Posting, sadly, may be light, but hopefully not “lit,” for the next time span undetermined.

Fires, you know…are not just bad for pilots while airborne…

Someone had to test it….

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It’s not in English, but…when they hold up the < href=”http://www.icaruscanopies.aero/main.htm”>Icarus VX-39 canopy, it’s the one Luigi is jumping…

That number, 39, you ask? Stands for 39 square feet of surface area….if you must know.

Once I “trusted” my life to a “square” in the late 70’s, my first one was a 230 sq ft “Strato-Cloud.” Went to a 200 Sq Ft Pegasus, then a 150 sq ft Performance Designs Sabre 150 and (so far) ended with a Sabre 120. When I made that transition, I was doing about 160+ jumps/year and I was loading the wing up nicely, thank you. Exit weight was…how shall I say this…more than the “tail tag” said, but I flew it well and have no injuries, or even close calls, because of problems handling the canopy to discuss as a result.

Parachute technology in the civilian sector has come a long way since guys with hot knifes and a few C-9 (28 ft diameter) surplus military parachutes (still with lines, they didn’t chop them off back then) could slice out a few panels to see how they flew. My first “owned” parachute was in fact, a C-9, formerly white, but dyed maroon by the prior owner.

When “squares” appeared in the mid-70s, they had 5 “cells” (chambers). Most jumpers today have 9 cell canopies, but the “extreme” jumpers, who love the “swoop,” some of them use 21 cell versions, to get a thinner wing, and more “stiffness,” to generate better lift and speed. Some canopies have air locks, which, once the air is rammed in during the opening sequence to shape the cell, is trapped within, also providing a stiffer wing to the air, with improved performance.

“We” have come a long, baby!

Oh, and when you’re bored with your canopy’s performance, then you can strap on a “wingsuit” and have a “come to Jesus” experience…

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Helicopter not included…

SUX.

After Fight, Airport Embraces SUX Code
AP
Posted: 2007-10-22 11:37:56
Filed Under: Nation News
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Oct. 21) – City leaders have scrapped plans to do away with the Sioux Gateway Airport’s unflattering three-letter identifier – SUX – and instead have made it the centerpiece of the airport’s new marketing campaign.

The code, used by pilots and airports worldwide and printed on tickets and luggage tags, will be used on T-shirts and caps sporting the airport’s new slogan, “FLY SUX.” It also forms the address of the airport’s redesigned Web site – www.flysux.com.

Sioux City officials petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration to change the code in 1988 and 2002. At one point, the FAA offered the city five alternatives – GWU, GYO, GYT, SGV and GAY – but airport trustees turned them down.
[…]

Talk about making lemonade out of lemons…

Heh!

Note: Don’t forget to go back in time (one day, anyhow) to catch Eagle1’s Sinking of the Albermarle Sunday Ship History entry.

Attack on Island Nr 10I can’t find a picture of him, yet two ships have gone to sea for our Navy to honor him: LT John Vincent Johnston:

ohn Vincent Johnston of Cincinnati, Ohio, entered the United States Navy in September 1861 as First Master in gunboat St. Louis. He assisted in the Union gunboat attacks that captured strategic Fort Henry on the Tennessee River 6 February 1862. The night of 1 April 1862 he was the Navy commander of a combined Army-Navy boat expedition from St. Louis, Missouri which landed and spiked the guns of Fort No. 1 above the Confederate stronghold, Island No. 10. He was promoted to Acting Volunteer Lieutenant for gallantry in this expedition. After joining in the bombardments of Vicksburg, Miss., he took command of Forest Rose to patrol the Mississippi River and its tributaries. On 15 February 1864 his gunboat repelled the attack of confederate raiders, saving the town of Waterproof, La., and its federal garrison. Lt. Johnston resigned from the naval service 23 June 1864 and died 23 April 1912 at St. Louis, Mo.

The first ship named in LT Johnston’s honor was DD-557, a unit of the FLETCHER Class. Commissioned in Seattle, WA on Oct 27th, 1943, he commissioning skipper, LCDR Earnest Evans said this:

“This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm’s way, and anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off right now.”

She was. Her lifespan was was one year and two days, but left a mark the most significant battle fought by the US Navy.

Enroute this day with destiny, the USS JOHNSTON (DD-557) got right into the thick of things. From the Ship’s Wikipedia entry:

During the Marshall Islands campaign 3 months later, Johnston bombarded the beaches at Kwajalein 1 February 1944, and made a 5-day bombardment of Eniwetok 17–22 February. She gave direct support to invasion troops there, destroying several pillboxes and taking revetments along the beach under fire. En route to patrol duty in the Solomons 28 March 1944, she bombarded Kapingamarangi Atoll in the Carolines. An observation tower, several blockhouses, pillboxes and dugouts along the beach were shelled. Two days later she came into the mouth of the Maririca River, southeast of Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, Solomon Islands. After laying a heavy barrage into that area, she took up antisubmarine patrol off Bougainville. During this duty 15 May 1944, she depth charged and sank the Japanese submarine I-176.

After 3 months of patrol in the Solomons, Johnston sailed to the Marshall Islands to prepare for the invasion and capture of Guam in the Marianas. On 21 July 1944 she teamed up with that Pearl Harbor “ghost”, the battleship Pennsylvania, to bombard Guam. The destroyer had sent in more than 4,000 rounds of shells by 29 July. Her accurate gunfire shattered the enemy 4 inch battery installations, numerous pillboxes and buildings. Johnston next helped protect escort carriers providing air support for the invasion and capture of the Palau Islands.

Following those operations, USS JOHNSTON prepared to support the landing at Leyte Gulf of Genearl MacArthur.

On Oct 25th, 1944, the USS JOHNSTON (DD-557), as part of the “Taffy 3” task force, would make her indelible mark on history:

For the first 20 minutes, Johnston was helpless as the enemy cruisers and battleships had her in range. But the destroyer’s 5 inch guns could not yet reach them. Not waiting for orders, Commander Ernest E. Evans breaks defensive formation, and goes on the offensive by ordering Johnston to speed directly towards the enemy—first a line of seven destroyers, next one light and three heavy cruisers, then the four battleships. To the east appeared three other cruisers and several destroyers. Amazingly, the enemy gunners could not score a hit on Johnston.

And from the Battle off Samar entry:

Concerned about the splashes of incoming fire, Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans, skipper of the destroyer USS Johnston, which was the closest to the attackers, suddenly took the initiative to order his ship to “flank speed, full left rudder,” ordering Johnston to directly attack the greatly superior oncoming Japanese ships on his own in what would appear to be a suicidal mission.

The Johnston was a relatively small and unarmored destroyer, completely unequipped to fight Japanese battleships and cruisers. Designed to fight other destroyers and torpedo boats, she was armed with only five 5 inch (127 mm) guns and multiple anti-aircraft weapons which were ineffective against an armored battleship. Only the Johnston’s 10 Mark-15 torpedoes could be effective, but they had to be launched well within range of enemy gunfire.

Weaving to avoid shells, and steering towards splashes, the Johnston approached the Japanese heavy cruiser Kumano for a torpedo run. When Johnston was 10 miles (17 km) from Kumano, her 5 inch (127 mm) guns rained shells on Kumano’s bridge and deck (where they could do some damage – the shells would simply bounce off the enemy ship’s armored hull). Johnston closed to within torpedo range and fired a salvo, which blew the bow off the cruiser squadron flagship Kumano and also took the cruiser Suzuya out of the fight as she stopped to assist.

From seven miles (11 km) away, the battleship Kongo sent a 14 inch shell through the Johnston’s deck and engine room. Johnston’s speed was cut in half to only 14 knots (26 km/h), while the aft gun turrets lost all electrical power. Then three 6-inch shells, possibly from Yamato’s secondary batteries, struck Johnston’s bridge, killing many and wounding Comdr. Evans. The bridge was abandoned, and Evans steered the ship from the aft steering column. Evans nursed his ship back towards the fleet, when he saw the other destroyers attacking as well. Emboldened by the Johnston’s attack, Sprague gave the order “small boys attack”, sending the rest of Taffy 3’s destroyers on the assault. Even in her heavily damaged state, damage-control teams restored power to 2 of the 3 aft turrets, and Evans turned the Johnston around and re-entered the fight.

At the end of the morning, the USS JOHNSTON was lost, but the Japanese knew they had had a worthy opponent in LCDR Evans and his crew. The ship received a Presidential Unit Citation and six battle stars in her short time at sea.

The second ship to be named for Lt Johnston was the USS JOHNSTON (DD-821) of the GEARING Class. She was commissioned in Aug, 1946. This USS JOHNSTON served in the Atlantic Fleet, and was strkien from US Navy records in 1981 and finally transferred to the Republic of China’s Navy.

Oct 22, 1797… The modern parachute is born as Andre-Jacques Garnerin makes the 1st human parachute descent from the air. Garnerin jumps from a hydrogen balloon at a height of 2,300 feet in Paris.

Hmmmmm….the development of a safety system for inherently dangerous modes of travel that defy gravity.

Now, just look at how it’s no longer the domain of surplus C-9 28′ canopies modified by a few brave and adventurous souls with hot knifes, but an industry of it’s own.

Heading north (actually NE) on I-275, heading into Tampa late yesterday, I hear a loud roaring and see a brownish smoke plume up ahead on the left. As I got closer, I looked left between the two buildings framing the south end of the St Pete International Airport and see three tail pipes of F-104 Starfighters, in a V-Formation set to roll. The flames from the flight lead’s afterburner still showing.

And me without the tools to make sure you don’t think this is but another “sea story.”

Quicksand film

Serving death and destruction worldwide, too!

NATO general: Iranian military bombs found in Afghanistan.

Gee…whoda thunk it?

Unbelievable…wish he was up for ValOUR-IT instead, but a lot of children who lost parents in the Marines of law enforcement will be the lucky ones…The Democratic “leadership” will fund precisely what they are against

Comment in the Little Green Footballs post on going over $2M…

#84 Kaintuck 10/18/07 10:14:01 pm reply quote report 3

News Flash!

Harry Reid offers withdrawal, defeat and redeployment letter on eBay.

Bidding started and ended at 50 cents, no buyers.

Floowed by:

#113 FlyingTigress 10/18/07 10:19:12 pm reply quote report 1

re: #84 Kaintuck

News Flash!

Harry Reid offers withdrawal, defeat and redeployment letter on eBay.

Bidding started and ended at 50 cents, no buyers.

It’s the fact that he has negative feedback that caused the problem. Consistently lousy product, often misrepresented item description, expensive and slow delivery.

Too in this jewel as a bonus:

#144 song_and_dance_man 10/18/07 10:27:23 pm reply quote report 2

I can see it now. Dan Rather will try to auction his TANG memo.

Too funny!

Update @ 12:54 EDT: Not funny: Harry Reid (D-NV) takes to the floor of the Senate of the United States of America and proclaims credit for raising money to support the children of those who died in battle. Since the MSM/HBM/Dinosaur Media didn’t bother to carry the story in the first place about the abuse of elected official power against a private citizen, directly in contravention with The Constitution of the United States of America, the old media will now report it and hail the magnificant manner in which the Democrats, 41 of them specifically, have done just like their icon, Bill Clinton, helped raise awareness for children in need and ain’t they just great? Merely a prediction, but I’m sure the stories will be released in less than a few minutes, when the auction closes…(in 50 seconds)

Just went back for the link…$2,100,100 right now….it was $2,000,100 just a few minutes ago and there are 5+ hours left…

Snooping around the web drummed up this: What a combat medic figured out:

Why We Serve: Combat Medic Saves Lives Using New Evacuation System
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2007 – A veteran Air Force combat medic helped to transform the way wounded troops are treated and evacuated during a recent deployment to Afghanistan.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mark A. DeCorte is participating in the Defense Department’s “Why We Serve” public-outreach program.  Tech Sgt. Mark A. DeCorte recalled the previous practice when unarmed battlefield medics were flown in to treat and evacuate injured servicemembers usually after an area had been cleared of the enemy.

However, DeCorte emphasized, “When you have a wounded soldier on the ground, they need help now.”
[…]

He took a little lead from previous wars and todays technology, to bring more detailed lifesaving techniques closer to the wounded…in fact, right on the field of combat, and on the way to the first hospital.

[…]
The concept of treating and evacuating injured servicemembers during the din of battle was tested during DeCorte’s tour of duty in Afghanistan from February to June 2006, the 13-year military veteran said.

The Army had requested Air Force assistance to improve its air-ambulance capabilities in Afghanistan’s austere, mountainous terrain, DeCorte explained.

Previous doctrine was to send in medical-evacuation helicopters after the fighting had stopped, he noted, but this practice meant that some troops wouldn’t survive the trip to the hospital. That procedure would change.

In Afghanistan, DeCorte was one of several military medics embedded with aerial combat-support units. Instead of using traditional rotary- or fixed-wing aircraft marked with red crosses, the new wave combat medics carried arms as they flew directly into the maelstrom aboard armored helicopter gunships.

The idea, DeCorte explained, was to treat the wounded as quickly as possible. And, when the concept was tested on the battlefield, it contributed to achieving a previously unimagined wounded-survivability rate of 90 percent, he said.

“We can now go in embedded (with combat units) and part of the operation,” DeCorte said.
[…]

Riding to the rescue in HH-60G armed Pave Hawks:

[…]
A servicemember’s odds of surviving battlefield-inflicted wounds go way up if he or she can be evacuated to a treatment center within an hour of being injured, DeCorte pointed out. In medical parlance that period of time is known as “the golden hour,” he said.

“If I can get you to surgery within an hour you most likely have a chance to survive,” DeCorte said.

The Minot, N.D.-born noncommissioned officer saved 36 lives during his 63 combat sorties in southern Afghanistan. “It’s very bad in that area,” DeCorte observed, adding that two of his fellow combat medics on other air-evacuation flights saved another 102 lives between them.
[…]

BZ, Tech Sgt Decorte!

Former Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staff, AMD William Crowe died today.

A 1947 Naval Academy graduate and a submariner, Crowe served as an assistant to President Eisenhower’s naval aide, as executive officer of the Tang-class diesel/electric submarine Wahoo, captain of another Tang-class boat, the Trout, and then a string of other command and staff assignments, culminating with his appointment in 1980 to be commander in chief of allied forces in Southern Europe and his appointment in 1983 to be commander in chief of U.S. Pacific Command.

President Reagan tapped him to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1985, a position in which he served until 1989. During his tenure Congress passed the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, a sweeping measure that unified many aspects of a then-disconnected military and formally made Crowe, as Joint Chiefs chairman, the senior-most U.S. military officer.
[…]

He later served as our Ambassador to England, as well. The funeral will be held Oct 31st at the Naval Academy.