AirBus 380

Someone sent me this list of problems that ensued following the engine explosion on the A-380 a week or so ago. Don't know if it's legit or not, but it reminds me of some C-141 sim rides

• massive fuel leak in the left mid fuel tank (the beast has 11 tanks, including in the horizontal stabilizer on the tail)
• massive fuel leak in the left inner fuel tank
• a hole on the flap canoe / fairing that you could fit your upper body through
• the aft gallery in the fuel system failed, preventing many fuel transfer functions
• fuel jettison had problems due to the previous problem above
• large hole in the upper wing surface
• partial failure of leading edge slats
• partial failure of speed brakes / ground spoilers
• shrapnel damage to the flaps
• total loss of all hydraulic fluid in the Green System (beast has 2 x 5,000 PSI systems, Green and Yellow)
• manual extension of landing gear
• loss of one generator and associated systems
• loss of brake anti-skid system
• unable to shutdown adjacent #1 engine using normal method after landing due to major damage to systems
• unable to shutdown adjacent #1 engine using the fire switch - no fire protection was available after the explosion in #2
• ECAM warnings about major fuel imbalance because of fuel leaks on left side, unable to be fixed with cross-feeding
• fuel trapped in trim tank (in the tail). Therefore, possible major center of gravity out-of-balance condition for landing

710th Deactivation Program

Arrived via email from Bill Watkins:

Free FotoSketcher Program

I came across a very nice free image manipulation program called FotoSketcher the other day. Basically, you take any image and drop it into the program, then move a few sliders around to change the effects and POOF ... you've got a 'work of art'. If you make a big enough one you can have it printed on canvas down at your local Costco or by many mail order places, put it in a nice frame, and hang it on your wall.

This one took about 3 minutes from start to finish.

This application is for PC's only. And it's 100% free. You can download a copy from the developer's web site at this link.

C-141 In a Movie

I got a heads up from a C141Heaven visitor about a C-141 appearing in the opening credits of "Euro Trip" ... so I put it in my NetFlix queue and it showed up last week.

It flashes by for about 4 seconds. Pretty clearly, it's a C-141. After watching about 20 minutes of the film, trust me, you've already seen the best part of it.

C-141 Video link...

Thanks to Lee Corbin for submitting a link containing some of the early YC-141B stretch model tests and also early in-flight refueling work. You can view it at this link.

The film is produced by AF Systems Command .. in 1978. It's on a web site called Internet Archive, which has lots of old movies on just about every topic under the sun. The video of the 141 begins at about 3:20 into this film.

If you search the sight for "C-141" you will turn up a few other videos and photo links as well; none as good as the one above. Search for "AFSC" to show a list of other interesting AF films.

For those interested they have a huge archive of old TV commercials and radio shows... a very good way to waste a raining afternoon (or not get any work done).

A chance to be saved.

OK....it's fake. You can make your own signs at www.says-it.com. Lot's of fun.

8th MAS Year Book

Kent Fredrickson, an ex 8th MAS navigator, sent me a copy of the 1973 8th MAS yearbook. It's taken me a while to get it scanned, but you can review the results this link..

It's also available as an 18mb PDF file at this link. (Use right-click-save-as to download).

If you were at the 8th during the 1970-73 timeframe, I'm sure you will recognize many faces and names. I sure did.

Thanks Kent!!!

Father's Day 2010

Here's one here that is especially timely. A new visitor to C141Heaven, Gary Buckley (a former C-141 navigator) sent a story a week or two ago about his father. You can read it at this link.

4th ALS/MAS (McChord) Reunion Plans

Rumor has it there will be a reunion for everyone/anyone associated with the 4th ALS/MAS at McChord on July 9th (Friday) starting at 1300 hours to celebrate its 75th anniversary. My details are little sketchy but you can all the 4th at 253-982-7567 and ask for a contact name who might know more. There was a web site originally done for the celebration, but it couldn't be maintained due to heavy work loads.

More information might also be found on FaceBook. Search for 'Fightn' Fourth 75th Anniversary' or go to this link .

Here's the info and contact data:

Haiti Confusion

Over the past 10 days or so I've seen at least 15 references to "C-141's" delivering aid to Haiti. I was going to track them all here; but folks should know better.

It's strange/funny/sad how we could get a C-141 there on very short notice to evacuate Haiti's leading thug (see Time Magazine article from 2001 )... but it took a week or more to get any sort of serious relief effort going this time.

It really makes me wonder what would happen in this country if there was another serious natural disaster such as Katrina. We sadly proved then we could not respond quickly but one would think that some remedial fixes to our massive unpreparedness for such an event MIGHT have been implemented in the years since... evidently not.

7 February 1986 --- A C-141 crew from the 437th Military Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB, South Carolina, flies Haitian president Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, his family, and staff from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to exile in France.

Here's the passenger list:

1. Jean-Claude Duvalier
2. Michelle Bennett Duvalier
3. Alix Pasquet Jr.
4. Sacha Pasquet
5. Nicolas Duvalier
6. Anya Duvalier
7. Simone Ovide Duvalier
8. Marie-Denise Duvalier Theard
9. Mario Theard
10. Mirca Theard
11. Aurore Bennett
12. Pierre-Marie Ligonde
13. Capucine (a young Haitian homeless girl that had been taken into the Duvalier household by Michelle Bennet)
14. Woody Bennett
15. Hans Thiesfield
16. Joanne Thisfield
17. Stanislas Thisfield
18. Kosta Thisfield
19. Philippe Biambi
20. Lt. Jean-Thomas Cyprien
21. Sgt. Lt. Raymond Ravilus