Tag Archives: economy

Vehicle I-D: Cold War and beyond, C-2A to C-2A(R) Greyhound, now ‘On Final’! Can you get a kit of it?

Video January 22, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Nice, Italy, 1970. Photo via U.S. Navy’s VR-24.

The Grumman C-2A Greyhound has been around for a long time, joining the U.S. Navy in 1966 (production started in 1965).

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, October 1990. USN photo by Don S. Montgomery.

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, February 2005. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Justin Blake.

It was developed from the E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft, and eventually replaced the older C-1 Trader.

C-1A Trader, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, August 1983. USN photo by Journalist Senior Chief Petty Officer Kirby Harrison.

C-2 Greyhound somewhere over the Indian Ocean, Summer of 1980. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class David Maclean.

Somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea, Summer 1988. USN photo by Commander Leenhouts.

C-2A over Naval Air Station Norfolk, September 1989. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Stephen L. Batiz.

Seven little Greyhounds over Naval Base San Diego, California, August 1990. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Patrick Muscutt.

News media board a C-2A Greyhound, during Operation Desert Shield, August 1990. USN photo by Journalist Petty Officer Second Class Bartlett.

Hurghada, Egypt, a Greyhound being loaded with supplies for an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, post Operation Desert Storm. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Savage, May/April 1991.

Official USN website history of the C-2A Greyhound: C-2A Greyhound Logistics Aircraft

Operation Enduring Freedom logo painted on the underside of the tail-end of a C-2A. Naval Air Station Norfolk, July 2002. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Shawn P. Eklund.

Naval Air Station Norfolk, July 2002. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Shawn P. Eklund.

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Jacqueline Diaz, 18MAR2009.

It has gone through many upgrades, the current Greyhounds are known as C-2A(R) and are identifiable by their NP2000 propellers.

U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. USN photo by Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Nistas, 15JAN2010.

USN video, Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) testing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78), 17JAN2020:

Another Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) testing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) video:

Video, Rawhindes of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40 conduct their first flight operations from aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), April 2019:

Carrier Onboard Delivery, aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) November 2017:

More Rawhides video from February 2017, operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69):

Video, Horsemen of Detachment IV of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40, takes off and lands on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) October 2016 (warning, includes slow-mo-video, do not adjust your set):

Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, video of Greyhound prepping for trip to USS George Washington (CVN-73), September 2014:

Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, 11DEC2013. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Stacy Atkins Ricks.

On Final: The U.S. Navy has tried several times to replace the Greyhound, but potential replacements failed to measure up, or never materialized. In 2015, the USN stated that it intended to replace the Greyhound with the much more expensive, less load carrying ability, tilt-rotary wing CMV-22B Osprey, possibly starting in 2024.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Steve Wolff/Paul Lagasse.

On 19MAR2020, C-2A Greyhound Bureau Number (not ‘build number’ as many people/authors incorrectly call it) 162142 took its final flight.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Erik Hildebrandt/Paul Lagasse.

BuNu 162142 had flown with VX-20 for just short of 30 years.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Erik Hildebrandt/Brittany Dickerson.

BuNu 162142 retired to the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.

USN photo by Christopher D Nette, 18AUG2020.

On 17AUG2020, the last C-2A(R) to undergo planned maintenance interval three (PMI-3) arrived on Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), North Island Naval Air Station, California. PMI-3 for the Greyhound costs just under $4-million: “Other C-2s will induct for the much smaller PMI-1 and 2 events and most likely will also have in-service repairs. Field events for PMI-1 and 2 are scheduled out to Fiscal Year 2022.”-Jorge Gutierrez-Lopez, FRCSW Props IPT program scheduler

28NOV2020, somewhere over the Arabian Sea. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Keenan Daniels.

In 1:72 scale; I-D Models made a vacform kit in the mid-1970s. Falcon began issuing a Triple conversion set in the 1990s that included a C-2A fuselage for the Fujimi or Hasegawa E-2 Hawkey. Resin kit maker RVHP Models currently has an outrageously expensive full-kit (you can buy a couple of the 1:48 Kinetic kits for one RVHP kit).

Trumpeter offers a detailed 1:350 scale kit for your aircraft carrier.

Fox One Design Studio offers 1:144 scale versions.

In 1:48 scale the rare resin Collect Aire kit comes with four blade prop, while Kinetic’s more affordable plastic kits come with either four or eight blade props.

VEHICLE I-D: USN GOSHAWK T-45

International

“The fire breathing dragon of clouds.”: Pacific Ring of Fire, 12-18 January 2020

Video January 20, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of links to seismic/natural disaster reports from around the Pacific Ring of Fire, days 12 to 18 of Gregorian January 2020.

According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, the overwhelming majority of volcanic eruptions taking place the third week of January are on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

ARGENTINA: 5.0 quake near border with Chile

AUSTRALIA: ‘Experts’ say murderous Mega Fire was preventable!

Fires followed by floods

Australia and Japan sign hydrogen agreement

CHILE: “It is clear to many of us that the Coquimbo region has an unusual, increasing seismicity that may be preparing the area for a very large earthquake near the end of the present century.”

ECUADOR: Galapagos volcano eruption spews lava

FIJI: 5.2 mag quake recorded in Ono-i-Lau region

INDONESIA: Krakatau volcano explosive activity continues

JAPAN: Slow-motion interplate slip detected in the Nankai Trough

Japan military planes arrive in Australia to help fight bushfires

Court halts nuclear reactor restart citing volcano, earthquake risks

Wildlife Is Still Reeling from the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

MEXICO: Yet another quake hits the Oaxaca area

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand Volcano Eruption Death Toll Rises to 20

What will the next decade of quakes look like?

Early morning 4.2 magnitude earthquake felt by many in lower North Island

PHILIPPINES: Taal;

Gray pineapples: Volcano devastates farms

Imagine this is what SuperVolcano Yellowstone will do to most of the entire North American continent!

RUSSIA: 5.5 quake hits near Kamchatka

THAILAND: Japanese scientists observe ‘plasma bubbles’ in upper atmosphere

UNITED STATES:

Pic by Cassandra Eichner of a Pyrocumulonimbus Cloud (PyroCB) taken over the Pacific Northwest on 08AUG2019, during the FIREX-AQ field campaign from the cockpit of the NASA DC-8 aircraft.

Between July and September 2019 the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, NASA, and other federal agencies, conducted studies of pyrocumulonimbus (PyroCbs) clouds. The PyroCbs (pyro means fire) are formed by intense wildfires, NASA calls them “the fire-breathing dragon of clouds.”

PyroCbs were first identified in the late 1990s, while scientists were trying to find out what was causing clouds in the upper atmosphere when the ‘natural’ weather conditions weren’t correct for such formations and there was no volcanic activity. Since then studies show such dragon clouds can pump as much particulates into the upper atmosphere as a volcano: “They act as giant chimneys, transporting smoke from the ground to high altitudes. Intense PyroCbs can inject smoke into the lower stratosphere, where it can persist for weeks or months.”-Dave Peterson, Naval Research Laboratory, one of the first meteorologists to notice the PryoCbs phenomenon in the late 1990s

The data collected from the 2019 FIREX-AQ missions is now being studied to see how cloud water droplets and ice particles change in the presence of smoke.

Alaska; 3.7 quake 15JAN2020

School district considers rejecting millions in FEMA earthquake funding due to required insurance!

California; Tech company spent U.S.$30-million to see if ‘earthquake lights’ could warn of temblors. It didn’t work

Magnitude 3.3 earthquake jolts Gilroy, Aromas area

Warnings of future flooding in burn areas of Santa Barbara County

Hawaii; Flooding Event Greatest Since Hurricane Lane

Oregon; Can Scappoose Industrial Airpark survive a major disaster?

Sneaky ‘Sneaker’ Waves?

Utah; 4.0 quake in Beaver County

Washington; PacifiCorp to lower Yale Reservoir because earthen dam is “likely to liquefy in the event of an earthquake”

Despite threat from Cascadia Event, Seattle has big plans for a new city extension, right along the coast line!

VANUATA: What is Early Action Rainfall Watch?

Disposable diapers were banned at the end of 2019 (to “save the world”), now there’s a push to re-educate people how to use old fashioned washable diapers!

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, 06-11 JANUARY 2020: MEGA-FIRE!

CLIMATE CHANGE, 12-18 JANUARY 2020: “ON SCALE WE’VE NOT SEEN BEFORE”

International

“on scale we’ve not seen before”: Climate Change, 12-18 January 2020

Video January 20, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of links to news articles concerning climate change events during the third week of the Gregorian month of January 2020.

Weather shows evidence of climate change every single day since 2012

Proof evolution is working; study reveals human body temp is adjusting downward, in possible anticipation of a warmer planet?

Spy Satellite Uncovers Staggering Mount Everest Ice Loss

UN warns hunger crisis in southern African continent “on scale we’ve not seen before”

European Union’s one trillion Euro climate finance plan

A perfect storm for Asia’s food prices: swine fever, climate

Asia’s Great Rivers: Climate crisis, pollution put billions of people at risk of losing food source

As many climate freaks freak-out about losing food sources, scientists discover the warmer temps are actually causing more plants to grow at higher altitudes

Ecotourism: How Marketers Can Ethically Promote Travel Amid The Climate Crisis

AUSTRALIA: Why Australia’s fires are linked to floods in Africa

Aussies to become climate change refugees?

BRAZIL: Brazil rebuilds burned-out base in Antarctica

Revealed; it was actually China that rebuilt the base

CHINA: Second death reported from mystery virus

COLOMBIA: Farmers blame ‘global warming’ for unusually low temps, which are killing off their crops

EGYPT: More rain expected, but less will end up in Nile River

Tourism industry the biggest climate change fear-monger?

GERMANY: Taxpayers forced to pay coal mines to shutdown, tens of thousands of jobs will be lost

Long convoys of farm vehicles blocked roads in the states of Bavaria, Baden Württemberg and Bremen, as well as the city of Berlin. Farmers are angry at ever increasing environmental regulations.

GREENLAND: The real reason why President Trump, and even China, want to buy the giant island; climate change is making it easier to get at the resources, like rare earth metals, such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, as well as the usual stuff.

HAITI: Revealed; comments by U.S. ‘christian’ evangelical leaders resulted in Haitian Voodoo (Vodou) practitioners being denied medical help, and were even attacked, after the earthquake of 2010.

ITALY: Video; U.S. Army personnel thanked for helping clean-up sinking Venice:

ISRAEL: Why have at least 350 people from U.S., European Union, Japan, Australia, and the African continent, converged on Israel for a massive earthquake drill?

MEXICO: NGO works to e nsure food security and seed diversity

NIGERIA: Climate change could be prime motivator for violent extremism

PHILIPPINES: Was the Taal volcano eruption large enough to influence the climate?

UNITED KINGDOM: Hackney Council criticize Thames Water over repeated floods

UNITED STATES: As climate change freaks freak out about losing food sources, Idahoans are complaining about an explosion of non-native/invasive wild turkeys!

As many climate change freaks freak out about losing food sources, the new Marine Recreational Information Program surprisingly discovered that ocean fish stocks are actually much larger than first thought.

California City Bans Coal, Blocking Key Export Route to Asia

Teens’ Climate Change Suit Against U.S. Blocked by Judges

Group rescues dogs from Puerto Rico

NASA’s ARIA Team Helps in Puerto Rico Quake Response

5.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Puerto Rico, 15JAN2020

Puerto Rico’s National Guard build tent cities for thousands of survivors

Ohio National Guard deploys for Puerto Rico

NEW YORK DEPLOYS ITS MILITIA TO SAVE PUERTO RICO!

ARMY RESERVE DEPLOYS FOR PUERTO RICO QUAKE RECOVERY

Earthquake hits South Carolina, fourth in past two months

Earthquake hits New York

New York insurance sellers review changes to flood insurance policies

New flood risk model reviewed by academia will negatively affect home prices and insurance

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control creates new flood map for New Castle County, negatively affecting property owners, takes effect next week

Mississippi River threatens three cities with flooding

Pear River also threatens people in Mississippi

Idiot property developers in Missouri want to build in known flood zone

Nebraska’s governor promises to extend flood relief

Iowa’s governor begs for U.S.$20-million for flood relief

Texas releases U.S.$1.4-billion to start-up the newly created Flood Infrastructure Fund

On 12JAN202, the USAF at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, evacuated personnel on at least five C-130 aircraft due to an impending storm. The operation is known as a Weather Evacuation (WX Evac).

‘This is very strange’: Rare early emergence of influenza B virus puts children at higher risk

CLIMATE CHANGE, 06-11 JANUARY 2020: MONEY IS BEING MADE!

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, 06-11 JANUARY 2020: MEGA-FIRE!:

U.S.

“better off not being a citizen”: Immigrant Invasion, 12-18 January 2020

Image January 19, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete (tip-o-the iceberg) list of main-stream-news links about global immigrant/border operations affecting the United States taxpayers, third week of Gregorian January 2020.

Mexican authorities closed a border entry point after thousands of Central American migrants tried to push their way across a bridge.

Guatemalan police accompanied by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept up the majority of a group of about 3-hundred migrants Thursday, loaded them on buses and took them back to the Honduran border.

Pro-illegal immigrants groups in the U.S. are going to Mexico to provide captured illegals with free legal help

Ripped-Off U.S. citizens Sue Mexican Monex for stealing Millions

ALASKA: Cops capture immigrant drug dealer

ARIZONA: W oman goes to prison for impersonating immigration attorney and ICE agent

124 illegals were flown from Tucson to Guadalajara, Mexico, as part of the Interior Repatriation Initiative (IRI). The first such IRI deportation for 2020.

10 years after SB1070 what happened to Arizona’s illegals?

CALIFORNIA: “The day will come in California where you may be better off not being a citizen or having legal status to be here as well as not having a job.”-Manteca/Ripon Bulletin

Governor plans even larger expansion of taxpayer funded healthcare for illegals, could cost more than U.S.$3.4-billion per year!

San Diego bakery shuts down after ICE audit

City of Adelanto, already home to a GEO run massive fortress-like immigrant prison called Adelanto Dentention Facility West, will see ICE processing center expanded

Next door to Adelanto is Victorville, with its massive fortress-like federal prison called FCI Victorville Medium 1

COLORADO: Denver officials won’t hand over information sought by ICE

ICE subpoenas Denver law enforcement

CONNECTICUT: City of Middletown considered to have mostly illegals as residents?

FLORIDA: Venezuelan attorney and businessman added to ICE Most Wanted List

illegal immigrant gets prison time for forcing 12 years old boy into slavery on a Florida farm

E-Verify Divides Florida Republican Leaders

GEORGIA: Taxpayer funded public schools pushing illegal families to take part in federal Census (it’s all about getting as much federal money as possible)

HAWAII: Organization pushing illegals from Philippines to take part in federal Census (turns out Filipinos are considered a ‘majority ethnic’ group in Hawaii)

IDAHO: Group says human trafficking is alive and well in The Gem State

Proposed bill to sell drivers’ licenses to illegals is ‘shelved’, for now

ILLINOIS: Chicago cops to double as ‘customs agents’

Why is the state Pumping Millions in state taxes Into the Federal Census?

IOWA: ‘Dreamers’ Protest Against Joe Biden

LOUISIANA: Hunger Striker Nearing Death in ICE Custody

MARYLAND: Adult illegal immigrant arrested for sex with child

MASSACHUSETTS: Automatic voter registration may lead to unintended consequences

MICHIGAN: man who challenged deportation can stay, seek citizenship

MINNESOTA: Representative Ilhan Omar under federal investigation?

‘Teacher of the Year’ kneels during anthem

NEW JERSEY: Hoboken to become the 1st city in the state to mandate Reunification of Migrant Families

NEW MEXICO: Cops release transgender illegal immigrant with chronic illness, ICE arrests the immigrant several weeks later

NEW YORK: ICE issues detainer for illegal immigrant accused of murdering 92-year-old woman

Law college refuses aid for DACA students

NORTH CAROLINA: Whole Foods continues buying food from farm known to use slave labor!

OHIO: Franklin County Sheriff’s Office accused of releasing 29 illegals

ICE agents have visited courthouse looking for illegals

ICE shames county for releasing convicted sex offender, dozens of other criminal aliens

PENNSYLVANIA: Migrant worker population increases exponentially!

It’s been revealed that a man accused of killing a woman is an illegal immigrant who has been deported in the past

TEXAS: Federal politicians sneak chronically sick girl into U.S. for medical care

Texas Becomes First State to Close Its Doors to New Refugees

Border Wall work south of Weslaco, 13JAN2020.

UTAH: Immigration judges in Utah made a record number of asylum decisions, mostly denials

VERMONT: Migrant Justice settles with DMV to halt information sharing with ICE

VIRGINIA: “We wouldn’t have a tobacco industry if it wasn’t for migrant labor.”-Bob Harris, Pittsylvania County farmer

WASHINGTON: Immigrants Afraid To Show Up In Court

Seattle fires cop who was openly anti-illegal immigrant

WISCONSIN: Border Patrol releases illegal immigrant for asylum hearing

IMMIGRANT INVASION U.S.A., 06-11 JANUARY 2020: SLAVE HOUSES?

U.S.

Puerto Rico Militia creates tent cities for thousands of survivors!

Image January 17, 2020 Hutchins AAron

17 January 2020 (02:32 UTC-07 Tango 06) 27 Dey 1398/21 Jumada l-Ula 1441/23 Yi-Chou 4717

Puerto Rico has deployed more than 650 of its own National Guard personnel, in response to the ongoing earthquakes, building tent cities that can house thousands of survivors.

Tent cities have been established in the municipalities of Yauco, Ponce, Peñuelas, Guanica and Guayanilla. Each can provide shelter for up to 1-thousand-5-hundred people, with showers, toilets and laundry facilities.

FAILED STATE: OHIO JOINS NEW YORK IN DEPLOYING MILITIA TO PUERTO RICO

U.S.

Failed State: Ohio joins New York in deploying Militia to Puerto Rico

Video January 17, 2020 Hutchins AAron

16 January 2020 (23:44 UTC-07 Tango 06) 27 Dey 1398/21 Jumada l-Ula 1441/23 Yi-Chou 4717

“Our Ohio Air National Guard Airmen at the 200th RED
HORSE Squadron are ready and anxious to support earthquake relief efforts in Puerto Rico. This is what we do.”-Major General John C. Harris Jr., Ohio adjutant general

What Major General Harris said is true, but in the past each state’s National Guard took care of their own, deploying National Guard units across state lines might be unprecedented: “Being able to support another state for domestic response is exciting.”-Colonel Michael Hrynciw, commander 200th RED HORSE Squadron

Ohio is sending its Air National Guard’s 179th Airlift Wing and 200th RED HORSE Squadron to Puerto Rico.

They’re taking ‘beddown units’ which contain organic power and potable water (potable means you can use it in a cooking pot for consumption). Each beddown unit can hold 150 people.

In 2017, the 200th Red Horse deployed to the U.S. Virgin Islands in response to Hurricane Irma.

Video:

Failed State: A state/country whose political/economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control.

FAILED STATE: NEW YORK DEPLOYS ITS MILITIA TO SAVE PUERTO RICO!

U.S.

Failed state: New York deploys its militia to save Puerto Rico!

Image January 15, 2020 Hutchins AAron

15 January 2020 (11:55 UTC-07 Tango 06) 25 Dey 1398/19 Jumada l-Ula 1441/21 Yi-Chou 4717

The state of New York activated it’s National Guard, not in response to natural disasters in The Empire State, but to response to the recent earthquakes in Puerto Rico.

New York’s 105th Airlift Wing preps pallets of equipment for flight to Puerto Rico, 13JAN2020.

There are a lot of political reasons for this, like the fact that most Puerto Ricans escaping their natural disaster ravaged island end up in New York (more than one million so far). Another reason is that apparently New York’s governor sees an opportunity to advance his political career (President of the U.S.?). Governor Andrew Cuomo is in Pureto Rico right now, his seventh public relations trip since Hurricane Maria in 2017, you’d think he was the governor of Puerto Rico!

Cuomo ordered 115 of New York’s National Guard personnel to deploy to Puerto Rico for three months, despite that fact that New York’s National Guard is also deploying to the Middle East!

Cuomo, April 2018, one of his many taxpayer funded trips to a place he supposedly doesn’t govern.

It should be noted that at the end of 2018, Syracuse.com reported that for some reason Cuomo’s own staff have no idea how much New York state taxpayers are being forced to spend helping Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria!

12JAN2020, New York’s 105th Airlift Wing personnel hitch a large generator to a dump-truck, to be flown to Puerto Rico.

According to Stars and Stripes, Puerto Rico has 650 of its own National Guard personnel working full time building tent cities for now homeless Puerto Ricans. As of 13JAN2020, they’ve distributed more than 72-thousand bottles of water and 30-thousand meals.

It should be a sign of failed state-ism when the governor of a state can spend his constituent’s state tax-dollars helping an area of the country that the national government should be dealing with.

Failed State: A state/country whose political/economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control.

ARMY RESERVE DEPLOYS FOR PUERTO RICO QUAKE RECOVERY

OBAMA LEGACY: ILLINOIS NOW AN “EXCEPTIONAL” FAILED STATE, BLAME OBAMACARE!

UNITED FAILED STATES: ILLEGALS GIVE BIRTH TO 275,000 BABIES IN 2014!

U.S.

Army Reserve deploys for Puerto Rico quake recovery

Image January 13, 2020 Hutchins AAron

“Yesterday, we conducted an initial assessment of the areas we could potentially serve. Today, we are loading all the equipment and getting ready to roll. This action will allow us to have a faster response, once we get the mission assignment.”-First Sergeant Walberto Torres, 12JAN2020

The 430th Quartermaster Company, U.S. Army Reserve Multifunctional Geographic Command for the Caribbean (newly created in 2018, apparently as a result of past hurricane response problems) are deploying for earthquake recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.

Don’t accuse President Trump of being slow with military help, Title 10 USC Section 12304a authorizes the Army Reserve to provide disaster assistance to a major natural disaster or emergency in the United States only at the request of the governor. In other words the federal military can’t do anything to help if the governor doesn’t ask. This also brings up a point that is confusing to many silly-villians; the Reserve forces are in the realm of the federal government, National Guard forces are official state government militias.

Potable hand washing stations, water used is not for consumption (non-potable, which means it cannot be used in a pot for cooking).

“If the local authorities need federal military assistance, there is no need to wait for resources to arrive from outside Puerto Rico. Our command is already here on the island, prepositioned and ready to assist immediately.”-Brigadier General Jeffrey W. Jurasek

Maria: CBP’S BLACK HELICOPTERS DEPLOY TO PUERTO RICO, QUICK MINICRAFT REVIEW

MARIA: ARMY RESERVE RESPONDE AL LLAMADO DE AYUDA EN PUERTO RICO!

GREAT RENEGER: PUERTO RICO STATE MILITIA TO DEPLOY TO AFGHANISTAN

Kit Bashing, Technology

New Tail Feathers for Oregon Eagle, B-17 Bomber style! Plus, Mini-Eagle, Kawaii!

Video January 12, 2020 Hutchins AAron

A large VFW mural honoring the 173rd Fighter Wing and its namesake, Lt. David R. Kingsley, in downtown Klamath Falls.

“We wanted to put mil-spec paint on the jet instead of the automotive paint that we dealt with last time. They don’t really make B-17 colors anymore so we had to put a special order. They have to shut down the production line and then do spray-outs and testing to make sure they are matching our federal paint standard codes.”-Master Sergeant Paul Allen

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar, 07JAN2020.

Official video report:

For Xmas 2019, Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing got a new paint job for their F-15C “Sandman” Eagle, but they had to go to Edwards Air Force Base, in California, to get it. Supposedly it’s because the paint facilities in Oregon couldn’t handled the custom paint job.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Paul Allen, 20DEC2019.

The F-15 was painted with colors as close as possible to a World War Two Boeing B-17 bomber, which required olive drab, green and grey colors with a catalyst. It also has invasion stripes and star-n-bar insignia as seen on WW-2 USAAF fighters.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar, 08JAN2020.

Relying on ground shipping services turned out to be a losing deal as only half the paint and half the catalyst was delivered. The paint supplier was located in the Los Angeles area so the team, who drove all the way down from Oregon, drove out to LA to get the orange color (as in OrANG, Oregon Air National Guard?). Turns out the paint shop at Edwards had enough of the other colors in stock to get the rest of the job done.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Paul Allen, 23DEC2019.

The paint job crew included Drew Sorlien, Tim Bodner, Cameron Curtin, Jeff Southern, and Derek Larman. It’s dedicated to Second Lieutenant David R. Kingsley, a radio operator on B-17s, killed in action on 23JUN1944, after a bombing mission over the oil fields at Ploesti, Romania. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for taking off his parachute and strapping it on a wounded member of the crew. The 173rd Fighter Wing is based at Kingsley Field, named in honor of David Kingsley.