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Aircraft that make your jaw drop!

Traveling light, not much wing sag from a full load, with these birds,
Many years of C-5's groaning overhead, the pattern starts in Dixon,
Have known pilots, and support crew, never have I've seen this kind of flying of a C-5.
I've seen the 130's & Osprey's do this in the desert, light loads,
 
The C-17's are silly quiet while doing it as well.
Strafing down the water at 500 ft I can hardly hear them,
while the commercial traffic from SEATAC is a constant ear ache.
 
Gun pod on an F-35C.

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Somehow the US Navy sent this TOPGUN A-4E (seen in the movie below) to be displayed at a medical clinic in Japan.
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And because every A-4 gets repainted as a Blue Angel….
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And an image taken in November 2025.
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The F-5-F in the lead, was lost in a midair crash with an F-18. The crew of the F-5 survived. The F-18 pilot lost his life.
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Pic by Dave Baranek.
 
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The Googles says that the Navy had 3 F-104s that were used for testing the AIM9. Evidently all three crashed at different times, only one pilot survived.
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The '60' in the serial numbers indicate these aircraft were purchased (not necessarily delivered) in 1960.

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Hard to imagine such a time.

"Just another SR-71 rolling off the assembly line. Back to work you loafers, keep 'em coming."
 
Another flying asset that has dove on me, ^

Imagine if you will, cruising the Suisun Slough on a tired 440 Jet Ski, way out at Montazuma slough bridge,
and blow a head gasket, ran fine until I dropped throttle a bit, then dead.
Wading thru the muck, trying to drag it up into ground cover, above tide line, and get one of these diving on me as a target.
I didn't see the gun waving, nothing fired, still no help either, I got what I needed done, parked in the weeds, out of the water.
I did hitch back to Suisun boat ramp, got my car, and borrowed another ski to drag mine back the next day. the end. ? ? ?

During the war, we did get war practice out in the slough's, river boats would terrorize our waterskiing, and Hueys, & ground attack,
overhead. Come around a blind corner, river boat, full chat, wake, full width into the tulles, and three feet high.
C-5's 141's, groaning overhead for the full experience.
 
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^^^ The slowest and the fastest carrier based aircraft of their time.

Flying a non-ejection seat aircraft (A-3) onto and off of a carrier had to be terrifying. I flew onto a carrier (once) in an S-3, and the first thing I did was check to confirm that the crew's ejection seats were disarmed. They showed me, and told me it was 'policy' when transporting passengers.
 
Enchanter said:
^^^ The slowest and the fastest carrier based aircraft of their time.

Flying a non-ejection seat aircraft (A-3) onto and off of a carrier had to be terrifying. I flew onto a carrier (once) in an S-3, and the first thing I did was check to confirm that the crew's ejection seats were disarmed. They showed me, and told me it was 'policy' when transporting passengers.
Click to expand...
Watching videos of the Whale operating off an Essex class deck is jaw-dropping. 🤯
 
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