Well, no pictures of RC airplanes lately... not for awhile either. So, I'll just keep loading you all up with pics from over here.

Today, the clouds were fairly low. looked a litte rough, but good enough to go (legal anyway). Well, a few miles out, it started raining. No big deal. Then the hail hit. Lemme tell ya, at 140 MPH, hail that is just slightly larger than "pea size" will wake you up quick! It only lasted a minute or two though. Our crew chiefs got pelted pretty good before they could get "protected" while manning the door guns.

But, as usual, alls well that ends well. Short day though, only logged 2.2

Enjoy the pics guys/gals.

Laine.

LOVE the new pics! It is about time we got some of you! Loo Hoo will love the cat! And ask for you to bring it home. LOL

We all love and miss you! Stay safe over there!

Your welcome dear. And tell my little girl, heck no I aint bringin no dang old cat home!!! Stupid cats. Plus, Hemi the Super Dog would eat it! Cant have that now can we?

So is it easier to fly the full size than a model helicopter? What did you train on?

That is very cool!!
What are primary concerns with hail?

I dont know which is easier... I think a RC heli is probably harder to fly, but, with the real thing, its all the other stuff too. Thats what makes it difficult. Multi tasking to the max. My first RC heli was a Lite Machines LMH 117 a few years ago. My first real helicopter flight was in a Bell 206 Jet Ranger. Man those little things are fun.

Primary concern for hail.... bigger hail! And blade icing, inlet ice, etc... But, it sure gets your attention when it hits at first!

Laine.

Laine,
Love the new pics. And a hearty congrats on the March 2008 page 28 Pilot Projects of Model Airplane News for your scratch built giant. Albeit I think you're nuts for building those. You modest little devil...LOL

I sure as heck love seein the pics from over there. I'm still askin for pics of the crew(s) & support personel tho. Off times & relaxin, you know, the stupid stuff nobody 'should see' but does. IE: Quarters-food-general conditions-etc.

BTW, where are you guys servicing the birds?

Dan

The pics are always interesting, Laine. I second the request for some "boring" pics of how yall's life is over there, "behind the scenes" so to speak.

Thanks for posting and again, thanks for being there. I am a firm believer of "over there or at home" we have to deal with them somewhere.

My daughter includes in her prayers "help all of our American soldiers chasing the bad guys." She is 5 and has had a few soldiers speak at her school and her teacher's son is on his 2nd Iraq tour. She related to what they said so well for a child her age it chokes me up sometimes. She asks "What do their kids do when daddy or mommy is gone away fighting?" I really have to be careful about letting her watch the news because she really gets upset if they mention any casualties... Her career goal (now at change number 549) is now to be a nurse so she can help soldiers.

I am proud and amazed at how well she "gets it" at her age... She "sushes" the other kids during the Pledge and national Anthem at school...

All that just to say again, thank you.

So anyway, no luck getting permission to fly (RC) anywhere at all?

Stay safe, Man!

Well, guys, the problem is, we really dont have any down time yet to speak of. If we are not flying, we are planning, if we are doing those, we are doing our other assigned stuff. When thats all done, you grab chow, hit the shower, chat with the wife/kids for a few, send an email or two and its off to bed to get ready for the next day.

Every 14th day, we get a "reset day" or a "day off". That is the day we do stuff like, sleep a little late, get a hair cut, handle laundry, hit the PX for a few minutes and stuff like that. I usually end up building some stuff for my room. I brought some tools with, so at least I can still build stuff.

I will get some pictures of our "houses" soon for ya and maybe a couple at the office too. The newest "game" at work is printing out "Official DA Photos" of eachother. Only the picture is usually a dogs butt with the guys name below it or similar. So, even when we are busy, we have a good time. We sure do have a bunch of great guys here.

As for a flying area, well, still kinda iffy. I have found a spot, just havent had time to work on getting permission. Maybe when the days get longer I'll have some daylight to work with when the missions are done. Im sure that I would be able to get away with a small parkflyer, maybe a Super Fly or something similar with no problem. There are a couple guys flying T Rex helis over here now. Its easy to get away with flying a heli... less space. I would love to get one, just cant swing the cash for it right now. Heck, I have a DX7 just sitting there at home collecting dust in a case.

As for where do we work on the birds, mostly on the flight line. We do have a "clam shell" temperary hanger out there too for "phase maint" and stuff.

WarrrEagle, you have a winner on your hands with that little girl man. What a great kid! My 6 year old son told mommy the other day that he wants to come over here and live in Afghanistan with daddy. He also said he wants to bring his Red Ryder BB gun so he can shoot the bad guys for me while Im flying. What a hoot that boy is! Man I miss my rug rats.

Catch ya later guys.

Laine.

My 6 year old son told mommy the other day that he wants to come over here and live in Afghanistan with daddy. He also said he wants to bring his Red Ryder BB gun so he can shoot the bad guys for me while Im flying. What a hoot that boy is!

Thank goodness there are some scrappy "real" boys being raised out there! All of the PC crap is giving us a generation of pansies!

My son just turned two and my wife had to convince me that he can get a Chipmunk .22 LATER!

Stay safe, Laine!

Oh yeah, Kameron is the epitomy of the word scrappy. The boy is all boy for sure.

Im with ya on the .22. She wont let me get one for him yet either.

Laine.

Laine,
Thanks for the pictures. Nice to see your face up close.

I don't like hail at all. Mostly that means really bad weather here, so I no idea what it means over there.

Glad to see that your safe for now, keep those pictures coming.

Yes, we got way too much PC junk going on here. Like who will leave fastest.

Is there any way people could send you stuff to fly, or is that a no no?

Conehead
Orrin Eldred
Honor, MI.

Thanks Orrin. The hail was interresting. It was kinda odd, since there were showers in the area but no thunderstorms in the forcast. Luckily it was small. According to the crew chiefs, even small hail stings pretty good at that speed!

As far as sending stuff to fly, it would probably be ok, since I do know of an area that they will probably let me use. The issue is just finding the time lately to run around and get the proper permission. Helicopters we should be able to get away with pretty easily. As I said, there are a few guys flyin T Rex's now. I think we will have to stick to 2.4gz though. Otherwise all the radio stuff (jammers ect) may cause a problem.

Laine.

Loved reading your post. Thanks for all you are doing over there. Take care...dirty side down! Come home safe!

Grover
(C Troop, 1/9th Cav, First Air Cav, cobra gunship pilot, Nam 69-70)

Originally Posted by NorCalPilot

Loved reading your post. Thanks for all you are doing over there. Take care...dirty side down! Come home safe!

Grover
(C Troop, 1/9th Cav, First Air Cav, cobra gunship pilot, Nam 69-70)

A big THANK YOU! to you and your family for all you did! Glad you made it home safe Grover!

Kristy, someone who loves Vets!