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[OM] Re: leaking planes Re: Way OT: '70's Aircraft Reverie (Long)

Subject: [OM] Re: leaking planes Re: Way OT: '70's Aircraft Reverie (Long)
From: Tmoynihan@xxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 20:18:25 EDT
Greg wrote:

"I remember going by the air base and seeing all the SAC bombers lined up."

In the early '70's, I always looked forward to going to Boy Scout summer 
camp, not least of all because we would drive by Norton AFB (must have been a 
MAC base?) heading up into the San Bernardino mountains east of Los Angeles 
(Siddiq will know right where this is), at the near-height of the Vietnam 
conflict.  I don't believe we ever passed by without seeing at least one C-5 
lumbering around, usually on short final as they did touch-and-goes in their 
pattern work.  I don't know if these pilots were Vietnam-bound or just 
reservists out for the weekend.

Although I did not realize it at the time, military aviation buffs had it 
very good in the L.A. basin in those years.  El Toro M.C.A.S. in south Orange 
County featured, in part, F-4/RF-4's and A-4's (this base, which I believe 
hosted P-38's in WWII, closed 7/3/99.  I understand it may be converted to an 
international airport depending on how the politics work out).  Tustin 
M.C.A.S. in central Orange County had CH-53's, a few of which could be heard 
thump-thumping around several times a week (this station has also been 
closed--it began as a blimp station in the '30's (?) and had two HUGE hangers 
which made the Jolly Green Giants look small, but I understand they are 
trying to get a highway or toll road built right through, or more likely on, 
the soon-to-be late site of one of these marvelous wooden (!) hangers).  
Lastly, the Los Alamitos (reserve?) base in northeast Orange County launched 
Hueys, of which lines of 4 or 5 at a time were frequently seen 
whop-whop-whop-WHOP-WHOP-WHOP-whopping to or from the station.

Again in Scouts, was once hiking in the San Bern mountains, climbing Mt. 
Anderson I think, when an A-4 came screaming by on a low-level, just out of 
nowhere!  Only pass better than that was the head-on view of an A-10 in the 
mid-eighties, as he "strafed" my vehicle (I was traveling south from Wells, 
NV or Ely, or might have been somewhat south of Ely.)  Startled the hell out 
of me to suddenly be staring into the muzzle of a 30mm Gatling cannon, and to 
see him whine by overhead an instant later.  He was . . . low.  (Mandatory OM 
content:  Although I had my original OM-2 w/ 50/1.4 in the car at the time, I 
didn't get off a single shot, partly because I was trying to calm down the 
driver (who nearly drove off the road), partly because I was hooting in 
excitement, and partly because I was trying to climb out the window to track 
the A-10 and his buddy, all at the same time!)

I know I'm showing my age when I say that I didn't realize then how good I 
had it back then.  Of course at that age, I wasn't paying the taxes for the 
bloated military budget!  (But I expect there were still plenty of military 
pipers to pay by the time I started working, in the Carter years.)

I'm with you, Siddiq--It'd be great just once to hear one of the SR-71's 
roaring by  with full A/B going (wish I'd been at Oshkosh that year.)

Regards,

Tom Moynihan
Dallas, TX

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