Ask Michael K!

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

Do you always have to be PC?

Personal Computer?
Politically Correct?
Piece?     
Professional Corporation?
Personal Care?
Phone Call?
Press Conference?
Postal Code?
Polycarbonate?
Printed Circuit?
Primary Care?
Prostate Cancer?

The only one of those terms that have the abbreviation/acronym "PC" that can be applied to something that I am, is Prostate Cancer because people tell me I'm a pain in the . . . .

[MelodyB]

Politically Correct



That was my point... LOL

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

Politically Correct



That was my point... LOL

I am very rarely accused of being politically correct.

politically correct 
adj.   Abbr. PC
   1. Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.
   2. Being or perceived as being overconcerned with such change, often to the exclusion of other matters.

[Scott]

What is your favorite Aircraft?

What was your favorite duty station?

What was your least favorite duty station?

What is the easiest thing about your job?

What is the hardest thing about your job?

What was the hardest thing you had to do as a Military man?

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

What is your favorite Aircraft?

That would be a toss-up between the SR-71 Blackbird and the A-10 Warthog.

What was your favorite duty station?

Unit: 65th Communications Squadron, Lajes Field, Azores
Location:  Eielson AFB, Alaska

What was your least favorite duty station?

Unit: 1st Combat Communications Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Location: Jacobabad, Pakistan (temporary duty location)

What is the easiest thing about your job?

Manging the computer networks

What is the hardest thing about your job?

Managing people

What was the hardest thing you had to do as a Military man?

Physically:  Set up communications from the ground up with no infrastructure to start with in a combat zone.  We had to start from scratch and had full communications up and running within 72 hours; to include classified and unclassified computer networks (and everything that goes with a network), secure and unsecure telephones, SatCom, secure and unsecure radio, etc. all while carrying around an M-16 and chem gear and erecting our operations and sleep tents.  After about 3.5 days of non-stop manual labor I was finally ordered to get some sleep.
Emotionally:  Initiating the process, as much as I could from my level, to get one of my troops kicked out of the AF with a dishonorable discharge.  I definitely didn't want this person in my AF, but it just about killed me knowing how I was adversely affecting his life and the lives of his wife and children.

[Scott]

That would be a toss-up between the SR-71 Blackbird and the A-10 Warthog.

I saw the SR-71 a the SAC museum a few years ago and a buddy of mine used to repair A-10's he has told me so much about them that I have come to like them.

[Sister_Mom]

I don't know very much about the Blackbirds, but ever since you told me about the A-10s and my son has told me even more and I was able to see a couple of them coming in for a landing right over my car at Pope, I've been fascinated with them. 

What types of military aircraft have you flown in? And out of the ones you have flown in, which was your favorite and why?

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

The SR-71 Blackbird is the fasted (reported) aircraft made.  It flew so high that the pilots earned their astronaut wings.  It flew so fast that the friction from the air it moved through would heat the plane up.  The pilots would heat their lunch by holding it against the cockpit canopy.  They could only fuel the plane up just enough to get it off the ground because gaps in the body panels had gaps between them and the fuel would leak out onto the runway.  Once the plane was in the air, it would be fueled in flight, and once it started getting up to speed, the friction would heat the panels up to the point that they would expand and seal the gaps.  The Blackbird is purely a reconnaissance aircraft.  It can survey more than 100,000 square miles of the Earth's surface in one hour.  The Blackbird, even after being retired from the Air Force in 1990, still holds several world speed and altitude records.  NASA owns and still uses several SR-71 Blackbirds for use in research.   



A few facts about the Blackbird;

- The Blackbird could cruise in excess of Mach 3 (three times faster than sound)
- The reported top speed was in excess of 2,193 miles per hour at an altitude of over 85,000 feet. That breaks down to about 35 miles per minute or 3,100 feet per second (the muzzle velocity of a 30-06 rifle is only about 3,000 feet per second).
-  Blackbirds are constructed with a titanium alloy that makes up about 93% of the plane's empty weight.
-  The Blackbird is painted with a black paint that consists of a pigmentation containing minute iron balls. These dissipate electro-magnetically-generated energy and effectively lower the chances of the plane being picked up by radar.
-  At sustained speeds in excess of Mach 3, the Blackbird can heat up to 600 to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.

Speed records set by the Blackbird;

New York to London          London to Los Angeles          Los Angeles to Washington D.C.       West Coast to East Coast U.S.A.       St. Louis to Cincinnati          Kansas City to Washington D.C.

1 hr., 54 min., 56.4 sec. 3 hrs., 47 min., 35.8 sec. 1 hr., 4 min., 20 sec. 1 hr., 7 min., 54 sec. 8 min. 26 min.

With it's sleek design and flowing lines, I think the SR-71 Blackbird is one of the most beautiful planes ever made;

[Sister_Mom]

Definitely a beautiful jet!  As for appearance, I prefer the first stealth fighter.  :grin:
I'm impressed with the A-10's firepower and it's ability to stay in flight when wounded, as for it's appearance, the words intimdating and menacing come to mind.   

[newkris]

if the blackbird is the fastest, why is it out of commission?  what makes the stealth better?

my boys and i went several years in a row to the open house thing that the AF had at the base near our house in milwaukee.  (AF or Air National Guard . . hhhmm m m   not sure).  so i have seen the stealth a couple of times in milwaukee, but i don't know that i ever saw a blackbird.  might they have showcased it at the AF open house event in milwaukee, too? 

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

if the blackbird is the fastest, why is it out of commission?

Along with the speed came a very high price tag to keep in operational.  The Blackbird crews were essentially the worlds fastest photographers, since reconnaissance was all the plane was designed to do (because of it's speed they couldn't put weapons on it).  The Blackbird was also designed/built using late '50s/early '60s technology.  With current technology, the AF can use satellites to accomplish the same mission the Blackbird performed.  When you figure that one flight of  of an AF aircraft requires not only the crew, but over 100 support personnel (mechanics, fuelers, air traffic control, etc), it's much cheaper to take pictures from a satellite than from the Blackbird.

what makes the stealth better?

Tactical advantage.  If the enemy can't see you coming, you have the advantage of surprise.  Even during an attack, if they can't see where you are, they can't shoot you down.  The F-117 was a great aircraft for stealth, but it wasn't perfect.  If it was, we wouldn't have had one shot down in battle.  The F-22 and the upcoming F-35 are better at stealth than the F-117.  While I haven't heard it announced officially, rumor has it that once the AF has a fleet of F-35s in service, the F-117 will be retired.

might they have showcased it at the AF open house event in milwaukee, too? 

I have no idea where and when they've shown them.  Since the AF hasn't had them in their fleet since 1990, if the shows were after that time, there's very little chance that the SR-71 would have been on display.

[newkris]

we would have gone to the AF open house thing in probably . . . 1991 or thereabouts.  interesting bits of information.

what does freedom sound like? 

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

what does freedom sound like?

It sounds a lot like THIS, and THIS, and THIS, and THIS.

[Sister_Mom]

Cool, cool, cool, very cool!!! 

Now for super cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGDJ-f7T1ME&feature=related


IMHO 

[newkris]

what does freedom sound like?

It sounds a lot like THIS, and THIS, and THIS, and THIS.

I LOVE IT!!  that's what i'm talkin' about!!  yeah!!

when my boys were growing up and we lived close to the airport, they were so attuned to the planes that if an AF plane went over our house, they'd run outside and watch it.  they could tune out any other aircraft, but if it was an AF plane, they'd be out there.

i don't know how many times one of them would say, "that's the sound of freedom!"  when they'd come back in.

*sigh*  good sounds.  very cool videos. 

[newkris]

i just saw your post about the winged flying suit where you said it was one more thing you wanted to do before you die.   

have you lost your mind? 

would your lovely rose allow you to do something so wreckless?

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

have you lost your mind? 

You can't lose what you never had.

would your lovely rose allow you to do something so wreckless?

She probably would. . .reluctantly.

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

More Freedom videos (A-10s).  HERE and HERE.

And for those who like firepower, HERE is the A-10s Gatling being tested outside the aircraft, just to give you an idea if its rate of fire.

[Sister_Mom]

Thanks MichaelK!!!     

How many rounds per second did you say it can fire?

[Sis]

Is this place getting dangerous? Do I need my bullet-proof vest?

[newkris]

Is this place getting dangerous? Do I need my bullet-proof vest?

well, thanks to the sound of freedom . . . you don't generally have to, but you could if you wanted to. 

yeah.  thanks, Michael and Claudia, again for helpnig us keep our freedom.

[Tricia Lea]

 

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

How many rounds per second did you say it can fire?

I didn't say.  The 30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling gun on the nose of the A-10 can fire more than 4,200 rounds per minute, however, the AF has set it to a fixed rate of 3,900 rounds per minute (it used to have a variable setting).

Is this place getting dangerous?

Not while I'm here.

Do I need my bullet-proof vest?

Since the depleted uranium 30mm rounds from the A-10 can cut through the armor of a tank, I doubt a bullet proof vest would do you any good. 

well, thanks to the sound of freedom . . . you don't generally have to, but you could if you wanted to. 

Agreed.

yeah.  thanks, Michael and Claudia, again for helpnig us keep our freedom.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to protect our freedom.

[Tricia Lea]

What do you and your boys like doing together the most?

[kade]

That would be a toss-up between the SR-71 Blackbird and the A-10 Warthog.

I saw the SR-71 a the SAC museum a few years ago and a buddy of mine used to repair A-10's he has told me so much about them that I have come to like them.

wait the wart hog...isnt that in halo?