![]() 08/10/2016 at 17:19 • Filed to: planelopnik | ![]() | ![]() |
A Dodge Viper ACR sits on the in board runway while an E/A-18G Growler attached to the Vikings of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129, taxis during a Top Gear special filmed aboard Naval Air Station Fallon.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Joseph R. Vincent/Released)
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! compliments of the US Navy
![]() 08/10/2016 at 17:27 |
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Naval ranks are best ranks
![]() 08/10/2016 at 17:27 |
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I’ll take the Grizzly.
Kinda funny, in a sad way, that both the Viper and Super Hornet production lines are just about at their ends.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 17:36 |
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The RIO of the Growler is on Oppo. He’s based at Whidbey. He did quick write up on his experience. I can’t seem to find it though.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 17:44 |
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I’d love to read it. Maybe he’s one of those lurkers who occasionally chips in on my Aviation History posts. I’m writing about the Growler for next week, which is how I came across this photo. Navy.mil has some fantastic photos, and they're all FREE.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 17:45 |
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You mean the Beechcraft Grizzly? It was basically a WWII era A-10, but it didn’t go into production.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 17:50 |
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Does the Navy really say “aboard” when they’re talking about ground stations? It makes some sense in a Navy sort of way, but it’s still kind of silly. Also, how do they determine the inboard runway? The one closer to the control tower?
![]() 08/10/2016 at 17:55 |
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This has a poignant Oppo connection. Our resident seaman and former Viper owner is in this picture.
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/ive-made-it-in…
![]() 08/10/2016 at 17:58 |
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Thanks for the link. I'll check it out. There's a blurb coming next week on the first flight of the Growler.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 18:02 |
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I think it got shared to the FP too. I love that site.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 18:03 |
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Chris Clarke hooked me up with a link. Good read. I plan to reply when I'm back at my desk.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 18:07 |
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I think yes to both. Swabbies are weird.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 18:10 |
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Weirder than the Air Force? Yeah, maybe so. Must be the salt air.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 18:11 |
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I mean the Grizzly in the picture. From what I understand, it’s the name used around the boat in radio traffic, since Prowler and Growler could be misheard. Kinda like how Super Bugs use Rhino around the boat...not that I agree with
anything
but the F-4 having the nickname Rhino.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 18:14 |
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The F-4 was about as aerodynamic as a rhino.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 18:17 |
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You give anything a big enough engine it’ll fly. And in the case of the F-4, sound good thanks to the GE J79s.
![]() 08/10/2016 at 18:45 |
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As somebody around here quipped, the F-4 remained airborne through brute strength. One of my Dish channels, that shows lots of older TV shows, is running a series written by Gene Roddenberry called , The Lieutenant, starring Gary Lockwood. It follows the adventures of a young USMC infantry lieutenant in the USMC of 1966. In the last episode I watched, the Lieutenant was tasked with riding back seat in an F-4 to see how the USMC Phantoms coordinated in ground support for Marine infantrymen. Lots of great footage of early F-4s, A-6s and the a few Skyrays thrown in for good measure. It’s actually a very good series, with solid writing (it’s Roddenberry, after all), and it offers an interesting look, and just a bit of propaganda, into the Cold War, pre-Vietnam Marine Corps.