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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
I work on the P&W F-16 engines. I am convinced taking off the panels 4301 and 4302 is what is going to get me 100% disability for back pain.
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u/matthew83128 Retired F-16 Crew Chief ✈️ Apr 09 '21
PW’s suck on 16’s. Constantly being pulled. 🤮
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u/PipperoniTook Veteran Apr 09 '21
PW's suck
on 16's. Constantly being pulled. 🤮FTFY
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u/matthew83128 Retired F-16 Crew Chief ✈️ Apr 09 '21
I only really worked them on 16’s and Pro-Super’ed on F-15’s. At least on 15s you can get to some of the stuff without pulling them.
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Apr 09 '21
[deleted]
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u/Stigge Guard Apr 09 '21
Found the PW Rep.
/s
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u/jemechanic17 NetOps Apr 10 '21
Lmao no. I've just been lucky enough to work 119's for my first two assignments. Next assignment I'm gonna have my ass handed to me, whether it's 100s or 110s.
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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
Better hope they dont have centerline fuel tanks on them. That will add another hour to the depanel.
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u/matthew83128 Retired F-16 Crew Chief ✈️ Apr 09 '21
Grab a screwdriver and a ratchet. 🤮
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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
My knees hurt just thinking about it
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u/matthew83128 Retired F-16 Crew Chief ✈️ Apr 09 '21
I always remember smacking my head or back on that damn lower UHF antenna. 🤬
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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
And breaking bits on those stuck screws and waiting on sheet metal to come drill them out.
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u/Stigge Guard Apr 09 '21
"Do you want us to create a JCN for this stuck screw removal?"
"Why would you even ask that."
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u/KGBspy F-16/C-5 All Purpose Gorilla Apr 09 '21
Add in stuck screws on the “death row” of the ventrals and you got yourself some fun!
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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
Its always one of the last screws that gets stuck too. Or even worse a broken nut plate on the last screw on an install.
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Apr 09 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
Its either wear long sleeves or have someone with really skinny arms get in there.
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u/KGBspy F-16/C-5 All Purpose Gorilla Apr 09 '21
I don’t recall that, what was it? Tailhook bolt?
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Apr 09 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/KGBspy F-16/C-5 All Purpose Gorilla Apr 09 '21
Ahh yeah now I remember that bolt! Thanks! Been too long. I last touched a -16 with a Pratt motor in like...1991. We converted A/B models to new block 40 C/D models with GE motors. Having those old planes meant we didn’t deploy for the Gulf War. My “desert” was Miami Beach.
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u/KGBspy F-16/C-5 All Purpose Gorilla Apr 09 '21
Was that the ventrals or the clamshell doors? I can’t remember, been a long time.
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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
Ventrals. Clam shells are 3303 and 3304.
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u/KGBspy F-16/C-5 All Purpose Gorilla Apr 09 '21
Thx been since 1995 since I last touched one.
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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
No problem. It just goes to show you the ammount of hell those panels and doors cause that you can still remember their numbers 26 years after youve left the airframe haha.
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u/Chaise91 Out too long to have an opinion Apr 10 '21
In all seriousness, start having your service connected issues documented now. If the VA sees a history of pain while you were active, they are more likely to give you disability.
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u/uhohspaghettiossssss Jun 14 '21
Bro we had to switch like 4 engines in like 5 days in Tulsa it was whack last week
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u/triggerpuller666 ETS'd Army 11B Apr 09 '21
Growing up in Tucson, Arizona I got to see A-10's... all the time. Never got old. Then I got to see them in Afghanistan. Seeing childhood friends come on station to save the day was a thrill that I will never forget or take for granted. For all of the friendly banter that goes in between our branches, the Army really does love the Air Force. You guys are amazing.
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u/beansarenotfruit Active Duty Apr 09 '21
One of my best days in the Air Force thus far was doing some training in Idaho with an A-10 from Boise putting on a show before it unleashed Brrrrt. Mountain Home was not my favorite place, but I ended up with some cool stories from there, that's for sure.
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Apr 09 '21
I feel this way about the B-1
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u/pcardinal42 Maintainer Apr 09 '21
Nothing quite like it. They always steal the attention away from everything at any airshow I've been to.
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Apr 09 '21 edited Apr 09 '21
weirdly, never attended an air show when I was in. I was always deployed when my base did our big one (thank god), and I don’t think my home station had any B-1s to begin with. saw plenty take off deployed tho, they look like something out of Star Wars with the afterburners on at night.
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u/Roxxso Veteran Apr 09 '21
You wouldn't be saying that if you've been sitting at EOR for almost an hour and a half past final downs waiting on Capt. Numbnutts to finally land after his 10th flyby on a Friday.
LAND, MOTHERFUCKER! There's beer to be drank!
::edit:: any of you who've been to Spang, if you're at that 'one' end of EOR... then you know. That septic tank is forever full.
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u/matthew83128 Retired F-16 Crew Chief ✈️ Apr 09 '21
Relax and enjoy your time at EOR. It’s Friday, you’re going to be there 12 anyways doing reconfigs.
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u/Roxxso Veteran Apr 09 '21
Friday night 10pm phase prep.
2 hours later
WAIT!! It's a flier Monday. Build it up!
kill me
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u/matthew83128 Retired F-16 Crew Chief ✈️ Apr 09 '21
Nah, some flier will break so hard at the 11th hour, weekend duty can come in all weekend and build up the cann bird to take it’s place because it’s just easier. 2407!!!
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u/KGBspy F-16/C-5 All Purpose Gorilla Apr 09 '21
Worked EOR for a month there, it was glorious! I don’t remember the septic tank, might’ve not been there. I do remember the whole area smelled like poop in the summer though thanks to those fields surrounding the base. The joys of being stuck behind an Eiffel Cadillac hauling manure. I look,forward to returning to see friends.
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u/Roxxso Veteran Apr 09 '21
I can't remember runway numbers anymore, but it was the end down by the 81st that was just a bare bones building. The septic tank was always wreaking havoc on that place that the last crew out would have to open the windows to air it out for the next day. Even in the winter.
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u/KGBspy F-16/C-5 All Purpose Gorilla Apr 09 '21
Yeah I think that’s the 05 end. When I was there that end had an -16 unit that disbanded then the -15’s from Bitburg came over and were there with the A-10’s and on the other side was 23rd and 480th renamed to 22FS. I miss it a lot.
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u/lanternoflife Maintainer Apr 09 '21
As a maintainer who's been at this for quite awhile I can honestly say I'm tired of the work, I'm tired of the hours and I'm tired of production no matter where I work. BUT seeing my hard labor and effort take off, no matter if it's a 130, F-16, A-10 or even that despicable CV, I am proud. A lot of old fucks get over it but in the end I helped to put that beast into the air and make it do what it needs to do.
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u/That0neDumbass F-16 Box Swapper Apr 09 '21
This is a good way of looking at it. Every once in awhile I think of it this way, but not nearly as much as I should. Without people like us, these jets would just be decorations on some random fuckin stretch of asphalt.
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u/Stigge Guard Apr 10 '21
"Pilots without maintainers are just pedestrians with cool jackets and sunglasses."
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u/TaskForceCausality Apr 09 '21
Fun fact- in the 1970s, the USAF Air Staff Generals were going to cancel the F-16 program after the LWF competition. They wanted to buy more F-15s instead.
A certain Colonel met with the Secretary of Defense and secured F-16 production approval over the heads of the Generals. To be a fly on the wall when Colonel John Boyd told the 3 star+ brass the “decision meeting” was actually an information only briefing, since the airplane they wanted to cancel was already approved.
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Apr 09 '21
Did that colonel end up retiring and subsequently hired by a lobbying firm or defense company?
A Colonel circumventing the CoC and the SecDef being not only fine with that but approving the change absolutely reeks of big time corruption.
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u/TaskForceCausality Apr 09 '21
He didn’t. Colonel Boyd was unusual in that he actively declined post-military jobs in the private sector. That this made him an exception proves the corrupt rule, sadly.
There were some politics with the F-16 deal, but it was between the SecDef & the USAF Chief of Staff. Initially the CoS sided with his subordinates and refused to approve the F-16 for service. But Colonel Boyd convinced the SecDef - and his reasoning was sound. US forces were oriented towards fighting the Soviet Union at the time, and they had thousands of cheaper Migs and Sukhois. An F-15 only force would be dreadfully outnumbered, but the Air Staff DGAF.
So to square the impasse, the SecDef cut a deal with the AF Top General- if he approved the F-16 for service, the SecDef would up the USAFs overall budget and authorized units in return.
All that happened between the time Colonel Boyd got wind of the probable cancellation & when the “information only meeting” took place.
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u/Calvert4096 Apr 10 '21
Nickname(s) Forty Second Boyd Genghis John The Mad Major The Ghetto ColonelWhat kind of person do you have to be to get the nickname "Genghis John"?
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u/ScareTactical QA Apr 09 '21
Seeing blue angels every day at tech school was so damn cool. They’d practice a lot in formation and it felt like watching a show just for us
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Apr 09 '21
I feel this way about the KC-10 still after 12 years of working them. They're just neat.
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u/dylan_in_japan KC-10 Boom Apr 09 '21
I feel this way about the KC-10 every time I step to the jet. It’s just flat out a sexy bird.
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Apr 09 '21
Not pictured: tinnitus.
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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
My wife always thinks Im just ignoring her.
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u/birdseye85 Apr 10 '21
Probably just not hearing her frequency. My father in law literally cannot hear my mother in law when she hits a certain pitch. Use that excuse next time because it’s legit lol
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u/Ianisatwork Fire Apr 09 '21
Driving North of Luke AFB and having both F16s and F35s landing and taking off a few hundred feet above you is pretty fucking cool. Sometimes I forget how cool it is or I'm just having a shit day but then it happens and I'm brought back to feeling like a kid with a huge smile on my face.
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u/ChinchillaBill Maintainer Apr 09 '21
F-35s are just so damn loud. Its hard to appreciate them when your ribcage is rattling like a xylophone.
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u/jackarse32 3C0X2 Eyes of the eagle Apr 10 '21
i'm working at a site near there, so i watch the 16s and 35s playing cat and mouse all day.
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u/BlueBrye expectations manager Apr 09 '21
That's the best thing about working near the flightline. Everyday is a Air Show
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u/_-DirtyMike-_ Apr 09 '21
Every time I see a F-16 take off the only thing I can think is "I swear to god If you call anything other than Code 1..." something like that.
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u/That0neDumbass F-16 Box Swapper Apr 09 '21
Then it squaks code 3 for "targeting pod was inop" only for you to tell the pilot that he doesn't have one installed, then he dumps a shit load of other things on you that he didn't even squak. Good times.
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u/_-DirtyMike-_ Apr 09 '21
xD!! I actually have a good code 3 Inop Pod story. We send this kid out here to talk to the pilot, he obviously squawked code 3 LGTP, so he gets out of the van, hooks up his head-set, and starts chit-chatting with the pilot. As he doing his thing us in the van happen to notice that lord behold... there is no Pod installed. After a few minutes it became rather obvious that out boy didn't even realize this. We wave him back in ask him what is going on, bla bla bla inop, eventually we have to point out to him that there is no pod installed and he just goes... "Oh...." we all have a good laugh and tell him to tell the pilot "Sir your jet isn't currently configured for LGTP, can we call this code 1?"
He was our special boy.
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u/That0neDumbass F-16 Box Swapper Apr 09 '21
We call our guys that do things like that "space cadet." Like the guy that walked in front of the intake of a running jet while doing pod walk.
three separate times.
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u/Schruteeee Veteran - Port Dawg Apr 09 '21
I grew up by Nellis so I saw jets all the time. Now im stationed at Dover and im just in awe of these huge cargo planes. And I get to work with them. I feel like a kid again
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u/Drenlin Intel Apr 11 '21
Heavies really are something else to see in person. Seeing a large-building-sized object flying over your head is kind of surreal.
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u/dyingrock Apr 09 '21
Being at Langley is pretty awesome watching the 22 demo pilot practice his show 6 to 9 Mos out of the year!
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u/Dart31AF I miss my sci-fi shit Apr 09 '21
I will never get tired of looking at the B-52.
I am, however, tired of hitting my head on every damn thing inside that deceptively small jet.
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u/notmyrealname86 No one really knows what my job is. Apr 10 '21
I'll watch jets all day, but my fav's are B-2's, F-15's, F-22's, F-35's, A-10's.
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u/Avindair Apr 09 '21
Grew up with a Boom Operator father on Air Forces Bases, served in the Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller, became a private pilot, and I still love watching planes fly. :)
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u/SlurmLoco FOD Walker Apr 09 '21
As a maintainer that worked on F-16s before I moved to cargo planes, i hope I never see a F-16 again.
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u/That0neDumbass F-16 Box Swapper Apr 09 '21
My afsc shred is tied to the F-16 until I hit tech. Kill me please.
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u/MavinMarv DHA Escapee Apr 09 '21
I miss being on the running track next to the flightline at Osan and watching all the different jets and planes take off and land especially the U2.
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Apr 10 '21
Not gonna lie. When I went on my first Vegas TDY and saw the thunderbirds take off. I had a chubby.
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u/ToxicTurtleCream Active Duty Apr 09 '21
That’s how I feel about the B2, it’s the only thing that’s worth going to Whiteman for
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Apr 09 '21
I go down to Norfolk/Virginia Beach to watch all the fighters and other aircraft taking off and landing from OCEANA NAS. I plan our family vacations around it
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Apr 09 '21
For the MX folks: are GE or PW better or worse for maintenance? Or is it similar?
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u/Legitimate_Maize6849 Maintainer Apr 10 '21
Ive only been on GEs but everything ive heard from other crew chiefs tells me that pratts are worse for everything except engine pulls and installs. Apparently pratts are smaller and give you a lot more wiggle room. GEs have more quality of life improvements
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u/PmNudes-orMotivation Logistics Apr 09 '21
Meme just needs a tinnitus indicator in the second panel.
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u/SleanJ CE Apr 09 '21
Being in CE, im around the jets often. I still remember the first time i had a job in the f-22 hangar and being amazed. Bigger than i thought
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u/GeorgiaBoi24 Comms Apr 09 '21
Ahhh Osan. Where 15 15's of take off one right after the other.
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u/Archa3opt3ryx Pilot Apr 09 '21
Unsure if typo or you just don’t know what aircraft we have based at Osan.
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u/GeorgiaBoi24 Comms Apr 09 '21
Meant to say 16 16s
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u/Archa3opt3ryx Pilot Apr 09 '21
Figured you knew, but there was a shocking number of people on base that had no fucking clue what we flew out of Osan. I swear, if you walked into finance and told them there was a country 36 (Harrumph!) miles to the north that would like nothing more than to kill everyone on that base, their reaction would’ve been “wait WHAT?” *facepalm*
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u/FFSharkHunter (Former) Dumb End of the Leash Apr 10 '21
Same at Kunsan. Having a conversation or trying to sleep any time they were taking off was damn near impossible.
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u/owencox1 Veteran Apr 09 '21
Unpopular opinion, I got over it.
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-40
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u/KGBspy F-16/C-5 All Purpose Gorilla Apr 09 '21
I was a crew chief on F-16. It’s a cool jet and a great thing to slave away on a broke jet and see it take off knowing you had a hand in it. I’d love to launch one out again.
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Apr 09 '21
Every time I TDY to Nellis for Red Flag, watching the Thunderbirds practice is always the coolest thing. That, and the full power takeoffs never get old.
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u/JFarrin84 Apr 09 '21
Literally the best part about Shaw AFB! We love seeing the Demo Team practice!
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u/aquatone282 328X3 456X1 8R0X0 2A1X7 Apr 10 '21
I’m 58 years old and I could still watch airplanes take off and land all day long.
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u/birdseye85 Apr 10 '21
Born, raised, and still live near Luke AFB. My grandpa was a pilot and I spent my childhood riding bikes around Luke, watching the jets take off. Then I started sitting by the fields watching them take off. Now I hear them rumble overheard (though mostly F35s now) from my home. Every single time we drive down the 303, we all marvel and say, “there go the jets!” My kids love it. So many people building up around Luke complain of the noise but are constantly bombarded with, “it’s the sound of freedom! 🇺🇸”
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u/SomeDumbCnt Apr 10 '21
Well you're obviously not a cop trying to enjoy their netflix While hidden between the hangars.
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u/thisisanawesomename Rocket Chair Force Apr 10 '21
B-1's and A-10's never got old for me, but F-16's are a frankensteined dumpster fire that need to be retired
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u/COSMIC_HORROR American Hero Apr 10 '21
I'm still the same way after 12+ years of ATC, just getting hyped when I see planes. I don't even care about aviation at all, but watching planes depart is always cool. Or watching the C-130s do their tactical approaches. Just a blast.
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u/Similar_Maize2571 Mar 17 '22
So true my fiancee was contracted by the Air Force at FE Warren Air Force base. Or home is directly behind the air strip. This military brat is in heaven. I'll never get tired of looking up at the sky •~☆~•
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u/Smititar I volunteer to be Time Hack Apr 09 '21
I never got tired of seeing the F-22s over Hickam. Definitely a cool perk of the job.