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Overheard at the Operation Valiant Shield fly-over

By lex, on June 21st, 2006

“Tanker, posit?”

b2 f18_3.jpg

“What do you mean, ‘You don’t have a refueling store?’ Why do you think we invited you?”

Hey, I had to beat B2 and Sid to the punch.

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June 21st, 2006 | Category: Military

24 comments to Overheard at the Operation Valiant Shield fly-over

  • sid
    June 21, 2006 at 9:52 am

    That IS a seriously impressive sight…No doubt.

  • craig mclaughlin
    June 21, 2006 at 9:53 am

    “Is that a periscope I see down there?”

    “Opted for the PRK, eh?”

  • Jason
    June 21, 2006 at 10:22 am

    “Tanker, posit?”
    (holds card to forehead)
    What are the the 2 most frequent words spoken by plastic jet drivers.
    :-)

  • SGT Jeff (USAR)
    June 21, 2006 at 10:38 am

    LOL, Jason!

    I have to wonder if they did, for some reason, come up with a bombbay mounted buddy pack system of some sort – how much fuel it could hold. I suspect the numbers would be quite impressive.

  • badbob
    June 21, 2006 at 10:59 am

    I’ll take that bait Lex.

    Let me see. That’s at least 16 thirsty Hornets airborne. 8 in the forefront 8 in the back.

    That means there’s at least 5 other E/F’s (SuperHornets) overhead and out of the picture serving ONLY as tankers…HEH..but they could be doing more.

    Let me see 21 x $65 million each = 1.36 billion = almost 2 B-2 bombers. I can spin that into real value there Lex and I ain’t an OPNAV bean-counter!

    Just think. That pilot flying that wedge has probably been airborne for at least 15 hours coming from Missouri. The other pilot is sleeping in that lawn chair they carry!

    Gee Jeff. Adding tanker bladders to an B-2 is almost as bad an idea as making a $65 million dollar tanker out of a SuperHornet!

    Just ironical is all, or is that cynicism?

    b2

  • MCPO Airdale
    June 21, 2006 at 11:29 am

    Slap a buddy store on a pylon and just about anything can be a tanker. ‘Course aviators fly the IFR probe to the basket and pilots have an enlisted guy fly the probe to the receiving A/C.

  • Kris, in New England
    June 21, 2006 at 11:56 am

    It’s all greek to me, what you all are sayin’.

    I just think it’s a mighty cool pic. Mighty cool indeed. :-D

  • Jonboy
    June 21, 2006 at 12:05 pm

    I want to know who took the picture. The helo?

  • FbL
    June 21, 2006 at 12:19 pm

    Jason, you just made my day. That was hilarious!!

    *laughing self silly*

  • SGT Jeff (USAR)
    June 21, 2006 at 12:21 pm

    Cap’n Lex – actually they probably staged the B2 out of Anderson AFB in Guam. I understand they’ve been doing that sort of thing for some time now.

    It does say something about USAF thinking that apparently 1 B2 and a composite squadron of F15s and F16s equals 3 carrier battlegroups.

  • badbob
    June 21, 2006 at 1:17 pm

    Jonboy, I’ll bet it was a C-2 with the cargo door open.

    Kris, “mighty cool” is what the pic intended to do. You’ve been successfully marketed my dear!

    B2

  • Kris, in New England
    June 21, 2006 at 3:51 pm

    B2 – my friends tell me I’m the “perfect consumer”. It’s nice to be validated – especially by you, on Lex’s site.

    Boy howdy!!!

  • Chris Parkes
    June 22, 2006 at 1:24 am

    It’s such an impressive photo, a part of my brain screams ‘photochop!’

    Of course it isn’t, but three super-carriers in formation would have been impressive enough.

  • Dave
    June 22, 2006 at 2:45 am

    badbob — take another look at the picture (or preferably, a larger version).

    Only 8 Hornets, not 16. The back fighters are 15s and 16s.

    Sgt Jeff — No doubt the other 3 combat wings plus support were busy with actual work, instead of photo-ops. :)

  • sid
    June 22, 2006 at 5:16 am

    “Only 8 Hornets, not 16. The back fighters are 15s and 16s.”

    Big pic here…

    http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/060618-N-8492C-212.jpg

    Note the difference in the visibility between the USN and USAF. Looks like carrier air is undergoing one of its periodic Festooning Fests and painting up their aircraft again in peacock colors.
    Its a multi-decadal process not unlike the hurricane cycle. Could global warming be to blame?

    The last peak was in the Wild and Wooly 70s when aircraft looked like this:
    http://www.cloud9photography.us/sub-f4usn-003.html

    Then, in the early 80s (Remember K cars? Drab was back in style.), the Powers That Be decided it was time to make USN aircraft less visible.
    In particular the color red was to be shunned.
    See the article “Fade To Gray” here:

    http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1980s/1981/may81.pdf

    Now that WVR is (again) being called an anachronism it appears that the colors are coming back strong.

  • lex
    June 22, 2006 at 7:17 am

    Those are most likely the “CAG” birds, sid – the 100 and 200 modex Super Hornets which bear the air wing commander’s name on the canopy rail. Back in the late 90′s it once again became popular to flash the colors on the CAG bird, which – in the usual manner of the service – quickly became a competition.

  • SGT Jeff (USAR)
    June 22, 2006 at 8:37 am

    Thanks for the very big version of that photo – someone should have been nervous up in the conn – I see shoals underneath that leftmost string of ships.

  • badbob
    June 22, 2006 at 12:59 pm

    All,

    Since I just received the 6 mb slide show from SK2 somebody, this morning (most email of this sort seems to travel fron east to west, but this came the other way; clogging my email) I apologize to Lex for mis-identifying AF sleds as Hornettes….LOL. That’s right folks, Lex is holding the rest of this group of pics from ya!

    But my recovery tanker formula for those Tailhook jets is till good. New CVW Gospel: “For every 3 Hornets airborne one shall be a recovery/overhead tanker”. Those F-15/16′s probably have a big wet wing tanker at 30k 75nm away…

    Going gray was a good thing Sid, by the late 70′s our jets were so colorful they reflected the Disco scene of the time…

    B2

  • Skippy-san
    June 22, 2006 at 1:18 pm

    Actually the USAF guys had to wait for a tanker, their first one went down on deck……
    Some things never change.

    However in true Air Force fashion a cast of thousands was mobilized to fix it.

    (Got a buddy in Guam right now………)

    Also notice that on the right one of the Vipers looks out of position or did he really mean to fly ahead of the rest of the formation?

  • badbob
    June 23, 2006 at 4:18 am

    Skippy,

    I’ll be “he/she’s” taking pics of B-2 in the “slot”. Of course, only a high roller like Lex can fly parade with his knees and take pics simo.

    B2

  • Team G
    June 30, 2006 at 3:10 pm

    Oh my eyes! Since when were we letting the scarf-adorned latte-sippers lead the CV flyover?

    I must now wretch.

  • JefLebowski
    March 1, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    Well, it is really late and all…but in the background…that aren’t hornets, those are 4 tomcats or similiar and 4 falcons of some sort.
    I am no expert, but I think if you look closely this should be visible.

  • bro
    March 15, 2010 at 9:32 pm

    why put non stealth fighters with a super stealth bomber? other than that though, awesome!

  • saeid
    July 30, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    im an iranian guy and i live in iran but i dont belive islam and we had fight in school in university,in street and we dont have and gun but the police had spcial gun like mashin for spray acid,shoker,spray for eye,and ak47,g3,pistul,with them kill my friend and my sister.we should have gun for ouer freedom fighter.iranian people just want a freedom and job,do you thing is a great wish for us??????????????????
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