

So I walk over to my 'friend' at the Growler. He's as cheery as ever.

I say to him, "So what are you doing wrong?"
"What are you talking about," he snarls.
"You must be doing something wrong."
"Grr...why"
"You don't have a girl on your airplane?"
"What"
I nod over to the t-45, "He has a girl on his airplane. You don't have a girl on your airplane." :neener:
"Yeah whatever" and he walks off.

Leave it to me to find the one pilot with no personality or sense of humor.

 

[spacecadet]

Perhaps with an aeroplane like that he doesn't need one.

 

[RimfireJim]

Sounds like he was a real good ambassador for the Navy - not. File him under the category "People Unclear on the Concept".

 

[judo]

Perhaps he's waiting for a policy change.

 

[Viperfixr]

Having been on the airplane side of the static displays, I can tell you that representing a unit and/or airplane at an airshow is a tiring event. Lots of people walk up with a 'zinger' to impress you, or for one-upmanship. It gets old fast. My favorite was people who "know more about your airplane than you do", explaining impossible things like where the 'hostage rescue team' sat in the backend of an F-117A (from some movie involving Air Force One...blah, blah, blah). Nothing could have been further from the truth, but I couldn't tell them otherwise.

It's unfortunately the rare person that approaches a static and asks reasonable questions in a nice way (not "is THIS the plane used in {fill in the blank} movie with a secret weapon??? Where is the death-ray laser??? Come'on, you can tell me!" :bangpan.

 

[ghrocketman]

I think his comment to the "less than friendly" pilot was not only warranted, but deserved.
If he did not want to be the one to represent the piece of hardware for the Navy, he should have spoken up.
I'm sure there were PLENTY of other aviators more than willing to represent the Navy in a more favorable light.
If this forum was not so lily white G-rated, I'd describe him with adjectives his attitude EARNED.
Jerks like that should be given a choice of a keelhauling or a plank-walking.

 

[dragon_rider10]

I think his comment to the "less than friendly" pilot was not only warranted, but deserved.
If he did not want to be the one to represent the piece of hardware for the Navy, he should have spoken up.
I'm sure there were PLENTY of other aviators more than willing to represent the Navy in a more favorable light.
If this forum was not so lily white G-rated, I'd describe him with adjectives his attitude EARNED.
Jerks like that should be given a choice of a keelhauling or a plank-walking.

Well, I don't know about getting that worked up about it. In the end he's just one pilot. (I assume he was a pilot, he might have been support, I don't really know) The guy could have taken the opportunity to engage me in some discourse about the aircraft, its mission, its prospective armament, etc. I was generally curious about what it could do that was better than the EA-6. I wanted to get his opinion on the one-airframe fits all concept of modern military aviation. I really wanted him to take me for a spin in it.

It was hot as heck, so i imagine he was miserable. Plus, like VIPERFIXR said, i'm sure he gets tired of us 'know it alls' really quick. The impression I got was that he didn't want to waste time talking to a civilian when he could be chatting with one of his military buddies. If I was in his shoes, and I had overweight armchair-aviation nerds coming up to me all day long, i can't say that I would have a different reaction.

I tried to engage him in conversation on hardware, and that didn't work. I tried to engage him with humor, that didn't work, so I just gave up.

 

[RimfireJim]

I really wanted him to take me for a spin in it.

Ahh! The truth comes out! (Of course, who wouldn't!)

People like that could use a reminder of where their paycheck comes from. Just like surly store clerks. Not that it would do any good . . .

 

[dragon_rider10]

Ahh! The truth comes out! (Of course, who wouldn't!)

Yeah no kidding.

Seeing Viperfixr's post reminded me of something else. Seeing the F-16 fly is always the highlight of the show. Somehow the F-16 is the loudest plane out there, despite having only one engine. This year they did the Heritage flight with the P-51, the F-16, an A-10 and an F-4. Beautiful! Dale Snodgrass has to be the best pilot out there. I couldn't believe he had that mustang inches off the ground in knife-edge across the runway. I remember watching him buzz the tower of a navy ship last year in his Sabre at the Sea and Sky Spectacular. I love me some airshows.

The Viper team also had the ladies hanging off of them as they were walking around after the flight. Such a hard life! Very jealous.

 

[plano-doug]

People like that could use a reminder of where their paycheck comes from. Just like surly store clerks. Not that it would do any good . . .

Remember, it's a double edged sword. People who are danged good at that sort of stuff tend to be cocky. You gotta take the good with the bad. You want a bad @$$ pilot fighting for you? Or a jovial, friendly, polite guy?

There's an old war quote somewhere - danged if I can find it - that I'm reminded of, but it goes something like this: During peacetime, we're the disliked b@$#ards of society, but when the war starts, we're the SOB's you call to fight for you. (Can't recall if it was John Wayne or Patton or who...)

It's kinda the same with with the top gun types. If they're super friendly to me at the air show, great, but when it comes right down to it, all that really matters is if they can shoot Charlie down before he bombs my house

Doug

.

 

[Mike Howie]

Maybe Rudyard Kipling,"For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot. "

 

[GregGleason]

A work colleague and I managed to get into the Paris Air Show in '05. We briefly talked to the demo pilot of the F/A-18. I'm sure our voices were welcomed since they were sounds from "home".

Greg

 

[dragon_rider10]

Doug's comments are something I hadn't considered, and he's 100% right. Airshows aren't their primary responsibility. Fighting and defeating an enemy is.

 

[dlazarus6660]

When these guys are not doing thier job, they are suppose to encourage(read recruit) young people into the service. You don't fit the role so you don't get the service. My son is training to become one of those jet jockeys and that is what he is told.

 

[dragon_rider10]

When these guys are not doing thier job, they are suppose to encourage(read recruit) young people into the service. You don't fit the role so you don't get the service. My son is training to become one of those jet jockeys and that is what he is told.

Just to make sure I understand what you're saying...

His main goal there at the show is to encourage youth to sign up? I'm not an eligible recruit therefore he has no incentive to give me any of his time?

I suppose I understand that, but seems kind of like a bummer.

 

[roadkill]

Next time try asking:

'When you're flying supersonic, can
you hear yourself scream ?'

 

[Bravo52]

Next time try asking:

'When you're flying supersonic, can
you hear yourself scream ?'

Yes :y:


Unless you are facing aft.....

 

[ghrocketman]

I think the quote Doug mentioned above was from B.Gen Robin Olds, one of the most famous F-4 drivers in the Vietnam War and the architect of Operation Bolo where F-4's lured a bunch of MiGs into an air-to-air engagement by using F-105 call signs and formations.
He was known to be a hard-drinking brawler outside of the cockpit.
One of the best the USAF ever had.
My father was stationed on the same base in Thailand during the war.
I actually have had the privlege to sit in the cockpit of then Col.Olds' F-4 that was used in that engagement.
It now sits in the Wright-Patterson USAF museum.

 

[Viperfixr]

People like that could use a reminder of where their paycheck comes from. Just like surly store clerks. Not that it would do any good . . .

Just as long as you give him a chance to remind you who exactly secured your freedom of speech and other civil liberties, and continues to safeguard them every day. Comparing someone who regularly risks their life on your behalf to a surly store clerk is flat out wrong.

By the way, being a taxpayer means you're just another citizen. Military personnel pay taxes too. Their paycheck comes from the US Congress, not you. So, your involvement in his paycheck started and ended with the last congressional election vote you made. Military personnel are citizens, just like you--not subservient to anyone but our elected, civilian leaders.

Military people work longer and harder hours than anyone realizes...unless they've walked in those shoes. Spending a weekend away from family to handle sarcastic spectators isn't fun for many.

 

[user 13]

Just as long as you give him a chance to remind you who exactly secured your freedom of speech and other civil liberties, and continues to safeguard them every day. Comparing someone who regularly risks their life on your behalf to a surly store clerk is flat out wrong.

By the way, being a taxpayer means you're just another citizen. Military personnel pay taxes too. Their paycheck comes from the US Congress, not you. So, your involvement in his paycheck started and ended with the last congressional election vote you made. Military personnel are citizens, just like you--not subservient to anyone but our elected, civilian leaders.

Military people work longer and harder hours than anyone realizes...unless they've walked in those shoes. Spending a weekend away from family to handle sarcastic spectators isn't fun for many.

Bingo.

Well said my friend, well said.

 

[Zack Lau]

Maybe the airplane expert you needed to talk to was that pretty young lady next to the Goshawk?

 

[luke strawwalker]

Maybe the airplane expert you needed to talk to was that pretty young lady next to the Goshawk?

Yeah that's what I was thinking... LOL

Later! OL JR

 

[Viperfixr]

A single friend and I were walking back from a ceremony on Kandahar Airfield (Afghanistan) recently when he stopped talking and moving...I followed his glance to a drop dead gorgeous female in a flight suit. I mean model-like beautiful--stunning. He pursued and tried to strike up a conversation, but it turned out that she was a French Mirage pilot and didn't speak a lot of English, and he didn't speak any French. I'd call it a CATO result.

Anyhoo, we'd never seen a flight suit look better on ANYTHING, ever. So, it's true, you cannot assume the female wasn't driving it and the dude was the backseater!

 

[dragon_rider10]

He pursued and tried to strike up a conversation, but it turned out that she was a French Mirage pilot and didn't speak a lot of English, and he didn't speak any French. I'd call it a CATO result.

Well i would have seen what I could have managed with 'Oui' and 'si vous plait.'!

Now I hadn't yet thought the girl on the Goshawk might have actually been a pilot. I suppose that's a possibility. For fun I've got photos of both aircraft that i'll upload this weekend to add some color to the thread. I specifically did not take photos of the girl because that would be weird.

 

[AKPilot]

On the subject of Growler's and Goshawk's - I just gotta say, I was on the line today watching -15 & -18s being made start-to-finish.

I would've thrown in a Goshawk too, but the last production one left our floors a few months ago.

 

[Bravo52]

...Anyhoo, we'd never seen a flight suit look better on ANYTHING, ever.

Obviously we've never met....

 

[RangerStl]

Obviously we've never met....

:cyclops: :roll:

 

[luke strawwalker]

Obviously we've never met....

I just threw up a little bit in my mouth... :duck:

Later! OL JR

 

[edwinshap1]

you made him feel bad because he didn't have a random girl on his airplane :roll::roll::roll:

 

[user 13]

Obviously we've never met....

Ohhhh, That's not right!