The crew chief

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Pitchy
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The crew chief

Post by Pitchy »

On this memorial day weekend i`d like to acknowledge the importance of the crew chief, he or she was a very important part of keeping the planes flying during war and peace times.
Being one myself and knowing the importance of what we did and the thanks from the pilots we received and the pride we had keeping the planes ready to fly was something i`ll never forget.
Every vet i new took they`er job seriously and would of done what ever the service asked of them, i`m proud to have been a part of that and want to give my thanks to those that did and do.
I met a woman highway patrol last summer while out riding that is a full time National reserve crew chief on copters plus being a highway patrol.
We talked and she said how important the crew chief is too the pilots, i thanked her for her service and she thanked me, made me feel good that day.
My post is about the crew chief but my heart goes out to all that served and served on this most important weekend that we give honor to those people.
God Bless them and the United States of America.
Because I Can, and Have
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God Bless America.
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piller
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Re: The crew chief

Post by piller »

Never forget those who served.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Marvin S
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Marvin S »

Hey Pitchy. I done 17 years as a crew chief on KC-135E and D and 18 years as Matals Technology.
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fordwannabe
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Re: The crew chief

Post by fordwannabe »

Pitchy, thanks for the post, and thank you for your service. After all your posts about making things and repurposing things I gotta wonder if any planes or choppers had “field expedient “ repairs with saw blades, spoons, pencil sharpeners ect? All meant in good fun.
a Pennsylvanian who has been accused of clinging to my religion and my guns......Good assessment skills.
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JimT
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Re: The crew chief

Post by JimT »

What did you crew Pitchy? I was US Army Aviation ... 1966 to 1969 .... Fixed Wing. I started out on the "Seminole" (Twin Bonanza in civilian life) .. then went on to the Queen Air .. and finally the King Air. We flew support for the US Embassy and US Army Headquarters ... first in Korea with the 8th US Army and later in Japan.

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Camp Zama, Japan ... 1967
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Pitchy
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks fellers, Jim i was in the AF and worked on F4 Phantoms stationed at Luke AFB. :)
Thank you guys for your service.
FWB, nope everything stayed the way it was. :lol:
Because I Can, and Have
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God Bless America.
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Bill in Oregon
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Bill in Oregon »

One of my late uncles was a P-47 crew chief during World War II. He loved that big old fighter.
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Grizz
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Grizz »

Hats off and a big thanks to All Y'All.
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Old No7
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Old No7 »

Pitchy wrote: Sat May 25, 2019 7:51 pm On this memorial day weekend i`d like to acknowledge the importance of the crew chief, he or she was a very important part of keeping the planes flying during war and peace times.
Well said Pitchy.

"All gave some, and some gave all" -- but the crew chiefs enabled the pilots to "Give 'em some!" when over the target.

Cheers to all who served/are serving.

Old No7
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jeepnik
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Re: The crew chief

Post by jeepnik »

What pilots forget is that crew chiefs are only lending them their aircraft.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
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Grizz
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Grizz »

jeepnik wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 2:43 pm What pilots forget is that crew chiefs are only lending them their aircraft.
SAME with ship engineers, they 'own the boat' .

that's why I tell people that I'm my own engineer . . .
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jeepnik
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Re: The crew chief

Post by jeepnik »

But the conductor owns the train, not the engineer.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
BigSky56
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Re: The crew chief

Post by BigSky56 »

Was a ce & dg on a oh6a cayuse and uh1 slicks, took my turn on c model uh1 carrying ss11 wire guided missiles to whack t54's & amtracs. My favorite bird is the loh, they can take a lot of abuse save a rpg hit. danny
piller
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Re: The crew chief

Post by piller »

Danny, those loach whirly birds were well built. The slicks were smooth and didn't shake you like the crash hawk does. The crashhawk leaves you feeling as if you have been put through a blender. It shakes like a wet lab coming in out of the rain.
D. Brian Casady
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Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
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BigSky56
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Re: The crew chief

Post by BigSky56 »

Piller, I've hit the ground in a slick and a loh, loh just rolled like a egg , just keep your toes and fingers tucked inside. There's one bird I don't want to crash in well maybe two a ch54 tarhe and a chithook ch47 never saw anyone live thru those saw a 47 sling a rear blade at 1500 ft. Lost 33 souls that day. Remember all milspec parts are made by the lowest bidder. danny
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jeepnik
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Re: The crew chief

Post by jeepnik »

For quality of ride, though loud as all get out, you can’t beat the HH-43 Husky. With twin counter rotating main rotors it rode better than the Huey by far.

One thing though, when the fire suppression skid was slung below sometimes the skid would get to oscillating. Very disconcerting sensation.

The HH-53, Super Jolly was in a glass by itself. Get in one of those after Huskies or Hueys and it felt like a Bently. By comparison they radiated power and strength. Mid-air refueling was interesting to say the least.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
BigSky56
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Re: The crew chief

Post by BigSky56 »

Jeepnik, There's a helio company that comes into the usfs attack base here that uses the huskys for fire fighting and they use a skid for foaming houses in danger. Years ago Erickson aviation lost a ch54 up behind me they were drafting with a snorkel and snagged a tree in the lake, took them 3 weeks to get it out fixed it and it's flying again. danny
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Pitchy
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Pitchy »

Hats off to you guys that were in the war, i was just state side.

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Because I Can, and Have
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USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
piller
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Re: The crew chief

Post by piller »

Pitchy, that was the fastest brick ever to fly. Some Marine flew one of those bricks on 600 sorties in Vietnam. Most jets were aerodynamic, but the F4 had the aerodynamics of a brick. You guys who kept them flying were doing an amazing job.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
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Pitchy
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Pitchy »

If i remember right it had to go 450 knots to get off the ground.
It was a heck of a fighter in its day. :)
Because I Can, and Have
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USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
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draperjojo
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Re: The crew chief

Post by draperjojo »

My hats off to all who have served. I remember watching the helicopters on the news about every night in jr high and being fascinated by the air war, specifically rotary. Dad flew cargo for the Air Force after graduating from the Naval academy in 1954. I mentioned my interest in WO school and he talked me out of it. I'm not sure what burned dad out on the military, or maybe he just didn't want me to go in. The Vietnam war started winding down when I entered high school and then Saigon fell when I was a senior. He flew C119 and C124? mostly out of Hawaii, to Wake Island and Japan back in the mid to late 50's. I remember reading his log books. "Fuel leaking down electrical panel, returned to base", or "Lightning strike, lost one engine"....lol. I saw a picture of the runway on Wake Island... wow! I remember him saying one of the planes carrying a couple of nurses went down off the end of the runway, they lost all 8 on board to the crash and sharks. Thank you to all who have served this country! Still to this day, when I hear whop whop whop, I look up to the sky to see if it's a Huey.
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Pitchy
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Pitchy »

I came close to going in 72, we were on the firing line in basic and there was a wall to the right where they were firing full auto so i complained that why couldn`t we fire full the instructor said you want to fire full those guys are going to Nam and i said no this is fine.
We lost a few pilots on the firing range they called it target affixiation (sp) flew them into the ground.
We crawled all over those F4`s looking for cracks, leaks and things rubbing, the crew chief, they better appreciate them.
Because I Can, and Have
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USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
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jeepnik
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Re: The crew chief

Post by jeepnik »

BigSky56 wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2019 11:25 am Jeepnik, There's a helio company that comes into the usfs attack base here that uses the huskys for fire fighting and they use a skid for foaming houses in danger. Years ago Erickson aviation lost a ch54 up behind me they were drafting with a snorkel and snagged a tree in the lake, took them 3 weeks to get it out fixed it and it's flying again. danny
Likely the same we used. Heck could have the actual one. Ours had a sphere that contained the foam and a nitrogen bottle to pressurize the sphere.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
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Blaine
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Re: The crew chief

Post by Blaine »

Our unit would ride 'chithooks from time to time. For the nervous snowflakes we just told them to watch the crewchief...if HE wasn't worried, you don't need to be. 8)
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