Weasel Keeper

Hovercontrol just released new models to go with the previous two. They now have a Marine CH-53 and a Pavelow. Sweet (free!) helos! :D

Cool thanks! I'm really liking the -53s because they seem more stable to fly...and so far they're the only one's I can land safely (most of the time).

General hockey talk...so not to derail the other thread anymore... Fates, I wouldn't bee too fast to count out the Ice. Last I heard they were trying to get in the UHL so they could once again be rivals of the Ft Wayne Komets. :) Little trivia even though you don't appreciate hockey...Do you know where Wayne Gretzky got his feet wet in the pros? He played for the Indianapolis Racers before he made it to the NHL. His brother (Brent) played for Ft Wayne a couple years ago. You definately have to watch some games and learn the rules and how to play to really appreciate hockey. There's a lot more to it than the average (non hockey following) person may realize. There is a lot of scoring in arena football, but in hockey you actually hold your breathe at times to see a play work out and a team scores. It's hard to explain without watching the games, but the biggest complaint I hear from people who don't "like" hockey is just because they didn't spend the time to learn about it and watch it. Non hockey people who I've taken to games and explained the rules, penalties, etc have become huge fans of the game. Come on up here next season Fates, I'll take you to a game and learn you some stuff. :)

Agree with most of Snapple's predictions, but not sure about Sharks taking the Blues (they might...close ugly games)... but no way are the Stars going to take my Avs...lol! Pulling big time for the Preds! Still worried about the Wings because there's just too much money...errrrr....talent involved, but could be a shocker. Also suddenly this year pulling for the Flyers. Who makes up the top scoring line for the Flyers...Roenick, Amonte, Zhamnov....wait, weren't these three guys in my favorite team the Blackhawks??? ;) Blackhawk management totally blows, but the Blackhawk vets are kicking butt. Go Philly Flyhawks!....errrrrr...... Possible final...Avs vs Flyers.......damn, who do I go for? ;)

Luckily I have the DVD set and have seen the series about 4 times. There's just way too much NHL hockey on right now try to watch anything else! Man I love the playoffs! :D You are right though, Band of Brothers makes you feel as if you really know these guys. Very well done.

First real job was a grill cook and prep guy (burgers, pizzas, nachos, salads, etc) at a little hometown drive in restaurant while in high school. Left that for "more money" to be a dishwasher at a classy steak restaurant. I was making up to $3.50 an hour! Did that for a year before and after I graduated high school in '85. Beginning of '86 I joined the US Air Force and became a Tactical Aircraft Maintenance Specialist. Worked as a Phase Inspection Technician and then a flightline Crew Chief on the mighty F-4E/G Wild Weasel in sunny Southern California. '90 I seperated the USAF and after a couple months I went to work at Edys Grand Ice Cream (it's Dreyers Grand on the west coast...same company). I made the ice cream containers on a press for about a year, and then for the next three years I worked shipping and recieving/forklift/warehouse in the -20f freezer. Great benefits...free ice cream! :D Had a lil trouble trying to help organize a union and got fired after 4 years with about 15-20 other people. During this time I went into the Indiana Air National Guard part time and was a Crew Chief on F-4Es and then F-16C/Ds from 90-94. '94 went to work in a foodservice distributer warehouse. Over the 5 years there we were Monarch Foodservice, JP Foodservice, and then US Foodservice. I had to palletize orders for restaurant delivery...daily handling about 40,000 lbs of food by hand. After numerous back strains, a broken toe, and finally two hernias that needed surgery, I quit in '99. Worked at a meat packing company as a driver delivering meat to restaurants within a 120 mile radius for awhile. Only stayed there for about 9 months until they closed. Next I drove a delivery truck again, this time for a vending machine company. I had to fill your favorite snack/soda/sandwich machines. This wasn't for me either so I bailed after a few months. Went to work for a hotel as a maintenance guy for a year until they layed me off. Went to another foodservice distribution warehouse as a forklift driver for about 6 months until they decided we were going to have to do more hand picking. My repaired hernias started acting up with the physical labor stuff so I left. Got in at Chautauqua Airlines in the parts room at their maintenance base in Ft Wayne in '01. Chautauqua moved out and their new sister airline (Shuttle America) moved in and set up headquarters here. I worked in the parts room for a year, and finally was allowed to become a maintenance apprentice. Finally got my A&P license last month and now a full blown FAA licensed aircraft maintenance technician (which means I'm finally getting paid what I'm worth for doing the same job I was doing as an apprentice for a year). I think I'll stick to this job for awile. ;)

I agree! I also read the book before I saw the movie and it goes into a lot more detail.

So is this! :P

I'm still planning on seeing this after I saw the original ('78 version) in my youth. Who'da thunk they'd have an all star cast in such a cult favorite!? :) Looks pretty sweet!

Found out about a 1 day sale at Amazon last weekend and I jumped all over it! I picked up FS2004 for $29.00 with a $20.00 rebate and free shipping. On top of the $10.00 upgrade rebate included in the box for having 2002 Pro...M$ owes me a penny! :D Before I could tell everyone about it, the sale was over the very next morning. Funny thing, they have free shipping for anything over $25 but said it would take longer to receive the package...and you could pay shipping to get it quicker. I sent out my order Friday night (for free shipping, I could wait) and it came in the mail Monday afternoon. Doh! This sim is great! Although the real weather lately has been sucky (lots of fog around here), the scenery is outstanding and the planes are awesome so far. I've only been flying it a couple times (trying out a few of the new planes) but I love the DC-3.

What's the normal type flying situation in the servers? Do you guys do airline/cargo stuff, or just fun kicking around the skies stuff? I suppose I could go either way, but fun is more my speed. *If I can figure out these controls* :)

I bit my tongue on the original topic since I still use AOL chat at times, but you said it best. Thanks Skater. Better you to close it than me be scorned for punking out a punk....hehe. <S>

Ummmmm.....no anti torque (rudder) pedals? Way too much weight for a Kiowa? (6 bodies in a 2 person machine) (just a guess, I don't know the capacity) No cyclic controller? No safety harnesses for dudes outside? Right seater's foot stuck through the floor. Pilot isn't in flight gear...same as soldiers. Should have flight helmet with comms and flight suit? Along the same lines, shouldn't the right seater be a co pilot? I think he wants out in the "heat". Water is brown...or is that a mirage? :)

Rgrt! I already own FS2K, 2002 Pro, and now 2004...and got hooked on FS98 on an uncle's computer way back in the day. ;) I've wanted to get 2004 since it came out but couldn't see paying $54 + for it and have seen a lot of sweet add ons. Now if I only had the patience to fly that Wright Flyer long enough to gain some altitude. I flew it for about three minutes but could only manage about 20ft altitude and had to squeek over the houses...hehe. I'll probably mess around with it for a little while before adding anything on for now since I'm still in awe of what's already included and want to try them all. :) BTW, are folks still flying at the BioHaz server on any set dates?

That's the reason TK limited the screenshot time for SFP1. :D

94 Jeep Cherokee Sport with about 160,000 miles on it. I like her so much I put a new engine it it about two years ago. The 4X4 has gotten me out of and threw some nasty weather and snow plenty of times, plus she cleans up nice in the summer. I think I'll keep it for another 10 years or so. :) Just bought a 95 Firebird a couple months ago and it's got over 100k miles also. Runs like a dream and can move out pretty well even if it is just a 6 banger. Sucks in the snow though...hehe. For a "dream car", I've always wanted a MGB convertable but every time I go looking for one it's either junk or the seller wants way too much. Wouldn't mind having a nice Jeep Wrangler either. Navychief, I used to love tooling around in the Mule my AF squadron had even if it was just to run down to supply for aircraft parts. I won't go into any detail of drinking lots of beer at the hangar after work one night and my good luck of no SPs around while having fun with it. ;) (They can push dumpsters around pretty well)

Fates, where those the same guys in USAF who flew A-10s with vectoring thrust or F-22s with a 30mm cannon? ;) One thing I could always say about flying USAF is that most of the hacks out there made me better skilled and there were plenty of times I'd go up against the known hacks just to piss them off...hehe.

Cheating's bad mmm'kayyy. If they pulled that many CD keys for people who are cheating, I wonder how many accounts there are that are trying to be serious about their gaming experience. Maybe in my lifetime I'll be able to see a game I can play online on a public server that I won't have to worry about people taking advantage of code or just flat out cheating. It gets old working hard for weeks or months to be good at a sim or game through just skill...only to have my butt kicked by some punk who thinks it's more fun to win at any cost without skill.

From Newsmax.com:

Dam Fates! I can only imagine how you were feeling...although with the way you told the story I could imagine it pretty well...WHEW! So the FO's windscreen did blow out? That glass is pretty thick, and along with the windspeed and depressurization must have made for one hell of a ride for them. Glad everyone made it safe! <S> :ph34r:

Wow, I haven't paid less that $4.00 since the early 70s when I was a kid! Mine just upped his price to $13.00...and I only have my hair in a short flat top.

Stay tuned...within the next two to three years the Society of Wild Weasels as a group will be trying to put out a five series set of books dealing with the Wild Weasels. The call has been sent out to all in the group to submit factual stories that will be edited into one of the five categories from the earliest days of the F-100F through the current F-16CJ crews. The last in the series will be personal recollections of interesting, funny, or "I was there" stories from the Pilots, EWOs, and Weasel Keepers. Tom "Bear" Wilson (WW F-105G EWO) will be doing most of the editing and leg work since he has a number of books out already. Tom Wilson's books: (F-105 semi fiction) Termite Hill Lucky's Bridge Tango Uniform ("Clancy" type fiction) Black Canyon Desert Fury Final Thunder Black Wolf Black Sky *Searching on Amazon, he's not the "Ziggy" author. ;) *

Oops, sorry Bernard for not getting back sooner. I sent an email out to the Weasel Net (for the Society of Wild Weasels) to get better answers for your questions. I'll post their replies here when they come. :)

After alarming amounts of F-4C losses to SAMs in Viet Nam, the top secret Wild Weasel mission was designed. Originally, the F-100Fs would fly staggered...the lead pilot would have to attract a SAM, and the trailing guy would go in and destroy the site after the launch. This is what lead to all but a few F-100s being shot down, and the need for the F-105F and later the F-105G (updated threat detection). When originally told the nature of the top secret missions, a Weasel EWO said, and took this as their motto... You Gotta Be Sh'ttin Me! http://wildweasels.org/ I'm member #2485. :) (Crew Chief, not Aircrew) http://www.wildweasel.net/Takhli/takhli_rtafb.htm Site with true accounts and pictures of Wild Weasels during Viet Nam by Robert W King, a Wild Weasel "Bear" (F-105 EWO). http://mysite.verizon.net/t.gummo/id1.html Tom Gummo's site. He was an F-4G pilot...and I think he was one of the guys in that piece done on Mail Call.

TK has posted two new patches on the Thirdwire site. One patches Spanish versions to SP2. The other is a "Hot Fix" patch for folks who had troubles flying at Gamespy. http://thirdwire.com/ :)