Comments on: Not the Word I Would Have Chosen

By: Wilko

Wilko — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 04:35:45 +0000

Wondered if this guy had a wrong altimeter setting like the Thunderbird pilot from 2006 who wasn’t so lucky.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ3aF1K_RzM

By: ChrisP

ChrisP — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:41:06 +0000

JoeC,
Some of us are still holding on. I’m 60 and still have a Ducati sitting out in the garage, though I sold my 748 last year after the two ruptured discs at the bottom of my spine started being ‘really’ painful.
I’ll probably hold on to the ’93 900SS until they plant me.
But then, I’m a stubborn old fool.

Cheers!
ChrisP

By: Michael Ney

Michael Ney — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:20:29 +0000

Well it looks very pretty but note the distinct lack of relative measurements. Without them even estimating altitute from a ground perspective is very difficult indeed. There are so many “unknowns” for example, engine thrust at the time, indicated speed, etc that beyond this being a nice video I could not comment upon the competence or otherwise of either the pilot or observer.

By: RetRsvMike

RetRsvMike — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:37:45 +0000

QM/Virgil: nothing good can ever come from trying to drag a Sheridan out the ass end of a moving aircraft….

M60 series did (sometimes) break while “just sitting there”, and that was usually a torsion bar going sprung.. depending on which one it was, that could soon lead to the neighboring or opposite torsion bar following suit.

as long as you kept proper track tension though, i never really had problems with end connectors or wedge bolts and such in the motor pool. once you start to exercise the track, we always planned a quickie maintenance halt after about the first half hour of road time, then did a walk around to see what might have shook itself loose.

as for the Sheridan, a Christie suspension (slack track) is going to be much more dependent on the torsion bars and connecting pins, so NO SLAMMING!

By: Quartermaster

Quartermaster — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:59:13 +0000

I’ve never heard of a tank breaking a track just sitting. If they come loose, they can come apart (had that happen when someone told my buddy and I they had checked the tracks and we were leaving parts in our wake on Ft. Campbell). Torsion bars definitely break and they were the main shock absorber on an M-60. I imagine more than one Sheridan Tank was disabled when air dropped. If anyone tried to drop an M-60 via LAPES, I never heard of it. Wouldn’t be surprised if they tried, however.

By: virgil xenophon

virgil xenophon — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:34:45 +0000

SPAZ/

I always wondered how well the links on the tracks held up when they were subjected to that. I’ve had tankers say that a tank can break a tread just SITTIN’ there. (Maybe I should ask XBradTC) The Russki’s had a better idea–you know, the retro-rkts on the underside of the pad? Don’t have to go gopher huntin’ to release the load that way either (better duck you little furry ones!)

PS: Most of those flights in support of Khe Sanh were flown out of either DaNang or Hue Phu-Bai.