TAC Attack

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TAC ATTACK SEPTEMBER 1975 VOLUME 15 NUMBER 9

FOR EFFICIENT TACTICAL AIR POWER

TACTICAL AIR COMMAND

GENERAL ROBERT J. DIXON

FEATURES COMMANDER

HOME OF THE FIGHTERS 4 LT GENERAL SANFORD K. MOATS

SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE VICE COMMANDER
AWARD 7
TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE 10
THE OLD MAN AND THE BOY 16
FLEAGLE T-SHIRT 20
FLEAGLE'S VACATION 22
A-7 UPDATE 25
EGRESS MISHAPS 28

COL J. a MOORE
CHIEF OF SAFETY
DEPARTMENTS
MAJ JOE TILLMAN
Angle of Attack 3 EDITOR
Aircrewman of Distinction 21
CAPT MARTY ST EERE
TAC Tips 8 ASST EDITOR
Phyz Biz 12
STAN HARDISON
Chock Talk 14 ART EDITOR
Fleaglegram 26
MARY KONOPNICKI
Safety Awards 30 roRIAL AZ1SrANT
TAC Tally 31
TSGT JOHN TOM KOWSK I
LAYOUT PRODUCTION
TAttith 127-1
ArtICIes, accident briefs, end asscklaiesi material In this magazine WC non-directive in nature. Ai 4uggestiont, and teitornmendatkini,
bre intenOrki 10 terRalit Within the scope of existing directives. InforMat Ion used to brief accidents and inekients eltiert not Identify the
porton% plates, dt Units InkliWKI And may not be construed as incriminating under Article 31 of the Uniform Code Of Military Justice,
Norris; datos, and Places used in conjunclhon With acatteht 510, ief. bee fictitious. Air Forte units are encouraged to republish the mate
ebriteined herenn however, contents aft hOt fat latIblit renrase, Perttttin otorinicsion must be obtained horn HQ TAC native Imatartal may
eeoubntheo 15%94:Anti tnah CeIntatiment of bet/trite organizations.
Conti ibuilithis Of articies, photos, and Reno of interest nom PeriOnfiel In The field ere encouraged. as are cernmehtt a181 tritteilM.
ramify! the fight to edit all manuscripts for clarnY and raidannity. Olrelfct communication is authorized waltz The Editor, TAC ATTACK,
TAC./SEOP , Langley AFil, Va. k3665. AtiloWan 432,20131
bistribulion F X, Csintrrilled by sE150,
 An NCO entered a bay to retrieve a snagged
fishing line. The strong current pulled him into
deeper water
An airman (nonswimmer) was scuba diving
Angle of for the first time. He decided to use the five
minutes of reserve air to make another dive
rather than its intended purpose as an emergency
ATTACK supply. He could not inflate his life vest because
the CO 2 cartridge was not in place. He became
too tired to buddy breathe.
An NCO and two boys started swimming across
a lake cove approximately 100 yards wide. About
80 yards out, the NCO experienced difficulties and
yelled for help. The boys could not save him.
An airman (nonswimmer) was wading in chest
high water in the Gulf of Mexico. His two com-
panions were in knee to waist deep water. The
airman was hit by a large wave. When he came
up he was in water over his head. His two non-
USAF friends tried to help, but were also
DROWN I NGS nonswimmers. All three drowned.
An Airman and three civilian friends decided to
swim across an area in a reservoir about 50 yards
COL JD MOORE wide. After approximately 25 yards, the airman
Chief of Safety indicated that he could not make it. The airman
was wearing blue jeans which became heavy and
tired the swimmer.
Two members of TAC were lost in a privately
owned vehicle that went off the road into a
Over the long and traditionally hazardous Me- reservoir.
morial Day and July 4th weekends, we did not None of these accidents should have happened.
suffer a single motor vehicle related fatality in Each one represents violation of common sense
TAC. While the usual slogans. briefings, warnings water safety rules. Inherent in at least three is a
and reminders, ad nauseum were passed around, "pressure" syndrome. "If they can do it, so can I."
credit for the success goes to all members of the Drowning ranks third behind motor vehicle ac-
TAC Team. Something workedl cidents and falls in causing accidental death We
Unfortunately, we cannot be proud of our cannot afford to lose you any more than your
performance in recreational related activities family and friends can. Think of them and think of
Specifically -- water safety! To date. we have lost yourself And think of these simple, common
eight valuable people to drowning. Six drownings sense water safety rules. They will allow you to
resulted directly from water activities. The other enjoy the water -- safely.
two drowned when their vehicle entered a Never swim alone
reservoir Water was markedly indiscriminate in Swim in supervised recreational areas
claiming victims. Ages ranged from 18 to 33. Is Know your ability; distance over water is mis-
Grade spanned Al C to MSgt. Almost all drown- leading. Be prepared to return to a point of safety.
ings occurred in unsupervised swimming areas. Have a knowledge of rip currents and how to
Some were even posted "No Trespassing," "No recognize and avoid them
Swimming," or "Off Limits." Three troops could Wear proper swim attire. Blue jeans, etc, be-
not swim including a scuba diver (?) Brief come heavy and will tire you quickly.
descriptions of these individual catastrophes Do not panic when you find yourself in trouble.
contain lessons for all of us. Relax and tread water or float
An NCO (nonswimmer) entered a river on horse- Learn and practice the art of drownproofinT
to bring in a calf His horse stumbled and
him into very turbulent, deep water. Have a good one!

TAC ATTACK 3
HOME of the
many more, but this shows the kind of equipr
our fliers used.

FIGHTER Langley Field-World War I

This view of Langley Field probably was taken in
the latter part of 1918. With the exception of the
lone Thomas-Morse pursuit-trainer in the
By Martin R. Copp foreg round , all of the airplanes are Curtiss JN-4s or
HQ TAC/XPSY " Jennies." The airplanes are lined up in the area
occupied by the present hangars and parking
apron . The temporary hangars in the upper left
Langley Air Force Base, the home of Headquar- were removed sometime during the early twenties.
ters Tactical Air Command , has been a base with-
out operational tactical fighters since 1 July 1958
when the 405tl") Fighter Bomber Wing was deacti-
vated and the F-100Ds moved on . In January 1976,
the F-15 Eagle wi II make its nest here in the 1st Tac-
ti ca l Fighter Wing . Once again , tactical fighters
return to their home.
Since 1916, Langley has seen many types of
aircraft. Let's take a trip into the past-back to the
days of World War l-and take a look at the aircraft
that were here then-a far cry from the Eagle.
In 1916, Congress appropriated $300,000 for the
establishment of an aviation station for joint use by
the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
(NACA) , the Army and the Navy. A site was ac-
quired four miles north of Hampton, Virginia on 30
December 1916. By May 1917, preliminary plans for
the field were ready and a contract was awarded to
a New York engineering firm for the construction of
the " Aeronautical Experimental Station and Prov-
ing Ground " as it was first known . On 7 August
1917, the military installation was designated
Langley Field after Samuel Pierpont Langley, an
early aviation pioneer in heavier than air flight.
Work progressed so slowly (because of labor shor-
tages and drainage problems) that the Army estab-
lished another experimental station at Dayton ,
Ohio . The Navy, also tired of waiting, secured ex-
perimental aeronautical facilities elsewhere. Albree Monoplane
Langley's responsibilities were reduced to experi- The Albree monoplane illustrates the state of the
mentation in bombing , photography, radio and Army 's aviation program prior to our entry into
telegraphy, and evaluation of foreign aircraft. Wor ld War I. Congressional appropriations were
However, other units were formed as experimental small. Our aircraft industry was hopelessly inade-
work was curtailed . A photo school was established quate by European standards and very little of the
in late 1917, then a school for aerial photographers operatio nal experience accumulated over the
and observers, and shortly thereafter a pilot's Western Front was available to our designers. The
school. The first of several balloon units was Army issued a somewhat naive specification for a
formed in June 1918. " pursuit" aircraft and ordered two machines built to
A wide variety of aircraft were flown at Langley the requ irements from the Pigeon Hollow Spar
from June 1917 until the termination of the First Company of East Boston , Massachusetts. They
World War in November 1918. They can be were designed by Mr. Norman Albree and were
c lassified broadly into four basic groups: pre-war known as Albree monoplanes or Pigeon-Fraser
types, wartime designs, foreign aircraft evaluated Pursui ts. Both airplanes were delivered to Langley
for possible production in the U.S., and some in September 1917 for evaluation. The sin~
seaplanes tested by the Navy. Following is a brief place, wire-braced , mid-wing design was powr
description of some of these aircraft. There are by a 100-horsepower, American-bui It Gnome rc

4 SEPTEMBER 1975
 1e. Wingspan was about 38 feet, gross we ight bomber arrived in the summer of 1917 and made its
J pounds and maximum speed was slightly initial flight in September. The bomber was equip-
er 100 mph. Elevator control was unusual. The ped with three 150-horsepower lsotta - Franschin i
fuselage was hinged behind the pilot's cockpit and engines, one of which was mounted on the rear
the whole rear portion of the airplane moved as a section of the center nacelle and the other two
unit. There is no evidence of any armament being mounted as tractors, one on each front section
installed . Apparently no further orders were placed of the twin tail booms. There were three rudders
by the Army subsequent to the initial evaluation of and two pairs of wheels under each of the outboard
the airplanes . One of the machines is sti ll in exis- engines. Another pair of wheels was mounted
tence and reportedly under restoration by Cole under the center nacelle to prevent the plane from
Palen at his WW I airfield in Rhinebeck, New York . nosing over.
The crew of three was located in the center
Aeromarine M-1 nacelle with an observer's position in the nose and
Six aircraft of this type were ordered from the two pi lots seated side by side forward of the leading
Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company of Keyport, edge of the upper wing. Two fuel tanks were lo-
New Jersey in November 1916. They were designed cated behind the pilots. Wingspan of the bomber
to meet the new Signal Corps' specifications for ad- was about 72 feet and gross weight approximately
vanced train ers and were purchased complete with 7,600 pounds. Maximum speed with no armament
en g1nes for $9,000 apiece. The M-1 was a conven- load was 90 mph . As a result of the Caproni tests,

:1ona1 wood and fabric two-place biplane powered production orders were awarded to two American
w1 th a 4-cylinder, 100-horsepower Hall-Scott companies. However, construction delays and the
powerplant. Wingspan was 37 feet , gross weight termination of the war resulted in only five of the
2.084 pounds and max imum speed was about 78 bombers being produced, one of which was a non-
mph . The wing tip skids fitted under the outer wing flyable static test model. Two of the machines
struts . an exhaust stack extending over the top were at Langley Field during the 1921 battleship
w1 ng an d the absence of a vertical fin are of special bombing tests conducted by General Billy Mitchell.
interest.
After considerable delay , the aircraft were MACCHI M.S
delivered to Langley Fie ld-two in October and four The Macchi M.5 flying boat was one of a group of
m November 1917. The M-1s were originally con- Ital ian airplanes which arrived at Langley Field dur-
sidered for large production orders, but with the ing the late summer of 1917 for evaluation . In this
emergence of the Curtiss JN-4 and Standard J as case , the evaluation was performed by the Navy.
the standard Army trainers, plans for further pro- The airplane was designed as a single-seat fig hter
duction of the aircraft were dropped . The M-1 s were
used for a short time for testing aviation equ ipment.
In the spring of 1918 they were dismantled and used
elsewhere for nonflying instruction in ground
schools .

Caproni CA-33
Several foreign aircraft were shipped to the U.S.
· ~ 1917 for testing , evaluation and possible produc-
Most of these aircraft were assembled and first
n at Langley Field . The Italian Caproni CA-33

TAC ATIACK 5
 and equipped with two machine guns. Power plant decided to produce proven foreign designs
was a 160-horsepower lsotta-Fraschini , span was avoid the risk of turning out huge quantitiE
39 feet , and gross weight 2,266 pounds. Maximum machines without the benefit of combat experiet.
speed of the flying boat was 118 mph . A samp le British DH-4 airframe was sent to McCooK
The airplane was not ordered into production . Field and tested with the new American-designed
However, the U.S. Navy operated a small group of Liberty 400-horespower motor. The aircraft was
Italian-built flying boats of this type from an Italian placed in production and supplied to several Amer-
port during the latter part of 1918. The Macchi came ican observation and day bombardment squadrons
to a tragic end in June 1919. While engaged in in France. The first operational sorties were flown
mock combat over the field during an airshow, the in August 1918.
Navy pilot lost control and crashed in the circle at Deficiencies in the machine led to an extensive
the entrance to the field . redesign . The most noticeable change was the
placement of the pilot and observer much closer to
each other than in the original aircraft. The
modified , redesignated DH-48, remained in Army
service for several years after the armistice .
Wingspan was 42 feet, gross weight approximately
4,600 pounds and maximum speed about 120 miles
per hour. Armament consisted of two fixed forward-
firing machine guns and two flexible guns for the
observer. Provision was made for carrying about
300 pounds of bombs. The DH-4, of all the Allied
aircraft considered for production , was the only one
built in quantity.
Standard JR-1 B We hope that you readers have enjoyed this brief
The JR-1 B was a product of Standard Aircraft trip into the past. Since World War I, aircraft of ev-
Corporation , Plainfield, New Jersey. The aircraft ery description have been flown at Langley. The cy-
was a modification of the Standard SJ of 1916, cle of aircraft types will continue once again with
wh ich was ordered into production after the U.S. the arrival of the F-15s. However, they wi II be a
entered the war to supplement the Curtiss JN-4 cry from the Albree " pursuits" of 1917! _.-
series. The SJ was later modified and redesignated
J-1 . Another version , the JR, evolved into the JR-1 B
shown here. The aircraft was intended as an ad-
vanced trainer and was equipped with a 1SO-
horsepower Hispano-Suiza engine. Span was ap-
proximately 43 feet , gross weight 2,400 pounds,
and maximum speed was 93 mph. Most notable
features of the airplane were the nose rad iator and
a lower wing mounted beneath the fuselage . The
Army bought only six aircraft, five of which were
known to have been flown at Langley. In 1918, when
the Army began flying the mail , the JR-1Bs were
converted to single seaters and used for a brief The author would welcome hearing from
period on some of the initial airmail routes . anyone with information or photos of old
military planes that would be suitable for
DH-48 future TAC ATIACK articles. Contact him
When the U.S. entered World War I in April1917, at 5 Saint Paul Court, Hampton VA 23666.
the Army had no aircraft suitable for combat. It was
Editor's note: If any of you have an article on the
history of your TAC base, or would like to write one,
send it to us at TAC ATTACK.

Mr. Martin R. Copp is an aeronautical engineer-

ing graduate of New York University. He served in
the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II as a C-46
Maintenance Officer in the U.S. and Pacific. Mr.
Copp is currently assigned to the Directorate.--'
Force Development and Analysis at HQ T AC/ >
as an Operations Analyst.

6 SEPTEMBER 1975
Secretary of the
Air Force Award

General Robert J. Dixon, Commander of Tactical

Air Command accepts the Secretary of the Air
Force Safety Award for 1974 from Air Force
Secretary John L. McLucas. The award was
presented to TAC for having the best accident
prevention program of all major Air Force com-
mands with more than 200,000 flying hours in
1974. In addition to citing TAC for significant ac-
complishments in missile, explosive, and ground
safety, Secretary Mc Lucas singled out the com-
mand for its impressively low major aircraft ac-
cident rate, the lowest in 28 years.
7
 r1
T tac tips
items,
s..hinatpesr wesitth t me mo rsa,

for the
TAC aircrewman
Of course I believe in luck, how else
can I explain my opponents' victories?

the day. This was the first flight to use the range
DRAG CHUTE GOES IDY since the clearing. The range officer stated that
none of the passes should have contributed to ri-
When a transient F-100 took off from one of cochet potential.
our TAC bases, the drag chute fell out of the air- What caused the ricochet remains a mystery. It
craft onto the runway. Tower notified the pilot of could have been caused by rounds from a pre-
this after his departure. The pilot continued to vious pass, rounds remaining in the area &-
his destination where a no-chute landing was ac- the clearing or hits impacting outside the nor
complished. cleared impact area.
Inspection of the drag bag system did not re- Although it appears there was nothing we
veal any discrepancies. It is suspected that the could have done to prevent this incident. don't
drag chute doors were not completely latched by forget things that do help reduce ricochet
Transient Alert personnel. Vibration on takeoff potential:
roll caused the doors to open. Avoid shallow dive angles.
Transient Alert is not always intimately familiar Don't press.
with all types of aircraft. It is also your responsi- Avoid lazy pulloffs
bility as the pilot to make sure your aircraft is Turn when the nose is above the horizon.
properly serviced when you are away from your
home base. Don't just throw the forms to the
transient crew chiefs and head for the snack bar.
Make sure they know how to service your bird ... LAPWING ATTACKS AARDVARK
it will pay off
While performing postflight inspection of the
F-111 at an overseas base, the maintenance
personnel noticed a bent air conditioning cool-
THUD BITES THE BULLET ing turbine inlet and one-inch hole next to the
After an air-to-ground range mission, it was fuselage from a birdstrike. The aircraft had not
observed that the Thud had been hit by a ri- flown a scheduled low level and range mission
cochet. The bounced bullet struck the right lead- due to bad weather and only one approach was
ing edge flap, was deflected downward, then flown. The aircrew stated that they had not seen
penetrated the top of the right pylon fuel tank any birds and they were unaware that a strike
and continued out the bottom portion of the had occurred.
tank. This base has had problems with large
The unit was using a 2,000-foot foul line and bers of lapwings (crested plovers)roosting on
the range had been raked and cleared earlier in airfield. Bird control personnel have increa.
8 SEPTEMBER 1975
 TOTAL BIRD STRIKES REPORTED BY MONTH BY USAF AIRCRAFT DURING LOW
LEVEL CRUISE IN CONUS MAY 1965 · SEP 1971
number of patrols to disperse the flocks . but 100
.; type of measure will only produce temporary
.__. esu lts . In order to reduce the bird population
of an area. the bird's food source must be Q
0<

removed or considerably reduced . and this is not co 60

always possible . ~

We are now in the migratory season when our

feathered friends go South for the winter . Ac-
..
~
co
:::>
z
40

20
cording to USAF birdstrike data. the greatest
number of strikes. 35 percent. occur during
September and October (Figure 1 ). You can also
fig 1
see from Figure 2 that the largest number of
strikes occur from 600 to 1 .000 feet AGL. Even BIRD STRIKES VERSUS ALTITUDE
if your base isn't located within the migratory fly-
40
ways depi cted in Figure 3 . use extra caution
during the fall months . Keep your helmet visors "'
~

down and if you can. keep the altitude up . Slow- ""

,_
0<
30

ing down will also reduce the severity of a strike . "'

Q

If any large concentrations of birds are seen . 0<

co 20
report them so other pi lots can avoid the area . ~
Let's reduce the number of bird strikes this fall. 0<

~ 10
:::>
z

fi 9 2 ALTITUDE , FEET

.· ..·:..,
'•
'•
.·

MIGRATORY ROUTES g
WINTER
NESTING GROUNDS
- Fig 3
 to see or
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll'' '
~~~
to see or not to see

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111111111111111111111111
11111111111111111111111111111111 1''' '''
By CMSgt George M. Horn still represents the greatest horizontal distance
5th Weather Wing/ Air Weather Service the weather observer can see from where he
Langley AFB VA takes his observation (usually around the front
door of base operations) throughout one-half or
To most of us. visibility simply means how far more of the horizon circle. That is why it's called
we can see -- but to a pilot looking for prevailing visibility, and it's important to re-
minimums and approach lights at the same time . member that the visibility in a given sector or
th e w ord takes on more than ordinary signifi- quadrant can be , and often is. significantly better
can ce. Those of you who make a living by or worse than the visibility reported as "prevail-
rout inely returning your aircraft to its home ing." When such is the case. a good weather ob-
concrete in conditions other than severe clear server will tell you about it in the remarks section
w ill be interested in recent changes to USAF visi - of the observat ion. Good air traffic controllers
bil ity reporting procedures . If you want to make will pass those remarks on to their traffic. and
sens e out of the new USAF weather sequences. good pilots will pay attention to them . Examples
recommend you read on . of these remarks are "VSBY LWR W ," "VSBY S2, "
There has not been much change in the way and "VSBY NW2S 1 / 2 ."
Air Weather Service (AWS) reports prevailing vi- Another interesting visibility remark is the O!J5i.
sibility. That's the one right up front in the se- for variable visibility. Whenever prevailing v;
quence. in statute miles and fractions thereof. It bility is less than 3 mi les and is bouncing up a

10 SEPTEMBER 1975
 down significantly. you'll be tipped off by a format when he disseminates his observation
remark like "VSBY 1 / 4V3/4, " meaning that the locally. At Category II stations. controllers have
weather observer sees prevail ing visibility as their own RVR readouts and the weather ob-
varying from 1/ 4 to 3/4 mi le as he takes his server does not include RVR in the locally
observation. Keep t his in mind as you make deci- disseminated observation. except as backup for
sions based on the reported prevailing visibility. controller readouts .
Changes have been made to reporting instru- All RVR is instrumentally derived -- a
mentally derived visibi lity values. After coordinat- pretentious way of saying that the weather ob-
ing with MAJCOMs. Air Weather Service dis- server (or controller) gets it off an electronic
continued both runway visibi lity and 1 0-minute device . At airfields so equipped. a readout in the
mean runway visual range. The Nationa l Weather base weather station tells the observer the
Service and the FAA elected to continue with 10- "transmissivity" of the air between two sensors
minute mean RVR as well as runway visibility, located at what we hope is a representative loca-
and the Navy went along with them on the latter. t ion along the edge of the end of the runway .
If you're using a facility serviced by any of these "Transmissivity" (a value expressed as a
agencies. expect to see visibility reported in any percentage. with " severely clear" as 100%) is
of these ways . co nverted to feet or statute miles. as the case
At any station where AWS takes the observa- may be . and encoded in the weather sequence
tion. however. you will get only one product: for your use in decision making . At Category II
Runway Visual Range . or "RVR." This is a 1- ILS stations. the readout provides both touch-
minute mean value . and you'l l find it as the first down and rollout values simultaneously.
rAmark in a weather sequence (following the For those who have noted significant dif-
·meter) whenever prevailing visibility at the ferences between what is being reported and
,Jorting station is 1 mile or less. or the RVR "what it is really like out there." please remember
.000 feet or less . At air bases with Category I that all present visibility measuring systems.
ILS or less. there are two basic ways in which regardless of sophistication. still measure hori-
RVR is reported. If minimums for any runway or zontal . and not slant-range. visibility. We realize
any letdown are publ ished in feet. RVR will be that horizontal visibility is more valuable to ship
reported in hundreds of feet. for example : captains and railroad engineers than it is to pi-
"RVR24 ." On the other hand. if there are no lots -- but that is all there is right now. The slide -
minimums published in fee t . RVR will be rule set is working on it. Weathermen would like
reported in statute miles. like this : " RVR1 /4 ." to see "them" come up with something better
If you should have the good fortune to pull up just as much as you would.
at any of several of our more exot ic and lavishly In the meantime . smart pilots (those with the
equipped jetports. you may encounter an potential for old age) know what reported visi-
electronic marvel called the Category II ILS. bility represen ts. how it is reported . and how to
which lets you have a go with a reported RVR of use it.
only 1.200 feet. if your aircraft is equipped and By the way. there is one source of slant-range
if you are qualified for th is approach . At places visibil ity. and that is YOU. You're actually up
like this . you ' ll get both "touchdown" and there. physically sounding the depths of the
" rollout" RVR. like th is: "RVR 24 / 1 0." meaning murk as you slide down the glide path. Tell the
that touchdown RVR is 2.400 feet. whi le RVR on weather guys about it. They would be thrilled to
the departure end is only 1.000 . get (and pass on to other DH seekers) your ideas
Note that RVR in the teletype sequence is on what is really happening out there in the a p-
reported simply as "RVR" and the measure value. proach zone . Relay through tower. ground . or
in hundreds of feet or miles. When RVR is re- approach control (or whoever else will listen).
layed through a controller. he may include the Weather will pass the info on as a remark.
runway number : e.g ., "R09VR24 ." This is be- something like this: " FAP VSBY 1 /2." Help out a
ISe the weather observer includes runway f riend -- pass along a PIREP. ~
~ nber (runway 09 in this case) in the RVR code

TAC ATTACK 11
 VIM Irlr 71T71 11111Ir row
TIMM TIM
DMPLIPT7
PHYZ-BIZ
by Lt Col Harold Andersen
HQ TAC Physiological Training Coordinator

..,

one might say we all respond to various rhythms.

We live in a world of dynamic change -- but the
change is well-ordered, not chaotic. The
rhythmic (or cyclic) event that is most familiar to
CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS all of us is the day/night alternation. Both plan
and animals exhibit definite daily rhythms which
seem to be tied to a solar day (24 hours) or a
-I've got rhythm. you've got rhythm .all God's lunar cycle (24 8) hours. but these are
chillun got rhythm .1" So goes an old song -- synchronized by external cues and if the crE
and it's true, we all do have rhythm. Or perhaps tures (including man) are isolated from the cu
12 SEPTEMBER 1975
 '1111IM
light and darkness. the lack of precision be- during the night hours than during the daylight
es evident. However. the deviation is not hours (which makes it rough on the OB men),
great -- and the cycles they set up ap- coronary attacks also show the same predilection
proximate
proximate a 24-hour cycle. for the night. Deaths from disease (and other
causes) are not evenly distributed throughout the
CIRCADIAN RHYTHM 24-hour period. as we might expect. and it has
been noted that the symptoms of diseases. such
"Circadian"is a fairly new word in our language as the pain of glaucoma (an eye disease wherein
-- it was fabricated from two Latin words: circa -- the internal pressure is abnormally high) or the
about, and dies --- a day. So that circadian symptoms of allergies or asthma seem to occur
rhythms would be cyclic phenomena which com- in other than random fashion. (Probably one or
plete one cycle each day. Not only do animals two of you have noticed that when your "house
such as birds, reptiles. cats, fish. man, etc., apes" come down with a cold, they rarely cough
exhibit circadian rhythms, but by means of time- during the day -- always at night!)
lapse photography, plant activity has been shown "Night people" are those whose biological
to be of the circadian type, as leaves and flowers clock is not "in sync" with local clock time. They
open and close. rise and drop over a 24-hour prefer to work at night -- their energy production
period. is about 180 degrees out of phase with that of
Since we're most interested in men, we might the "day people," so they are at their best when
point out that scientific observation has dis- the rest of us are ready to collapse, and vice
closed that many body functions respond to cir- versa. When we check blood chemical levels,
cadian rhythms. Some of these are: one can see that levels of blood sugar. body
a- body temperature. temperature and several others. are indeed 180
b. blood pressure. degrees from the "normal" (e.g.,their tempera-
c pulse rate. ture is rising when the "day people's" are falling,
d_ respiration rate. and vice versa).
blood sugar level. We learn to synchronize our activities to coin-
hemoglobin level. cide with the ebb and flow of our energies. We
9. amino acid level. come to prefer to work at a certain time of day.
h. adrenal hormone level. and rest at others. To some extent, we learn to
urine secretion. modify our activities so that we manage to get
The healthy individual gives little external in- the job done when the boss says it should be
dication of all this internal activity. He exhibits an done (e.g., 9 to 5, or whatever).
appearance of equilibrium or stability, but Problems can be generated if we take a "day
actually the overall effect is to change our ca- person" and suddenly force him to become a
pabilities for activity in a cyclic way Because "night person" -- this is readily understandable.
several of the items on the list above are related Perhaps it is less easy to understand the prob-
energy production. we find our physical ca- lems which greet the international traveler who
pabilities vary from time to time during the day_
pabilities passes through numerous time zones on his way
That is, we have periods of time where energetic to his destination. We cannot. like an alarm
activity is predominant, and man is restless and clock, adjust ourselves instantly to the new time.
tense, or other periods where rest is pre- It may take as long as two weeks for adjustments
dominant, and man is quiet and relaxed. The to occur which synchronize the man's internal
overall external appearance may not change workings with his new time zone. Traveling
much, but we all have recognized in ourselves through a 12-hour differential will pose prob-
the fact that we are not really the same from lems -- it may be 3 PM local time and he may be
hour to hour during the day. It has been required to be very active both physically and
demonstrated that men exhibit differing mentally, but this is difficult because his internal
psychological as well as physiological ca- clock says. "3 AM", at 8 PM he's trying to force a
pabilities during different times of the day. It is cocktail into his 8 AM body. etc.
interesting to note that there are significant Next issue, we'll look further into circadian
statistical differences in the distribution of rhythms and look at some other aspects of
ease symptoms and certain other biological rhythms as they may affect us and our perfor-
enomena. More pregnant women go into labor mance.

TAC ATTACK 13
 chock talk ..incidents and incidentals

"THE SKY IS F~ll/NG I I Needless to say, it is normal procedure to dispose

of old clamps after removal.
Cause of incident was listed as undertermined.
A man walking in the base housing area stopped But based on the preponderance of evidence, the
to watch a flight of two Fox 4s pass overhead cause was most likely human error in that a person
following their turn to downwind. After the second inadvertently left the clamp in the engine bay area
F-4 had passed, he continued walking for approx- of one of the F-4s. When the gear was lowered and
imately 10 to 15 seconds when he heard a loud the aux air door opened, the clamp fell from the
noise to his left. He immediately looked and saw a aircraft.
marmon clamp just as it landed on the pavement Ch icken Licken' ran around saying "the sky is
after striking an auto. The witness suspected it had falling," but no one got hurt in that fairy tale.
fallen from one of the F-4s and notified the ops Dropped objects can and have caused injuries and
center. deaths. Tools, parts and other foreign objects left in
Guess what? Neither of the two aircraft that had aircraft have also caused aircraft accidents. Every-
passed overhead had a missing clamp. Record thing from allen wrenches to large voltmeters have
checks revealed that both aircraft had recent main- been found in aircraft after maintenance was pe
tenance during which these clamps (which hold a formed . After you finish a job, do a FOD/tool inv1
4-inch fuel line to the mainfold and are accessible tory. It may prevent an accident. Besides, that is t.
through the aux air doors) had been replaced . professional way.

,._~
1,/.."'--(
/': (~

~~~\_1
fd~8

14 SEPTEMBER 1975
 with a maintenance slant.

IT HAPPENED '!'! AGAIN

by TSGT WHITING
TAC/SEG
A six -passenger Air Force motor vehicle was
parked six feet from an F-111 A. A down-load opera-
tion using an MJ-1 bomb lift was in progress.
Because of the close proximity of the six-pax to the
aircraft, the MJ-1 operator maneuvered under the
aircraft nose and scraped the radome with the
RUNAWAY POWER tART raised lift table, causing $1,800.00 damage. The
MJ-1 was in good mechanical condition, the opera-
tor trained and qualified. This accident occurred
When the crew chief was removing a Dash-60
because of disregard for regulations: (1) The six-
power cart from the aircraft shelter to allow the pax was parked too close to the aircraft. (2) The
aircraft to taxi out. she put it in the w rong gear . MJ-1 operator was inattentive (3) the supervisor
Before she could stop it. the cart struck the right should have stopped the entire operation when he
wing external fuel tank of a Phantom . punched a observed the improperly parked six-pax.
hole approximately one inch in diameter in the Regulations were made to prevent this type of oc-
nose cone of the tank. and fuel came pouring currence. Use them and watch the Safety Officer
out. The aircrew called a fire truck. shut down and your supervisor smile.
engines and exited the shelter-- posthaste .
The cause? Not following establ i shed
procedures . AFR 127-101. Chapter 8. covers the THE GREAT SURVIVAl KIT BOOM
use of ground power equipmen t . "Self-propelled
power units will not be moved under their own CONTINUES
1wer within 15 feet of an aircraft ." You may
;o be interested to know that ground power An OV-1 0 crew chief was assigned by his sec-
- equipment will not be placed closer to an aircraft tion supervisor to replace the parachute riser
than the fully extended cable will allow-- which bungee cord restraints. When he attempted to
is 30 feet minimum . Check your flight line to see move the survival kit from the seat to fa ci litate
if the folks using AGE equipment are complying replacement of the bungee cord restraints. t he
with the regs. It could prevent an accident and actuating lanyard was pulled . firing the piston
save the Air Force a bunch of bucks . motor.
Why did the piston motor fire? Right -- the
mode selector was in the auto position and the
ON NO, NOT AGAIN auto actuating lanyard was attached to the seat
bucket. And just like we told ya ' in ou r July
by CAPT GRAVENHORST article on the "Great Survival Kit Boom ." if ".
the lanyard is pulled . the kit will actuate . . . "
TAC/LGMF when the mode selector is in auto "whether the
It's the same old rodeo, just a couple of different kit is in or out of the seat."
riders. This time the "bull bucked" and an F-105 aft But that's not the whole problem . The crew
section hit the dirt. The aft section was removed at chief was not qualified to perform egress system
the trim pad and was being towed to the phase maintenance . Not only was he unqualified. but
hangar for storage. Unfortunately, it was being he did not have anyTech Data .
towed on an unapproved route , the perimeter road.
This incident should not have happened . The
The vertical stabilizer contacted a communications
support cable and the aft section shifted (it was not real cause was that the supervisor assign ed a
properly secured to the dolly). Contact with the nonqualified person to do the job . That should
ground resulted in damages to the horizontal have raised some questions concerning the
stabilizer amounting to $834.00. Failure to follow supervisor's qualifications .
established directives caused valuable Air Force Wouldn't it be easier. quicker -- and safer- - to
'sources to be wasted and a couple of troops to do it right the first time? Let's get w ith it. gang,
t the "horn ". before someone gets hurt.

TAC ATIACK 15
 the old man and the boy

THEOL~

" This ain't a very expensive gun ." the Old Man rabbit he ain't supposed to recognize socially.
sa id . " It's not a handmade gun . and it hasn't got "In a minute. " he sai d. " I aim to whistle up the
any fancy engraving on it . But it'l l shoot where dogs and let you use th is th ing the best way you
you hold her . and if you hold her true she'll kill can . But before we go out to the woods I want to
what you 're aiming at . Some day when you go to tell you one thing: you have got my reputation in
work and get rich . you can take a trip to England your hands right now. You r mother thinks I'm a
and buy yourself a pair of matched doubles . or damned old id iot to give a shirt-tail boy a gun
you can get a special job built in this country that is just about as tall as the boy is. I told her
with a lot of gold bird dogs on it. But for you to I'd be personally responsible for you and the gun
learn to shoot with . this is all the gun you need and the way you use it. I told her that any time a
right now." boy is ready to learn about guns is the time he's
It was maybe the most beautiful gun a boy ever ready, no matter how young he is. and you can't
had . especially if he was only eight years old at start too young to learn how to be careful. What
the time and the Old Man had decided he could you got in your hands is a dangerous weapon . It
be trusted with a dangerous fire-arm. A little 20- can ki ll you . or ki ll me . or kill a dog . You always
gauge , it was only a twenty-dollar gun. but got to remember that when the gun is loaded it
twenty dollars was a lot of money in those days makes a potential killer out of the man that's
and you could buy an awful lot with it. handling it . Don 't you ever forget it ."
The Old Man stuffed his pipe and stuck it I said I wouldn 't forget it. I never did forget it.
under his mustache . and sort of cocked his big The Old Man put on his hat and whistled fp---'~
sti c k-out ears at me. like a setter dog looking at a Frank and Sandy . We walked out back of t

16 SEPTEMBER 1975
~IAN AND THE BOY
by Robert Ruark
house where the tame covey was . It was a nice Frank. who was pretty old and slow. was making
November day, with the sun warm and the breeze some serious game with his nose on the ground .
not too stiff. and still some gold and red left in In a minute Sandy got a message and went off at
the leaves . We came to a fence. a low barbed- a dead gallop . He pulled up in full strike and
Wire fence . and I climbed it. holding the gun froze by a clump of gallberry bushes. Fran k
high up with one hand and gripping the fence pi c ked up a little speed on the trail and headed
post with the other . 1 was halfway over when up to Sandy. He raised his head once and saw
the barbed wire sort of caught in the crotch of Sandy on the point and stood him stiff and
my pants and the Old Man hollered . pretty. Maybe you 've seen prettier pictures. I
"Whoa! " the Old Man said . "now. ain't you a haven't .
silly sight. stuck on a bob-wire fence wi t h a gun " Can I really shoot it now?" I said.
waving around in the breeze and one foot in the " Load her up," the Old Man said . "Then walk
air and the other foot on a piece of limber wire?" in. and when the birds get up pick out one and
"I guess I am. at that. " I said. shoot him ."
''I'm going to be pretty naggy at you for a I loaded and walked up to the dogs and slip-
'e." the Old Man said . "When you do it ped off the safety catch. It made a little click that
1g. I'm going to ca ll you . I know you haven't you cou ld hardly hear. But the Old Man heard it.
aded the gun yet. and that no matter what hap- "Whoa ." he said . " Give me the gun ."
pens nobody is going to get shot because you I was mystified and my feelings were hurt. be -
decide to climb a fence with a gun in your hand. cause it was my gun . The old Man had given it io
But if you make a habit out of it. some day you'll me . and now he was taking it away from me . He
climb one with the loads in the gun and your switched his pipe to the outboard corner of his
foot'll slip and the trigger'll catch in the bob-wire mustache and walked in behind the dogs. He
and the gun'll go off and shoot you or me or wasn't looking at the ground where the birds
somebody else. and then it'll be too late to be were . He was looking straight ahead of him . w ith
sorry. the gun held across his body at a 45-degree
"There 's a lot of fences around woods and angle . The birds got up. and the Old Man jumped
fields." he said . You'll be crossing fences for the the gun up. As it came up his thumb flicked the
rest of your life . You might as well start now to safety off and the gun came smooth up under his
do it right . When you climb a fence. you lay the chin and he seemed to fire the second it got
gun on the ground. under the fence. with the there. About twenty-five yards out a bird dropped
safety on. ten foot away from where you intend in a shower of feathers.
to cross the fence. You got the muzzle sticking in " Fetch." the Old Man said. unloading the ot her
the opposite direction from where you ' re going. shell.
After you've crossed the fence you go back and "Why'd you take the gun away from me?" I
pick up the gun . and look at it to see if the safety yelled. I was mad as a wet hen . "Dammit. it's my
is still on . You make a habit of this. too . It don 't gun . It ain 't your gun ."
cost nothing to look once in a while and see if "You ain't old enough to cuss yet." the Old
the safety's on ." . Man sa id . " Cussing is a prerogative for adults.
We walked on for a spell until w e hit the You got to earn the right to cuss . like you got to
corner of the cornfield. Old Sandy, the lemon- earn the right to do most things . Cussing is for
. -white setter. was sailing around with his emphasis . When every other word is a swear
in the air. taking the o utside edge . and word it just gets to be dull and don't mean

TAC ATIACK 17
 dropped it on the ground .
"Uh huh ." the Old Man said sarcastically .
tho ught you might have enough savvy to check
the old man the breech and see if she was loaded before you
dry- f ired her . If you had . you 'd have seen that I
and the boy slipped that shel .l back when you weren 't looking .
You mighta shot me or one of the dogs. just tak-
ing t hings for granted. "
That ended the first lesson . I'm a lot older now.
of course. but I never forgot the Old Man taking
anything any more . I'll tell you why I took the gun the gun away and then palming that shell and
away from you . You'll never forget it. will you?" slipping it back in the gun to teach me caution .
"You bet I won't forget it. " I said. still mad and
about to cry.
"I told you I was going to nag you some. if only
to satisfy your mother . This is part of the course.
You 'll never walk into a covey of birds or anyt h-
ing else any more without remembering the day I
took your new gun away from you ."
" I don't even know why you took it." I said.
"What'd I do wrong then?"
" Safety catch." he said . "No reason in the
world for a man to go blundering around with
the catch off his gun. You don 't know the birds
are going to get up where the dog says t hey are.
Maybe they're running on you . So the dog breaks
point and you stumble along behind him and fall
in a hole or trip over a rock and the gun goes off
-- blooey."
"You got to take it off some time if you 're plan-
ning to shoot something." I sa id .
"Habit is a wonderful thing ." the Old Man said.
"It's just as easy to form good ones as it is to
make bad ones . Once they're made. they stick.
There's no earthly use of slipping the safety off a All t he words in the world wouldn't have equaled
gun until you're figuring to shoot it. There's the object lesson he taught me just by those two
plenty of time to slip it off while she's coming to or three things . And he said another thing as we
your shoulder after the birds ·are up . Shooting a wen t back to the house : "The older you get. the
shotgun is all reflexes . anyhow. carefuller you'll be . When you're as old as I am .
"The way you shoot it is simp ly this : You carry you' ll be so scared of a fire -arm that every young
her across your body. pointing away from the man you know will call you a damned old maid .
man you 're shooting with. You look straight But damned old maids don't shoot the heads off
ahead. When the birds get up. you look at a bird. their friends in duck blinds or fire blind into a
Then your reflexes work. The gun comes up bush where a deer walked in and then go pick up
under your eye. and while it's coming up your their best buddy with a hole in his chest ."
thumb slips the safety and your finger goes to We went ba c k to the house and up to the Old
the trigger. and when your eye's on the bi rd and Man 's room . He stirred up the fire and reached
your finger's on the trigger the gun just goes off into a closet and brought out a bottle of old corn
an d the bird drops . It is every bit as simple as liqu or . He poured himself half a glassful and sip-
that if you start at it right . Try it a few time s and ped at it . He smacked his lips.
snap her dry at a pine cone or something." "Long as we're on the subject. " he said. "when
I threw the gun up and snapped . The gun went you get bigger. I suppose you 'll start to s ~
off with a horrid roar and scared me so bad I and drink this stuff. Most people do . You rr

18 SEPTEMBER 1975
 .Tiber that nobody ever got hurt with a gun
..e saved his drinking for the fireside after the
day's hunt was over. with guns cleaned and in a
rack or in a case. I notice you ain 't broken your
gun yet. let alone clean it. and it's standing in a
.' corne r for a child to get ahold of or a dog to
knock over . I suggest you clean her now. That
way you know there aren't any shells left in her.
That way she don't rust . And since you have to
break her to clean her. you might as well put her
in her case."
Maybe you think the Old Man was cranky. be-
ca use I did then . but I don 't any more. I've seen
just about everything happen w ith a gun . One
fellow I know used to stand like Dan 'l Boone with
his hands crossed on the muzzle of his shotgun.
and one day something mysterious happened
and the gun went off and now he hasn't got any
hands any more. wh ich makes it inconvenient for
him.
I've seen drunks messing with " unloaded" guns
and the guns go off in the house. sobering
everybody up . An automatic went crazy on me in
a duck blind one day and fired every shot in its
magazine. Habit had the gun pointed away from
lthe r fellow. or I'd of shot his head off with a
\ that was leaping like a crazy fire hose . I saw
'--a--rn'an shoot his foot nearly off with a rifle he
thought he'd ejected all the cart ridges out of. I
saw another man on a deer hunt fire into a bush new gun clutche d in my hands. He grinned over
a buck went into and make a widow out of his the glass.
best frie nd's wife . "That there's your graduation present. 'he said.
The Old Man nagged at me and hacked at me " It's been three years since we started this busi -
for about three years. One time I forgot and ness . and you ain't shot me. you. or the dogs . I
climbed a fence with a loaded gun. and he t ook figure it's safe to turn you loose now. But I'll take
a stick to me . that one away from you if you get too big for
"You ain 't too big to be beat. " he said . " if you your britches and start waving it around care-
ain't aault enough to remember what I told you less ."
about guns and fences . This 'll hu rt your feelings. I'm big enough to cuss now. and I've seen a lot
even if it don't hurt your pride." of silly damned fools misusing guns and sca rin g
When I was eleven . the Old Man stole my little the daylights out of careful people. But they
20-gauge from me . He grinned sort of evilly and never had the Old Man for a tutor . Some people
announced that he was an Indian giver in t he ain 't as lucky as other people . ~
best and strongest sense. I was puzzled . but not
very. because the Old Man was a curious cuss
and a kind of devious mover. I went ba c k to my • • •
bedroom later. and on the bed was a 16-gauge
double with a leather case that had my name on
From THE OLD MAN AND THE BOY. Copyright
it. There were engravings of quail and dogs in
1953. 1954. © 1955. 1956. 1957 by Robert
silver on the sides and my name on the silver C. Ruark. Reprinted by permission of Holt.
Rinehart and Winston. Publishers
butt plate .
, ··1e Old Man was ta king a drink for hi s nervous
~ 1ach when I busted into his room w ith the

TAC ATIACK 19
 " I dreamed I walked on the moon in
FLEAGLE T-SHIRT"
You may not have a story to tell that's as excit-
ing as Colonel Charlie Duke's, but your contribu-
tion could place you in the ultra-elite circle of
Fleagle T-shirt owners. Astronaut Duke served as
backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 13 flight
and served as lunar module pilot on Apollo 16 He
and John Young spent over 71 hours in the
Descartes region of the moon while Thomas Mat-
tingly piloted the command module.
Each month, at least one contributor to TAC AT-
TACK is presented with a rust-proof, non-mag-
netic Fleagle T-shirt woven from cholesterol-free
cotton. Send your article or idea to

S Editor, TAC ATTACK

TAC/ S E PP
Langley AFB VA 23665
in-"" .. or call AWN 432 -2937

3,

#41111mmi..44,, 11116"*.ii.
'4\
tr"
416 pr,. _ orb
 TACTICAL AIR COMMAND

AIRCREWMAN
of
DISTINCTION
C.,n.in Ross L. Simmona
16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
Shaw Air Force Base South Carolina

The mission was an RF-4C ACM training response to the call for ejection. Although Captain
mission for a student pilot with Captain Simmons, Simmons could not get his hands to the controls
an instructor pilot, in the rear cockpit. The in- in this high-G maneuver, he had been able to
cident aircraft was the defending aircraft. All rotate his head enough to see the attitude indica-
phases of the mission were normal until disen- tor. It indicated the aircraft to be in a nose-high
gaging from the last attack/ defensive maneuver. attitude . Captain Simmons realized that the high-
The student had attained an unloaded, nose-low G loading would subside as the airspeed
attitude (approximately 40 degrees below the ho- decreased and that ejection, if necessary, would
rizon) with 80-90 degrees of bank. At the be more favorable after the high-G loading
disengage call, the student terminated af- subsided . As the high-G loading decreased, the
terburners, rolled to a wings -level attitude, and aircraft began to respond to control inputs and the
established 4Gs to climb and reduced airspeed. aircraft was returned to base without further in-
Immediately, the aircraft began to oscillate in cident. The G-meters were pegged at 10-plus Gs.
pitch without control inputs. Captain Simmons The professionalism and outstanding airman-
noted the G-meter fluctuate from 4Gs to 6Gs to ship of Captain Simmons saved a valuable aircraft
4Gs, then a rapid increase in Gs which pinned and averted serious injury or possible loss of life .
both pilots forward with their heads against the This high level of performance readily qual ifies
instrument panel, face down . With only the Captain Simmons for the TAC Aircrewman of Dis-
knowledge that the disengage maneuver was tinction Award . __.>
started at 15,000 feet AGL, and that the aircraft
was in a nose-low attitude when he was pinned
forward, the student called for an ejection when Editors Note: A formal investigation revealed a
the aircraft would not respond and remained in a massive air leak between the bellows probe and
'-G maneuver. Captain Simmons immediately stabilator feel-trim system which caused the
1ed, "Negative, negative, I have the aircraft" in aircraft handling problems.

TAC ATIACK 21
 CLE'S
JON ...
01 how fo gel s
Fleagle's vacation... or how to get a buzz on
buzz on
By Capt Marty Steere and give him astronaut wings . I runway -- he was playing lead
Stan Hardison, TAC/SEPP hope he doesn't bring that fool tuba. and Mr. Talon had the
guitar if he does come . Last crash equipment in place
time he was home he nearly j ust in case .
The sun began to rise electrocuted himself trying to "Pea Island mobile ."
through the early morning mist play it in the shower. But if he squawk box crackled . "this
of Pea Island. Soon the ground is out of money. he'll be here!" Fleagle . I'm 1 5 miles out at
fog would burn off and "Oh Dad. Fulmar is a good Angels eigh t . If the pattern is
another beautiful Indian Sum- boy. He'll turn out all right . clea r. I'd like to make a low
mer day would begin . And Anyone with nine years of pass before I land ."
what a day this would be . A college must be smart! " "OK. Fleagle -- but. please
feel ing of excitement was in A few nests away. Doris was be care ful. and remember the
the air because today Fleagle trying to decide which outfit to minimum altitudes ."
would be returning to his old wear. She hadn't seen Fleagle Fleagle swooped down.
nesting grounds for a well de- for some time. "Even if he is a bui lding up speed . 'This is
served vacation after a long clown." she thought. "he does rea lly going to be great. " he
tour of public appearances -- mean well. I hope he hasn't thought . Leveling off lower
spreading the safety message. fallen for some 'spring chicken · than a penguin's instep.
Fleag's Mom . a common on his tour . Maybe I'll bake a Fleagle put on his best grin
loon. and Dad . a ruddy duck. special dessert for him . I know. and flashed by the mobile unit
rose early to prepare for the 'Clams Jubilee' - flambe'. of going Warp 1 2 -- so fast it
big event. Mom was hoping course' By 1 0 o'clock. the made mobile spin around and
Mr . Macaw had all the decora- Pea Island airpatch was buz- t urned the wind sock inside
tions put up in his cocktail zing . The whole Island had out. Unfortunately. the world's
lounge . turned out. Walter Widgeon. greatest aviator wasn't watch-
" Dad. do you think Fulmar the Island 's lifeguard . had ing where he was going and
will be able to get home from closed the beaches 'til aft er the he f lew into Macaw's tuba!
college?" party at Ma caw 's. The Pea Is- After extracting the s Iig htly
"I don 't know. Mother. You land High cheerleaders were ruffled hero from the tuba. the
know weird Fulmar . He 's al- there . Mr. Macaw had the townsfolk ushered Fleagle
ways so far out they should band lined up beside the Macaw's Cocktail Lounge

22 SEPTEMBER 1975
II

the feast. The pla ce was had just entered. " bread."
packed and Fleagle was at his "Fulmar !" cried Fleagle ' s The meal was fantas t ic.
f inest with one wing wrapped Mom . Macaw had outdone himself.
around the radiant Doris and "Fulmar!" sighed Fleagle's "Fleagle. dear." cooed Doris.
the other wrapped tightly Dad . here's a little su rprise for your
around a Seagull 7 and water . Yes. Fulmar had arrived with dessert -- ' Clams Jubi l ee
' 'Hey -- what's happ ' ning? his guitar. amp and a large flambe'! And I made it myself.
Get the music going and let's sta c k of " heavy" rock and roll just for you .
-t bumpin! " albums . He sauntered up to his "Gee. Doris. thanks -- you
eryone turned to see who Father and asked for some really shouldn't have." replied

TAC ATIACK 23
FLEAGLE'S VACATION do t hat over the beach 7"
Everyone was gathered ~..
Fleag . He immediately had vi- fol lowed . Dons qu1ckly went to the shore watching Fleagle do
sions of a stomach pump and the nearest beach house and his thing . Barely skimming the
a stay in the Pea Island Hos- changed to her best bikini . waves. he flashed by. pulled up
pital. Walter Widgeon was perched into a double underhand bat
As usual. Fulmar was telling on his lifeguard stand . Fulmar turn and recovered with a
everyone what a great flyer he was lounging on the beach. reverse lmmelman . Down he
was . He had just completed a radio blaring. picking his went. toward the waves. exe-
summer cause at college on guitar . Even Fleagle 's Dad was cuting a perfect pullout three
high speed bat turns and low there. showing everyone how inches above the waves . With
level terrain following . Fleagle to dig clams. Fleagle was still his famous grin directed at the
was fuming . Everyone was wondering about his brother's crowd . Fleagle flashed by,_
moving away to listen to that remarks .
hippie brother of his . He got so ' 'I'll show him." Fleagle
upset. he forgot to put the fire thought. ''I'll put on a little low
ou t in his Clams Jubilee before altitude TFR and aero show for
he ate it .. . everyone . Then they'll know I'm
" Quick! " Fleagle yelled . " I still the hottest jock around ."
think it's time for the beach . "Walter . where 's Fleag?" /
Whi c h way to the water?" cooed Doris.
Walter Widgeon escorted ''I'm not sure. I saw him
our smouldering hero out of heading toward the airpatch a
the cocktail lounge and down few minutes ago w ith his
to the beach . The whole town helmet and goggles. " replied
the Iifeg ua rd .
SWOOSH!
" Oh . there he is." called
Do r is. "Look at that roll! Don't
you think he's kind of low to

LIVE BAIT?

·; ~
_?" ...
· ~· ..

24 SEPTEMBER 1975
 SPO Cotnet

Oklahoma City ALC has been implemented to

A-70 UPDATE verify the threshold limits of contamination . To

date. engines rejected for oil contamina t ion
show no evidence of component part failure .
(3) Problem: Failure of HPT-1 turbine vanes
with TCTO 2J-TF-41-601 accomplished .
By Capt Marty Steere, HQ TAC/SEF Corrective action: Because of two catastrophic
failures of the welded film-cooled HPT-1 turbine
vanes. all TF-41 vanes with TCTO 2J-TF-41-601
accomplished have been removed from service.
viii attempt to bring you up to date on the Only standard HPT-1 vanes that have been pin-
.Jiems and corrective actions concerning the ned on the lower platform lAW TCTO 2J-TF-41-
TF-41 A 1 engine. 598 wil l be installed. This action should be com-
There are three main areas of concern . Correc- pleted by late this month.
tive action is in progress for all of thes e prob- (4) Problem : Fa ilu re of HPT- 1 turbine vanes
lems . The following is a bri ef summary: With TC;"J"O 2J- TF-41 -598 accomplished .
(1) Proble m : Oil consumption. Between 1 Jan- Corrective actioru When TCTO 2J- TF-41-598
16 May 75 . 11 en gin es were rejected at base was being accompliShed. as noted that ome
level for excessive oi l consumption. of the standard vanes had -mi nor corrosion and
Corrective action: The following actions have cracki ng. These vanes were repaired and placed
been implemented : back mto service . Recently. this type of vane (P/
a. Oklahoma City ALC has instituted more str- N 688- 9422) failed. All engines with vanes that
ingent qua·lity control p r ocedu r es to insu re had th1s part number were restricted from opera-
proper chrome plating of the oil se I ring sur t ion by mmediate Action TCTO 1 A-7 D-794 .
faces. Engines containing these vanes have been
b. Quality control procedures were develope returned to the depot for replacement of the
to insure oil wetted parts meet serviceable limits vanes.
during inspection. Briefly. gang . that's it. The TF-41 is getting a
c. The permatex application procedure at oil lot of high level attention. I hope this has given
split line areas was reviewed and found to be you an update on the status of the only cooker
satisfactory. you 've got. If the engine does give up the ghost.
d. A clearance of .025 inches was initiated for the ejection seat is there to expedite the pilot's
the piston ring retainer to insure face float and safe recovery . It's a good seat and don't hes itate
reduce oil loss . to use it if everything starts to turn brown. If any
(2) Problem: Oil contamination . Twenty-three of you SLUF drivers or maintenance folks have
"'ngines were rejected for oil contaminat ion from any questions that you can 't get the answers to
n- 16 May 75. from Wing Safety. give me a call -- AUTOVON
mective action: An engineering study at 432-7031/2937. ~

TAC ATIACK 25
 Fleaglegram responses from the front

Dear Fleagle :
In my trials and tribulations of trying to get the · Dear Fleagle :
TO changed or to get a prescribed method for Want an eye opener when trying to wake up on
operating the HF radio in the RF-4 . I have com- Sunday morning after a TOY Saturday night? I
pleted the following Forms : AF 1000. AFTO 22. was recently TOY and just popped out of bed to
AF 847. and a Hazard Report So far. all have shower and shave . At the coincidental moment
had negative results . The AF 1000 was rejected to coming out of the bat hroom. the sky started
as it did not fall into the cost reduction program. falling a Ia ch icken licken . First one fluorescent
Hazard Report action is pending processing of
the AFTO Form 22 . The suggestion is now pend-
ing action on the AF Form 84 7 . In my research-
ing of this problem. I came to find that this is a
possible hazard to our aircraft flying in close
formation using the HF radio around installed
EED (electrically exploded devices). At this time.
no one can actually say what could happen ex-
cept for the Item Manager. who thinks that it is
possible that a nearby aircraft could possibly dis-
charge another aircraft's EED .
SSgt Donald R. Rodgers
363 AMS
/GUT
Shaw AFB SC

Dear Sarge:
I've done some research into your problem and
found that action is being taken. As a result of
the Hazard Report you submitted. an AFTO Form
22 was sent to Ogden ALC. Th e folks there found
that there may be some erroneous data in TO 1-
RF4C-2-36 as to the number of feet that the RF-
4C radiates HF energy. They have requested that
the engineers at Wright Patterson AFB research
the problem and come up with the correct data.
When this is done. a change to the Tech Order
will be issued
Changes like this take time -- but they are be-
ing researched Hope this has helped ya· out.

Fleag

26 SEPTEMBER 1975
 _....,.t bulb (five feet long). then another (after a was also allowed to happen by the tons of paper-
'-Lero delay) came crashing down right in the mid- work everyone is faced with.
dle of my unmade bed . With hundreds of jagged Flying training is another example. Have you
little white pieces of glass on the floor . I gave ever appeased the "paper god" by pencil w hip-
serious pause to progressing any further in bare ping some of your quarterly requirements on the
feet. I extricated myself from this educational Form 57? Did you ever log a high altitude inter-
experience and secured another BOO room . cept and a visual ID when you had an air refuel-
Needless to say. I carefully checked the ceiling ing mission? The forms were pure at the end of
light in my new room . the reporting period so everything was all right.
Does your house. club or office have an ac- Or was it?
cident hanging over your head? Check it out . All of us are guilty. When our work is properly
Capt John W. Keste r documented and suspenses met. everything
1 21 TFW(ANG) seems fine. As time passes, we forget about the
Rickenbacker AFB Ohio people who were killed and aircraft destroyed or
damaged as a result of "filling squares." Docu -
John. this points out just one more case where mentation almost becomes the goal -- the end.
the gremlins are out to get you ... even in bed! instead of the means. We lose track of the real
AFR 72 7- 70 7. Ground Accident Prevention goal or objective -- to ac.c omplish our combat or
Handbook. points out ... "if fluorescent lighting fix- training miss ion. Who reads the documentation
tures do not contain a tube locking device. they or learns from our training programs does not
will be provided with shields or clamps to seem important -- just as long as it's all down on
prevent tubes from falling. Recently installed paper. We become conscious of only the paper-
fluorescent fixtures use double locking tubes to - not of what the paper means.
preclude tubes falling." A good safety inspection Paper ideology affects all parts of the military-
· -..uld have caught this discrepancy. Incidentally, - and civilian industry as well. Everyone from
coating used inside fluorescent tubes is four star generals to the airmen on the flightline
Lardous -- handle broken bulbs with extreme is affected . It is part of our lifestyle . It saps our
care productivity. We overlook our most significant
product-- combat readiness .
Fleag One by-product of mission accomplishment
and combat readiness is accident prevention --
safety. What is "safety"? It's doing your job and
Dear Fleagle: doing it right. It's going out and getting the train-
I have always been amazed at the mountains of ing you need --valid training. not penciled-in ac-
paperwork generated by various projects and complishments. It's getting that modification out
programs in the Air Force. Everything from into the field -- right now. It is not generating a
Squadron Safety Meeting attendance to mountain of useless paperwork.
technological improvement projects for our most Does the vast amount of paperwork you
complex weapons systems involves vast amounts generate contribute to a safe. effective program
of paperwork -- documentation and justification. or project? If the answer is no. you have lost
The "paper god" must be placated -- seemingly sight of the goal. Review your job. your training
at any cost. programs. and your own goals . If you are just ap-
For example . in a recent major aircraft ac- peasing the "paper god ." make a change -- and
cident. the pilot of the aircraft was killed when do it now. before it's too late.
he was inadvertently ejected from the aircraft. Frustrated Fleaglefan
Reason for the malfunction was a known design
deficiency of the parachute. Why hadn 't the defi- Dear Frustrated-
cie ncy been corrected? " Management" decided Right on. Paperwork. like Tabasco Sauce. is only
that the design d'eficiency was not critical good if used in small doses. Keep it short. Keep
enough to require an urgent action TCTO -- it it to the point. Keep it effective ... like the
. .,"'S to be remedied during the normal parachute Fleaglegram .. .
1ck cycle . This fatality was caused by human
,or involved in the design deficiency, but it F/eag

TAC ATIACK 27
 egress mishaps are caused by....

There are two sides to every argument. also

EGRESS
two views on the causes of egress mishaps. The
opinions expressed here are not completely dif-
ferent. for they show a common desire to stop
egress mishaps. Each. however. takes a different
stand on methods.

SUPERVISORS
'
•

Inflation! Talk about the cost of living going

up . you better believe it. Try this on for size. How
about a 45% increase in life support/egress mis-
haps this year? Look at the facts : 12 in the first
half of 1974; 22 in 1975 . Stated in money
terms . we ' 'blew" $4.159 in 1974 and $6.062 in
the first six months of 1975 . That's inflation!
Why the increase? Well. let's lay the facts on
the line . There is only one cause and it is the
same thing we keep harping on - PEOPLE .
Whether you call it ground crew. aircrew. or
supervision. it is the same . PEOPLE caused all
the egress mishaps this year. But why?
People make errors mainly by lack of
knowledge. inadequate training. carelessness .
inattention. short cuts . hurrying. not following
tech data. and poor or insufficient supervision .
The reasons go on and on. but the basic fact
remains that PEOPLE cause the mishaps.
When will it end? Will it ever? We have all been accident prevent ion program . How true this is!
taught a few simp le ru les to fo llow that have How many of us are actively supervising? How
repeatedly been cited. reviewed. discussed and many of us don 't like to get out on the line where
thrown at us again and again . The fact remains the action is? Or. don 't like to get cold. or wet. or
that if we comply with these few simple rules . the too far from the coffee pot? Hard questions. but
number of mishaps will be reduced. We would if the shoe fits . wear it.
almost guarantee they will decrease or even You know. we really can 't blame a mishap on
stop . Take a look at them : the troop who isn 't properly trained. motivated.
1. People must know what they are supposed knowledgeable or supervised. It is time to get in-
to do and be adequately trained to perform the volved. Joint the "WIN " parade and "Whip Infla-
task. tion Now." Al l it takes is getting more involved --
2 . Written standards (TOs. Checklists. SOPs) doing t he job we were taught and trained to do -
must be prepared. available . and used . - following tech data and established
3. Peop le must understand the rules and why procedures. and most importantly. SUPERVIS-
they must be followed . ING!
4 . Supervisors must monitor all explosives
operations and correct mistakes when they oc- Authors: MSgt William M. Poe
cur . MSgt George A . Thaggard
Supervisors determine the effectiveness of any 9AF/SEW

28 SEPTEMBER 1975
 MISHAPS are caused by • • •

at the feet of the supervisor unless we can

clearly substantiate supervisory factors . The type
of dispirited pride exhibited in many egress
mishap reports is just a reflection of the low
regard for quality workmanship seen all too
frequen t ly in recent years . It seems to be sympto-
matic of our society. An empty coke bottle rattl -
ing around in your '75 intermediate two-doo r
WORKERS I• sedan (w ith "opera windows ." yet) probably won't
cause anything more serious than jangled
nerves . but an egress specialist's mistake can kill
My fr iends from Ninth Air Force mad e the ir him (o r someone else) . That's when it gets to be
point -- and it's a good one . My only ar gument is a very personal thing . since that " someone else"
that it's over-simpli f ied . Sure. people make mis- could be you (another egress specialist) or me (a
takes . and indeed. it's the supervisor's job to pilot) .
catch these glitches before they end up as an ac- Before the wrath of the workers descends on
. ~
cidents or incidents. Fine . Practi cally spea king . my shoulders. let me first state : ( 1) Johnny Fum -
however. just how is the supervisor supposed to blefingers is in the minority, (2) most of our
accomplish the job. push his paperwo rk (a re- peop le are doing a lot of good work and don't
quirement) . and at the same time look ove r the get the recognition they deserve .
shoulder of every one of his workers ? Realis- The cynica l expression "screw up and move
tically. until we can arrange for a 30-hour day. up" is a frightening concept. We need to put
invent a supervisor who doesn 't need rest and some old-fashioned pride of workmanship back
get our work forces manned 100 percent. we into all jobs . whether that job is driving aeros -
have to depend on the guy with the wren c h in pace vehicles or ma intaining the boom-bucket in
his hand . In my opinion. this is where the ma in same ... and that's up to the " doers" -- not the
problem lies -- noncompliance wi t h tech data .. . watc her s.
complacency . . . but most of al l. j ust plain ca re-
~ n e ss. Major Joe A . Tillman
3 about time we stopped laying all the blame TAC/SEPP

TAC ATIACK 29
TACTICAL AIR COMMAND

Maintenance Man Safe~ Award

Master Sergeant Norman J. Evans, 834th
Munitions Maintenance Squadron, 1st Special
Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida, has been
selected to receive the Tactical Air Command
Maintenance Safety Award for this month.
Sergeant Evans will receive a certificate and letter
of appreciation from the Vice Commander, msgt evans
Tactical Air Command.

TACTICAL AIR COMMAND

crew chief safety award

Airman First Class Harold S. Wimbley, 49th Or-

ganizational Maintenance Squadron, 49th Tactical
Fighter Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, New
Mexico, has been selected to receive the Tactical
Air Command Crew Chief Safety Award for this
month. Airman Wimbley will receive a certificate
and letter of appreciation from the Vice Com- AlC WIMBLEY
mander, Tactical Air Command.

TACTICAL AIR COMMAND

Ground Safe!} Man of the Quarter

Technical Sergeant Samuel A. Pray, Jr., 1st
Avionics Maintenance Squadron, 56th Tactical
Fighter Wing (formerly 1st Tactical Fighter Wing),
MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, has been selected
to receive the Tactical Air Command Ground
Safety Award for the second quarter 1975.
Sergeant Pray will receive a certificate and letter
of appreciation from the Vice Commander,
Tactical Air Command. tsgt pray

30