I can remember like it was yesterday the first time I climbed on top of a Tomcat to preflight my first flight in the jet (VF-124, Miramar, 1990). I had just passed my final FAM (familiarization) simulator where the instructor is another pilot who signs off on me being able to fly the jet and THEN has to put his money where his mouth is and ride in the back seat. Bear in mind there was never a "T" (trainer) model of the Tomcat. Two seats, one stick, so the GIB (Guy in Back) has no way to control the airplane. Some instructors were VERY reluctant to do these "trunk rides", one guy to the point that during your final check simulator he'd give you an unrecoverable emergency on takeoff (split flap one way, stuck spoilers on the other side) and you'd simulated "augur in " just past the runway, he'd give you a "pink sheet" (a downing flight/bad grades). Naturally, I got that guy. So "Jethro" did the above to me and I was pretty upset since my performance had been really good up until that point. And this was a big deal; two "pinks" and you were gone. So I go back to the squadron to tell the Ops O ("Flex") to give him my pink sheet, ready to get savaged. I walk into Ops and get his attention, handing him the pink sheet (it was the pink page of a carbon copy stack, so actually pink). He looks at it, sees it's signed by "Jethro", crumples it up and throws it in the shit can saying ("Ffffff.........Jethro."). I was rescheduled for the next day with "Stainless", passed the check simulator and was on the schedule the next day for my first flight. Nervous as hell but ready, the big idea for this flight is to man the jet up, get it started, get through all the post start checks (a legendarily daunting task....takes an hour your first time), get the beast airborne, do some maneuvers, come back for some touch and goes, and in general just don't fuck it up. Good plan. So Stainless and I climb on top of the jet (for my first time) and says "This is why it's called the flying tennis court." The view was spectacular! This thing was HUGE compared to my last jet (T-A4J Skyhawk; length 40 feet, wingspan 27 feet and a wing area of 260 square feet). The Tomcat is 62 feet long, a max spread wingspan of 64 feet, and a wing area of 565 feet (in addition to the massive fuselage). A veritable MONSTER in comparison. We'd learn a little later in the RAG how formidable that little A-4 could be in the hands of those (f**king) bogey drivers! And little did I know at the time, but I'd eventually be a RAG instructor myself, doing the very same "trunk rides". They were actually kind of fun, really. You got a chance to play with all that RIO shit, and the young pilots generally knew what they were doing by that point. And anyway, if it all went to shit I could always pull the "give-it-back-to-the-taxpayer handle". I really valued my opportunity to show a young pilot his or her first view of "the flying tennis court." #TomcatTuesday

I am indeed a luxury item. Intrepid handyman that can fix most things. And my boys (25-29) are taking it up. Minor plumbing and electrical is within their abilities now. #ProudDad

Thats actually meant for @RSE_VB ……

Bag A nearly complete but wanted to show this part. Currently working on the stern section, 1st pic shows the engine room. Second shows the addition of what I assume is the well deck. So far, fitment is outstanding. Really solid build you can pretty much pick up and manhandle if you need to apply pressure for larger plates. #BuildingTheWasp

One of my favorite Steve Martin bits: “œuf means egg. Chapot means hat. It’s like those French have a different word for EVERYTHING!”

Let’s go ODU Monarchs! Not sure why we have season tickets seats when we spend the whole game in the Blue Room VIP.

🤣🤣

Daaaaaaammmnnn!

Not surprisingly, several Fighter dudes Navy Expeditionary Combat Command(NECC) because driving a boat is Black Shoe sh*t but higher speed maneuvering tactics are very Fighter-esque. Certainly only two dimensional but very similar in multi craft maneuvering.

If you don’t buy one, you’re gay or a Hornet driver…..oh wait, that’s redundant.

If we could snap our finger and make all this happen, I’d bet our budget would be at a surplus.

The Navy version of this is when we abandoned small boat riverine warfare/tactics after Vietnam. When we needed it in Iraq, we had to collect the crusty Vietnam Vets to rewrite the book. Same goes for the Army Gun Truck concept from Vietnam.

Or “intermittent fasting.” It’s called “skipping breakfast” and I’ve been doing it for 40 years.

Question of the ages right there. Many years ago in the Navy, the “big table” at an important meeting had all the warfare qualified operators sitting around it. The “back chair” crowd (in chairs along the walls) were filled with the supporting components. Legal, Admin, Budget, PAO, etc. all sat back and took notes and answered questions if asked. Speak when spoken to, unless they had something really important to add. 30 years ago for some reason, all those back-chair nerds moved to the head table and would opine vigorously on the matter at hand. That was the beginning of the slide to where we are now. Sure, their specific expertise is part of the whole, but now they drive the conversation. Much to the detriment of operational primacy. In my shore forces world as an illustration, the firefighters want to kick in a door to save lives, but the budget nerds need to figure out how to pay for the door before they kick it in.

It begins. Bag A locked and loaded. 13 sub-bags loaded into 7 bins (one bag with same-same parts to the side). Tools at the ready. And…..GO!

USS Wasp un-boxing. Gulp!

Good night, everybody!

“Thank you for your cervix” wins the internet today.