[simpits-tech] Whats happenin?

[Gene Buckle]

On Thu, 26 Aug 2010, Brian Sikkema wrote:

>
>> I will keep my fingers crossed in your eventual transition from prey to
>> predator. :)
>>
>> g.
>>
> Lol!! Well put. Though truth be told, most days my airplane scares me
> more than anyone who may be "hunting" me. We're embarasslingly late in
> procuring a new tanker, and structural problems seem like an eventual
> certainty in a plane this old. Problem is, we're pretty bad at
> predicting such failures (cases in point - A-10 wing cracks, C-130 wing
> box, and of course the F-15 longitudinal spar problem). And unlike the

I really, really, really hope they don't discover a problem with the '135 
like they did with the wing box in the '130.  I don't think I'll ever 
forget the video of that fire tanker. :(

> A-10 or the F-15, we don't have fancy rocket seats to save us. In fact
> since about 2008 we don't even carry parachutes anymore. I'm just not
I didn't know you guys ever did.  You wouldn't think it would be too hard 
to put an ACES II or similar in a 707 - there's plenty of room in there. 
Then again, they're not comfortable at all and you can't have fancy 
cushions in there unless you enjoy being a parapalegic after the seat 
cracks your spine after compressing the seat pad.

> particularly interested in still being a tanker pilot when the first one
> goes down. I won't say I'm 100% convinced it will happen, I'm just
> saying the odds are higher than I'm personally comfortable with. Nobody
> has flown an airframe as long as we have the KC-135, and we tread new
> ground every day. I just hope the learning curve doesn't get too steep.
>
You still haven't built the Mercury yet, and you're forbidden from death 
until that point so I think you're pretty safe. :D

g.

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