navychief

Well, I am not sure who still carries the sim new. I just checked Ebay, and there are two copies presently listed. navychief

Well, even if carrier landings are not possible in SFP1, then I would still like to see about creating a Navy airwing. Needs to happen! Navychief

'Tis beautiful, Dagger, simply beautiful. Good work, as always! Navy Chief

The USS Ronald Reagan just had its first trap. The Reagan is that much closer to finishing quals. I am sure Ronnie himself would be proud. Navychief Go Navair!

Yes, the deck looks mighty clean right now, but in a few days they will have to start scrubbing it. Oh, does THAT bring back some bad memories! Scrubex time! Whooeee....sucks to be them, eh? We all had to pay our dues, though. You swabbies out there may recall being told to go catch the seabat. Nasty little creature, they are! Heheh.... Navychief P.S. That went along with being the FNG and being assigned the Mail Buoy Watch. Also, being told to get the Padeye Stretcher, and some Relative Bearing Grease, hehehe!

I echo Schizo66's sentiments towards this site, in that I am so happy for the opportunity to "relive" so many happy memories of my days working on and around military aircraft; specifically, the A-7 Corsair. I had the fortunate experience of working on so many other Navy aircraft, but most of my time as a wrench-turner was with the SLUF. One can't spend nine years assigned to tailhook squadrons, and not have a lot of great memories to share, and stories to tell. It is this site that lets me do this. I live in North Georgia, and there isn't a lot of ex-Navy up here, let alone "airdale" types. From the first time I found this site, I knew it was going to give me the opportunity to reminisce about the best time in my life. Thanks, MJ, for providing a place for me to tell my "sea stories". Hopefully, I haven't bored too many people with them so far. But this forum is something I truly enjoy reading every day, several times a day! And to all the modders, I salute you! Thanks for allowing me to fantasize what it was like to really fly these warbirds. Ain't technology great? Ha! We sure have come a long way from the days of Atari, eh? Hey Schizo, it's time for Flight Quarters. Helmets on, Goggles on, sleeves down, etc..... and all unecessary personnel leave the flight deck NOW! Go Navair! Navychief

When I was at NAS Whidbey Island, my LPO for my last year and a half was an AT2 named Fran McHale. He was, without a doubt, the finest natural born leader that I had ever had the pleasure of serving with. He assisted me greatly in supervising my Line Division, and made my last few months in the Navy a breeze! Fran has since made First Class Petty Officer, and is presently awaiting word on the results of the current Chief Petty Officer Selection Board. I promised him many years ago that when, not if, he ever made CPO, that I would travel to wherever he was stationed, and attend his initiation. Well, he will get the results by the first week of August, and if his name is on the list, then I will be trying to get a hop to Hawaii. One way or the other, I hope I can be there for his all-important day, if he makes it. He gave 100 % effort for me, and it is the least I could do. Fran emailed me pictures from his recent reenlistment, held at the USS Arizona memorial. Navychief

Perhaps it is just me, but I cannot access the download section today. Repeated attempts, but still get the dreaded "cannot find server" screen. Chief

Thanks, MJ All seems to be working now. Btw, did you get my recent email about "totalwarefare.com"? Chief

The movies that he made with Bing Crosby were classics. The "Road" pictures, as they were known, were great. My favorite was the Road to Morocco. Another great movie, in my opinion, was called, "The Ghost Breakers". Bob Hope's costar in the movie was Paulette Goddard. It is an outstandingly funny movie. In fact, I just ordered a used DVD copy of it on Ebay Half.Com. Bob Hope was a natural comedian, to be sure. I put him in the same category as Red Skelton; another great man. Navychief

Oh yeah, Crusaders and Corsairs rule! Heh, heh. You know, there were times when I worked on the A-7 that I did NOT like them at all. But strange how we tend to remember the good things, eh? Anyway, I always wondered what it would be like to actually "drive" one, and this sim will be the closest I will get to it! I only had a short time to work on Crusaders at Pax River. Quite an interesting aircraft, to be sure. I do recall one thing about them, and that was the ejection seat. Major pain in the butt to remove. Had two trunion bolts with very little clearance between them and the cockpit walls. It was impossible to keep from busting a knuckle when removing them. And the torque on them was a lot, so the task was not easy. I had a supervisor that would literally throw tools when he learned that a Crusader seat was due for inspection. Navychief

I echo those sentiments completely. Without the hard work of the modders, this sim would have undoubtedly been placed by the wayside a long time ago. The modders have not only kept SFP1 alive, they have made it something to be proud of, and I am constantly amazed their dedication to improving it beyond anyone's expectations. Thank you, thank you so very much. Go Navair! Peter C. Ward Chief Petty Officer, USN, Retired

Great pictures, thanks! Did you take them? Navychief GO NAVAIR!

Damn good tailhook, I would say! Navychief

These pictures were taken inside the CPO club at Cecil. They are gutting the building. It was strange to walk inside and see its condition, as I remember how it once looked before now. Chief Ward

Thanks for your efforts. I have the same roll inertia difficulties when flying the Skyhawk also. Chief

I visited the former location of NAS Cecil Field, FL this past weekend. The base was closed due to BRAC in 1998. So sad. This once great and powerful Master Jet Base is all but a shell of its previous glory. I was stationed at NAS Cecil Field for 9 years, from 1981 to 1990, with three different squadrons. I drove around the base, taking pictures of buildings that are either in total disrepair, or are being torn down. The hangars appear to be in good condition, however, and some are actually being used for rework of aircraft. The Chief Petty Officer club is being gutted. It was there that I went through initiation, and attended many wonderful events. It saddened me to see the condition it is in. Progress has its purpose, but it is never easy to see the destruction of things and places that meant so much in my life. To top things off, I learned that the first supervisor I had in the Navy at Pax River, MD passed away 1 1/2 years ago. AMEC(AW) Ward, USN Retired

It sorta makes sense that the word was coined by sailors... In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship. It was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common. It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet. But once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern: BOOOOM! Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening. After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship High In Transit" on them which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so ! that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane. Thus evolved the term "S.H.I.T," which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day. You probably did not know the true history of this word. Neither did I. I always thought it was a golf term.

Here are three more pictures taken at what used to be NAS Cecil Field, FL. The base is being used by civilians for aircraft rework, and I believe that FEDEX does have some sort of operation there. It was strange to see not only entire buildings torn down, but existing ones being used by civilians. Gone are the days of squadrons flying in and out of Cecil, and the familiar sight of white-hatted sailors walking all over the base. Change isn't all good, y'know. Chief

"The Man From LOX" was a training film that the Navy used for anyone who worked with or around liquid oxygen. The film was fairly short, but was quite funny because of the characters in it. The movie features some airman towing a liquid oxygen cart to get it filled. On the way, he gets distracted by several people, including a bikini-clad girl who attempts to get the airman to go have some fun. He keeps repeating that he can't because his supervisor would have his a.s.s. During the original release of the film, it showed a woman taking off her bra from under her shirt, and placing it in a drip pan filled with LOX. The purpose was to show how quickly something would burn, if saturated with LOX. At the end of the film, it shows the young airman pulling up to the LOX plant, and the supervisor comes up, takes off HER hat, and says, "Sailor, I am going to have your a.s.s.! Well, the Political Correctness crowd got wind of this film and made them edit out the bra-burning, and all references to "having someone's a.s.s." Of course, this ruined the film totally. At the conclusion of the film, it shows a brief scene from a hospital of someone who was burned terribly from a LOX explosion. All in all, the original film was definitely a great training device. I found a place on the net who actually has this movie. It is at: http://www.militaryvideo.com/store/store.cfm The video is called: "Not SOP" The "Man From LOX" is one of the films on the tape, and I was assured that it is the original version. Cost is about $25. Navychief

I forgot to mention that if anyone goes to the site, the film "Not SOP" is not listed in their inventory. I called them on the phone, and found out they had it when I asked about "The Man From LOX" Chief

Hi Monty I have sent out a couple emails to guys who were in the Heavy community. One in particular is heading up a resoration project on a Viggie down at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. Perhaps he can furnish me with some decent pictures. And perhaps there will be some spoiler pics. Chief

I found this good picture of the aft end of a Viggie. Chief

If I try to download from the home page listings, then it works ok; but I am not able to download from the actual download listings for SF. Chief

Works fine now. Just another ghost in the machine, eh? I was hoping that the new A-4 skins were ready for download, but alas, not yet. Chief