Tac Attack

ffBRUflRY 1968

ZfHO ACCIOfnT
YfAH ... page 4
for efficient tactical air power

THC HTTHCMFEBRUARY 1968

current interest
THE MAGIC ZERO Pg 4
VOL. 8 NO. 2
- T AC' s Reserves fly no-accident year

WHUMP! BANG! CRUMP! Pg 11

TACTICAL AIR COMMAND -speak English, guys!

BOLD FACE PROCEDURES Pg 12

COMMANDER
- easier to memorize
GENERAL GABRIEL P. DISOSWAY
VICE COMMANDER RED LIGHT BLINDNESS Pg 16
LT GEN ALBERT P. CLARK - it can sneak up on you

TO SAVE A LIFE Pg 18

Published by the Chief of Safety -life support drill

COLONEL H. B. SMITH REVERSING'S THE PROBLEM Pg 22
- did you know ...

departments
CHIEF SAFETY PUBLICATIONS Angle of ATTACK 3
LT COL CARL E. PEARSON
Pi lot of Distinction 9

editor Chock Talk 20

Maj John D. Shacklock TAC Tips 24
assistant editor
Letters 26
Maj John M. Lowery
associate editor TAC TALLY 27
Don Reynolds
31
art editor
TACRP 127-1
Stan Hardison
Articles, accident briefs, and associated material in this maAazine are non...cJirec-
tlve in nature. All suAflestions and recommendations are intended to remain within the
layout & production scope o f existing directives. Inlonnation u sed to brief accidents and incidents does
not i d entify the pe rsons, places, or units involved and may not b e construed as in-
SSgt James E. Fields criminating under Article 31 of the Un llorm Code of Military Justice. Names, date:J,
and places used in conjunct ion with accident stories a re fictitious. Air Force units
a r e encoura g ed to r epub li s h the material conta in ed h e r ein; however, contents a r e not
editoria I assistant for public release. Writt en pennission must be obtained from HQ TAC before materia l
may be republlshed b y other than Department o f Defense o rganizations .
Mariella W. Andrews Contributions o f a rti cles , photos, and items o f interest from pe rsonnel in the field
a r e encourage d, as are commen t s and criticism. We reserve the r ight t o edit a11 manu-
scripts f o r clarity and readabilit y . Direct communic~tlon is auth o rized with : The Edi-
tor, TAC ATTA CK, HQ TAC (OS P ), LanA lev AFB. Va. 23365.
printing Dis tribution F, Controlled b y OSP - TAC P ubli cation s Bulletin No. 22, dated 3
Hq TAC Field Printing Plant Jun e 1966
flngle of flTTflCK

It's a rea I privilege to congratulate the officers and men of our Air
Force Reserve for completing 1967 without a major accident. Anytime a
unit has an outstanding safety record it is noteworthy. But in this case the
pilots, mechanics, support personnel and supervisors are Reservists. Their
safety record is the culmination of exceptional skill, dedication , and above
all professionalism , in their approach to their duties.
The commanders and supervisors set the tone and example in this ac-
cident free year . It is obvious that they put a lot of thought , hard work , and
top level supervision into the conduct of their mission. Their varied and
demanding operation required constant attention to detail in order to run
safely and according to plan.
The Reserve flying and training requirements were as stringent as
those of our regular airlift squadrons . Their inspections and surveys had to
meet the same rigid standards we require of our active units. They were
even tasked with some combat crew training. They met the challenge of
these difficult tasks, and they did it in an outstanding manner.
Thanks to their efforts TAC's airlift potential has been greatly en -
hanced . Their assistance has been a major factor in helping meet our world-
wide tactical airlift commitments.
It is indeed a pleasure for me to salute our dedicated Reservists. They
have again proved themselves an invaluable member of TAC's aerospace
team.
Keep up the good work!

~4/_e
H. B. SMITH, Colonel, USAF
Chief of Sofety
THE
MAGIC ZER0 lAC's AF Reserves Flew
A NO· ACCIDENT YEAR

4 FEBRUARY 1968
 Reservists in TAC's C-119 fleet flew accident-free during 1967
w hi I e completing the heaviest flying schedule in their history.
Thousands of missions were flown to support regular force oper-
ations. The part-timers carried hundreds of tons of cargo , thousands
of passengers , and dropped nearly 110 ,000 Army paratroop trainees.

An accident-free year of flying has been accom-

plished by one of the Air Force's oldest fleets. All
The Flying Boxcars dropped more than 800 tons
of hay to snowbound herds last December after a
21 squadrons of C-119G Flying Boxcars , now flown crippling blizzard struck several Western states .
by Air Force Reserve aircrews, scored a zero The reserve fleet's combat capability was demon-
accident rate during 1967. This is an unparalleled strated in 1962 when 24 squadrons were mobilized
flying record for the twin-boomed bird since it took on a no-notice call during the Cuban crisis . In less
to the air in 1947. than 48 hours after recall to active duty , C-119s
Contributing to this outstanding record are seven of several squadrons were deployed and loaded with
reserve tactical airlift squadrons which have an Army weapons and personnel.
accident-free history for their nearly ten years of
C-119 flying. They have racked an impressive score PART -TIMERS PRODUCE
of more than 285,000 hours flying time without Reservist's flagpole flying diminished several
either a major or minor aircraft accident. years ago. Since then, the C-119 fleet has recorded
some striking figures in the accomplishments
FLAGPOLE FLYING DIMINISHES column.
Annual flying time for a C-119 aircrew member The following statistics reflect productive opera-
averages about 200 hours. However, the days limited tions only , and omit flights conducted exclusively
to flying the flagpole and cross-country· hops· to for trai ning:
accomplish training requirements are long gone.
Today's reservist missions have been integrated FISCAL YEAR 1963 thru 1966 1967
with regular force requirementsprovidingthousands Missions 41,937 13,218
of hours of productive airlift. Hours Flown 196,787 45,113
Reservist missions are flown each week indirect Tons Hauled 36,013 10,237
Pax Hauled 152,683 66,467
support of Air Force and Army commands, carrying
Troops Dropped 429,743 109,517
cargo or personnel throughout the United States,
Canada, and Caribbean. Though these cargo hauling
flights are not tactical missions, aircrews log up There were 42 tactical airlift groups in the
to 30 percent of their annual proficiency training. Reserve Forces in 1963 . Some of these units have
Added to this are actual paradrop missions for transitioned into C-124swithreassignmentfrom TAC
Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard forces. to MAC, leaving 21 reserve groups in TAC. Although
Paradrop operations are conducted on a continuing the number of groups decreased, the amount of
basis at Army paratroop training centers . At least productive airlift per unit increased.
three aircrews are assigned to these centers each During this same period, the accident rate varied
week of the year , and an increase is expected. from a high of 6.3 to a low of 1 .2. In the past ye ar,
Tactical airlift reserve units have responded reservist C-119 operations included a variety of
continually to natural disasters, usually on short missions.
notice. Communities struck by flood and hurricanes There were substantial incre ases of overwater
have received their first assistance from C-119s flights, arctic operations , aircrew training for sev-
loaded with emergency gear and supplies. eral active force commands and allied air forces.

TAC ATTACK 5
MAGIC ZERO
Also, new techniques and equipment were developed
for increased paradrop effectiveness. More about
this later .

WEEKEND WARRIOR ?
An informal handle has long marked the
reservists. And there are many c-·119 drivers
who cringe at the sound of "weekend warrior ."
For they know that there was a time when it was
true. But times have changed.
Today, they are holding down two professions.
Reservist aircrews average about 55 duty days
each year and they must satisfy their civilian
employers, not only for the welfare oftheir families,
but to gain favorable promotional positions. They
are also expected to fulfill their military obliga-
tions: maintain flying proficiency, keep current with
methods and procedures, and always be ready to
stand an ORl evaluated on the same basis as regular
forces.
These busy men are susceptible to peculiar
hazards . And reserve commanders are well aware
of the problems, which they admit require constant
surveillance and supervision.
First of all, a reserve pilot has a maximum of
four days per month for relaxation. And over a
year's time, this max time is usually eroded by
several volunteer flights for directed airlift
missions.
Example: Major X is a packaging engineer for
a large firm in the Midwest. His obligations are
the same as others who have two teenagers , a cub
scout, and an urban home. He lives about 2 1/2
hours driving time from his assigned reserve unit.
At least twice a month, he packs his flight gear,
tooth brush and Dash-One. At the end of a day at
his civilian job, he begins the 2 1/2 hour trip through
rush-hour traffic hoping to make a 2000 hour briefing.
The flight may be the start of a cross-country
cargo trip or, if he's lucky, a 2 1/2 hour night,
tactical mission.
From the time he leaves his office until he boards
his C-119, he is expected to complete the transition
from packaging engineer to aircraft commander,
fully informed, alert at the controls, and motivated
to act and respond by the book. This demanding
schedule can be a set-up for an accident waiting to
happen.

6 FEBRUAR Y 1968
 Bakalar AFB, has said, "The Dollar-Nineteen gets
exceptionally good service because many techni-
cians and supervisors have been working on the
same aircraft for nearly ten years."
The C-119 is a predictable bird, though this was
not always true during its early years. Bugs have
been eliminated from the R3350-89-B engines . Most
of the power plants have gone through their fourth
overhaul at the depot. Long experience with the engine
has given time to strengthen its weak points.
The average of 4,400 hours per airframe and
control systems has given reservists ample experi-
ence in coping with the aircraft's inherent re-
sponses.
Time has also brought about developments to
increase the effectiveness of the C-119 . Reservists
were not satisfied with the accuracy and performance
Reserve aircrews of T AC' s C- 119 fleet flew more than of the sluggish and unpredictable gravity and chute
90,000 hours in 1967. Crewmen average about 200
extraction paradrop systems.
hours flying during their 55 duty days served per year.
MISSION METHODS MODERNIZED
Commanders know it. Brig. Gen. Donald J. About four years ago, the 433rd TAW at Kelly
Campbell, Commander, 302nd TAW at Clinton County AFB was authorized by T AC to develop a new para-
AFB, said it this way: "Commandcontrolandsuper- drop system proposed by reservists. The motorized
vision is the beginning of a no-accident record. But system was tagged "Alamo Slingshot." It ejected a
its application must avoid the scare technique in maximum of six A-22 containers each weighing up
favor of presenting realities of th3 problems to to 2,000 pounds, on one pass over a drop zone. And
every aircrew m·e mber, mechanic, and loadmaster. the Slingshot system has an offloading time of a short,
We must accept the responsibility of being our predictable 4 1/2 seconds. It is now used fleetwide.
brother's keeper. This is the motivation which makes Less than two years ago, the 434th TAW told
the system work." TAC that they had a way to make the Slingshot
system more effective. TAC said go .
WELL CREASED HATS After three months ?f development and testing,
Experience is an asset of the reserve forces. the Indiana reservists had a system they called
All pilots, navigators, and most flight engineers SPADS, which on one pass over the DZ, could
learned their profession during four or more years paradrop up to 16 A-22 containers, or 52 A- 21
of active duty with regular forces. Ten to 15 years containers, or three J-1 platforms, or any combina-
of flying time per man is not unusual. And their tion of the three. The ejection time remained at
original experience was in various aircraft: fighters, 4 1/2 seconds.
bombers, cargo carriers, both jet and recip. SPADS permitS a single pass drop ofupto 22,000
Today's average reservist has logged about pounds, based on current C-119 wing load limits,
3,000 flying hours. And it's not unusual to meet an for short tactical missions. And no-cost parachute
aircraft commander with 5,000 hours, ofwhichmore modifications allow drops at up to 50 percent lower
than 2,000 hours were logged in reserve C-119s. than normal altitude, greatly improving accuracy.
He knows his Dash-One . He knows the operating Part of the accuracy is shown by the 47.2 yard
envelope of his bird. CEA (circular error average) of all 844 test drops .
Reserve maintenance also benefits from experi- And the ground pattern of a max load was held to
ence. Col. Alfred Verhulst, Commander, 434th TAW, 50 by 200 yards.

TAC ATTACK 7
MAGIC ZERO
But during the 10 to 12 days of no flying, the
reserve driver has heard little or no hanger talk;
he has not seen the latest operations and safety
briefs; his interest in weather has been limited to
the condition of his lawn; and the ;vocabulary of
common aircrew phrases has a strange, though
temporary, sound. Reorientation is accomplished
through programmed procedures.
Each action is deliberate. The pilot plans his
flight in complete detail. He follows checklists with-
out deviation. Every pilot knows that a methodical
approach sidelines complacency. His attitude is
defensive . He knows that a missed briefing or pro-
cedure is an invitation for an accident.
TAC monitors the C-119 fleet's Standardization
and Evaluation program. However, command and
control of the reserve units on inactive status is the
High experience level of C- 119 maintenance men con-
tributed to ·setting the Reserve's zero-accident rate.
responsibility of CAC (Continental Air Command)
headquartered at Robins AFB. Reservists conduct
Some units have developed procedures for com- training operations in accord with TAC criteria.
bating specific hazards, especially aircrews opera- They are subject to TAC ORis. And the C-119 units
ting from civilian airdromes. Take the 928th Tactical become wholly TAC elements when mobilized.
Airlift Group at Chicago's O'Hare InternationalAir- Reservists believe that their bird, though in
port, long known as the busiest facility in the world. the well used category, can contribute to TAC's
The 928th's home runways handle more than mission. They are proving this fact with every hour
650,000 takeoffs and landings per year, and their of airlift support given to regular forces. They also
airspace is shared with seven other civilian and know that if their equipment is ever needed on a
military airports within a 30 mile radius. Col. R. E. full-time basis, they can deliver.
George, Commander, said his aircrew response to One group commander said it this way, ''Who
this environment has caused his men to be branded can argue with success?" ~
"swivel necks" by personnel ofsisterunits. Scanning
is SOP for every 928th crew member, including the
Seven Air Force Reserve tactical airlift groups have
loadmaster who covers the rear quadrants from the
rear door windows.
flown without an accident in their C-119s since they re-
ceive the aircraft almost ten years ago. These units
DEFENSIVE FLYING REDUCES ACCIDENTS have tallied a total of more than 285 ,000 Flying Boxcar
Reservists work in a broad environment of civilian hours. They are:
employment and Air F..orce. flying. Some belieY,e thi~
has a positive effect toward accident-free flying. '906th 'TAG Clinton County ·AFB, 'Ohio
This multi-environmental s it u at ion stimulates 910th TAG Youngstown MAP, Ohio
"defensive flying" according to Operations Officer, 913th TAG Willow Grove AFRes Fac., Pa.
Maj. Walter Ruf. He explained it this way:
When a reservist arrives at the flight line, he 924th TAG Ellington AFB, Texas
has been away from the cockpit for 10 to 12 days. 928th TAG O'Hare lAP, Illinois
He has little doubt about his ability to perform,
93lst TAG Bakalar AFB, Indiana
considering his many years of current status and
the 3,000 to 5,000 hours he has logged. 934th TAG Minneapol is-St Paul lAP, Minn.

8 FEBRUARY 1968
 TACTICAL AIR COMMAND

PILOT
OF
DISTINCTION

Captain Douglas G. Lauck

Captain Douglas G. Lauck of the 562nd Tactical magnetic compass. He located the city and an airport
Fighter Squadron , McConnell Air Force Base , Kansas, and started an approach for landing. Normal wheel
has been selected as a Tactical Air Command Pilot brakes , anti-skid, leading and trailing edge flaps ,
of Distinction . speed brakes , afterburner, and thrust decay were not
Shortly after takeoff in an F-105F on a night pro- available to him because of the system failures . His
ficiency flight, Captain Lauck found his dopplernav- drop tanks were half full, but he could not jettison
igation system malfunctioning. He also found the them . He touched down at 235 knots , stopcocked the
intercom and Tacan were failing . When he tried to throttle, used aerodynamic braking , and delayed his
notify Air Traffic Control of his difficulties, he drag chute until he was below 200 knots. With care-
found his radio dead. This was followed shortly by ful use of the emergency brakes, he was able to turn
failure of the utility hydraulic system and then com- off the runway 1000 feet from the end and stop on a
plete electrical failure. taxiway.
With darkness approaching, Captain Lauck dead- Captain Lauck's skilled airmanship, professional
reckoned his position to be near a large city and knowledge , and calm reactions during severe stress ,
started an immediate de scent through the 8000-foot- readily qualify him as a Tactical Air Command Pilot
thick cloud layer using only altimeter, airspeed, and of Distinction. __....:::::....

TAC ATTACK 9
 plane owners who fly in these areas can't afford the
equipment necessary to make each flight under in-
I strument flight rules . . . one of the proposed tem-
porary remedies. So with the mix getting to near
critical proportions, the 250 knot speed limit has

SP£0 been placed on all of us . It's purpose . . . SAFETY.

Our guidelines in TAC are to comply with this
FAR. It will shortly appear in our own AFR 60-16.
liMIT We may exceed 250 knots however, when the as-
signed mission requires it or when the aircraft Dash
One specifies a higher speed to assure safe operation.
TAC high speed, low altitude operations onapproved

250Knots routes and in air combat tactics areas are exempt

from the speed restriction. If you fly a bird which
requires more than 250 knots for safe flight then
your lowest optimum airspeed becomes your air-
speed limit.
There are further exceptions to the rule. Let's
say for illustration your aircraft requires 300 knots
The Jf'AA has ruled that you may not fly faster on initial approach for landing. Maybe your base also
than 250 knots indicated airspeed below 10,000 feet has T-33s. The commander is authorized to estab-
altitude. There are no aerial police to enforce this lish standard airspeeds for all aircraft using the
new addition to FAR part 91. But this requirement airdrome. In this case the T-33 could be required to
may save your life. fly a 300 knot initial approach. Established traffic
At most of our busy population centers air traffic pattern airspeeds for the various airdromes can be
congestion has become a perplexing problem. The found in the Flip Enroute Supplement.
VFR, or see-and-be-seen, philosphy is becoming So don't get caught with your speed up. Above all
harder to live by (pun intended). Many of the light ... keep your eyes out! ~

neor MIDAIR COLLISION study

The Federal Aviation Administration recently FAA, even though it may be involved in the FAA
published an advisory circular (AC00-23) establish- study, will be processed in accordancewithAFRegs.
ing a study program on the frequency and cause fac- This, they say, is necessary so that corrective action
tors of near midair collisions. The Air Force has can be taken when needed.
thrown its full support behind the program. TAC's part in this worthy program istobe hand-
In an effort to encourage participation the FAA led through safety channels. Since the FAA data will
has offered immunity to pilots who report near mid- not provide feedback to the military services, mili-
airs. This includes Air Force pilots. The data they tary pilots must also report via the OHR. This may
accumulate will not be available outside the FAA ex- appear a little time consuming. But remember, both
cept in the overall conclusions of the study. the OHR and FAA study are for everyone's benefit.
However, USAF cautions that it "cannot extend the We can't take corrective action if we don't know
same degree of immunitytoitsownpilots."Informa- the problem.
tion concerning a flying violationobtainedoutsidethe

10 FEBRUARY 1968
 Two horrible examples of how an unexpected situation
WHUMP!! can get downright dangerous when the people involved
don't use language the others can understand.

BANG ll while the pilot was expediting his VFR approach

to land , he sighted a large thunderbumper partially
covering the airfield. His radio request to approach
II
CRUMP •• control was, "May I have the numbers?"
He received DME and a change in altitude and
vector instructions. Some airline pilots use the term
"numbers" to request the existing weather. With-
out receiving the weather info he wanted, the pilot
went ahe ad and landed. He lost forward visibility

... speak english, guys in the rainshower, drifted off the side of the run-
way . .. CRUMP!!
A flight of fighter types was making a VFR night
formation landing. They were advised of "company
traffic" in "same type equipment" landing ahead
of them. They acknowledged and replied, ''Military
assumes responsibility for separation of aircraft."
Tower rogered the MARSA with clearance to land.
The flight leader requested the jet trainer on the
runway to expedite clearing the runway.
The tower operator used the term ''company
traffic" to indicate an aircraft belonging to the
same organization. When he said, "sametypeequip-
ment ," he meant another jet aircraft. But the flight
leader interpreted it to mean a jet fighter (versus
a jet trainer). The term MARSA is for use at alti-
tude during air refueling.It generally has no appli-
cation in the traffic pattern in fighter operations.
When he was requested to expedite, the jet
trainer pilot started heavy braking in an attempt
to clear the runway ASAP. The landing pilots assumed
he would expedite to the end and clear ... they
attempted to pass the trainer on either side ...
BANG!!
Sounds like a Chinese fire drill, doesn't it?
Look, as long as we all fly Air Force aircraft , we
should all speak the same language. Even ICAO
says we have to speak English.
C'mon , guys... ~

from a 9th AF Safety Alert L e tter

TAC ATTACK 11
 BOLD
FACE procedures •••

They're doing something to make the bold birds in the active force. The Prime Depot for
face procedures in the Dash One easier to each aircraft agreed and the changes will soon be in
learn and easier to remember! Had you no- the field.
ticed? Although the Eglin study was conducted on jet
fighters alone, the recommendations make so much
sense that the concept is being extended to all Air
Had you noticed that there's a move underway to Force aircraft.
standardize the terminology in emergency proce- To grasp the significance of this new approach,
dures for all aircraft? And to condense some of you must fully understand the special meaning we
the lengthy procedures? And to downgrade some of attach to CRITICAL procedures. Most flight manuals
the existing emergency procedures to non-critical define them something like this:
status?
It started without a lot of fanfare a couple of CRITICAL
yea rs ago. And it's been progressing steadily since THOSE STEPS WHICH MUST BE PERFORMED
then. The changes resulted from a study of the IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT REFERENCE TO WRIT-
bold face emergency procedures in jet fighter and TEN CHECKLISTS. THESE CRITICAL STEPS
trainer aircraft conducted by the Stan/Eval Division SHOULD BE COMMITTED TO MEMORY.
of Systems CommandatEglinAFB. TAChasaccepted
the recommendations of the Eglin study and our It makes sense that in a critical emergency
flight manuals are beginning to reflect this new you must make an immediate, conditioned response.
approach to emergency procedures . It also makes sense that we should reserve the
The F-100 was first. During flight manual review bold face format for truly CRITICAL emergencies.
last year some of the terminology was changed and You would normally follow these critical items
the number of CRITICAL procedures was reduced with non-critical steps in the same procedure.
from 27 to 25. Thisyea r,wehopeto see it go further This new approach to emergency procedures
toward complete compliance with the new concepts. involves four major factors.
Last year's review of the F-105 manual brought • The term CRITICAL is often misused. Many
most of the emergency procedures in line with the bold face procedures didn't meet our definition of
new ideas. And conferences on the F-4, F-5, and a CRITICAL emergency.
F-111, brought about changes in those manuals. • The unlearning-and-relearning problem has
The F-104 manual involved coordination with the always complicated transition into a new bird. It
foreign countries who use that airplane, and the has troubled those who fly more than one airplane .
next revision to the F-104 book will show the • Simila r emergencies in different aircraft have
changes. often received widely varied treatment. Some
We haven't ignored the older airplanes . During manuals cover a given situation with a bold face
the review of the F-86 and F-84 handbooks, TAC procedure. In others it may not even appear as an
recommended they be changed to line up with the emergency procedure.

12 FEBRUARY 1968
 AIRCRAFT TOTAL NUMBER OF CRITICAL TOTAL NUMBER OF CRITICAL
____IYEL PROCEDURES REQUIRED INDIVIDUAL STEPS REQUIRED
PRESENT PROPOSED PRESENT PROPOSED
T·33 14 11 45 30
T-38 10 22 24
F·4 11 12 32 33
F-5 10 20 27
F-100 16 12 47 34
F-IOlA 12 10 32 28
F-IOIB 16 10 50 28
•
eas•er •o -•-orize F-102 27 13 57 37
F-104 20 13 47 39
F-105 16 13 38 39
F-106 24 u 71 35

• Finally, many bold face procedures were CRITICAL. And it's kinda hard to explain the logic
either misleading or actually incorrect. The proce- of preceding a CRITICAL step with three non-critical
dure for complete hydraulic failure in one twin-jet steps.
fighter used to read like this: Many different people, in many agencies, are
involved in writing our flight manuals. Each has
1. DE CREASE AIRSPEED his own ideas. And therefore we wind up with many
2. ATTAIN LEVEL FLIGHT differences in terminology.
3. EJECT Take speed brakes ... in one book you may find
them called speed boards, or dive brakes , or dive
Step #1 assumed the failure would occur at flaps ... even air brakes! How about a throttle?
high airspeed. But there was no reason why the You can call it a thrust selector or a power lever.
hydraulic systems would quit at high speed instead You can close it, shut it down, stopcock it ... or
of low. If they both fail at low airspeed, the pilot just plain move it to OFF. You can place it in mili-
who tries to comply with the first step, will find tary power, full open, full mil, or 100 percent.
himself in a rapidly compounding problem. Having If that's not enough ... when you're trying to recall
lost all control surfaces except manual rudder, the exact wording, you wonder whether the book
when he slows the airplane he will soon find the said to move it outboard, to afterburner, to maximum,
bird out of control and spinning. to full A/B, or to Max thrust!
Because he has no control left but a little rudder, The Eglin study went through the emergency
he'll have an awful lot of trouble complying with procedures for eleven current jet fighters It com-
Step #2. If the hydraulic failure occurred when his pared the equipment and the emergency situations.
nose was low, he could only raise it by increasing And it arrived at wording most likely to trigger
power and increasing airspeed! immediate, specific action on the part of the pilot.
Not all CRITICAL procedures were that bad. In almost every case, the people conducting the
But in many the wording was confusing, the logic study found they could recommend a standard
was hard to follow, or the last bird you flew didn't sequence of steps for all aircraft ... right down to
handle the same emergency the same way. One more the wording in each step. In the few cases where
horrible example, though, to show how bad things one airplane is equipped with systems or capabili-
can get: ties different from all others, they added special
One of the single-engine fighters used to have steps.
a ten-step procedure for Belly Landing . The Dash The review also cleaned up the procedures .
One went into great detail to explain that you should It moved the CRITICAL steps to the top where they
use the procedure only when all your efforts to belong. And it dropped procedures that didn't belong
lower the gear have failed. Only step four was in the CRITICAL category to the get-out-the-book-
considered CRITICAL . .. in bold face type. It said, and-reaa-'em category.
would you believe, GEAR HANDLE- DOWN!! We don't have the space here to list all the bold
This procedure didn't meet our definition of face procedures the study recommended. A quick

TAC ATTACK 13
BOLD FACE

look at the thinking the Eglin people used on takeoff possible. The term If Committed to Takeoff is
emergencies will give you a good idea how the rest technically meaningless until you have performance
of them go. data from which to compute this point ... such as
The Eglin study approached takeoff as perhaps a chart for Abort After Takeoff.
the most critical phase of flight ... where a rapidly If you do make the decision to stop, you're
dAtertorating situation can suddenly become cata- faced with the first CRITICAL takeoff emergency
strophic. And they found that almost every one of the study group considered ... ABORT. They found
the flight manuals used different terms for the these titles for the abort procedures in the manuals
most critical part of this critical phase of flight . . . they studied:

IF COMMITTED TO REFUSAL SPEED ABORT

TAKEOFF BARRIER ENGAGEMENT
GO-NO-GO IF AIRBORNE ABORT OR BARRIER ENGAGEMENT
TAKEOFF NOT AFTER LIFT-OFF RUNWAY OVERRUN BARRIER
COMMITTED ABORTED TAKEOFF
DECISION SPEED BEFORE AIRBORNE ABORT (BE FORE LEAVING GROUND)
ABORT (AFTER LEAVING GROUND)
All of these terms were used to describe the ABORT/BARRIER ENGAGEMENT
magic point where you must either abort or con-
tinue your takeoff. The first conclusion they came to was that an
But when you look at them carefully, none of abort is a Takeoff Emergency and includes barrier
these terms actually mean what they intend to say ... engagement as an integral part of the procedure.
for various reasons. For example, ''refusal speed'' Of course, barrier engagement should also be con-
is defined as the maximum speed at which engine sidered a Landing Emergency. It should be repeated
failure permits you to stop at the end of the runway. in the landing section of Chapter III. In all cases,
It doesn't consider that you probably have a barrier they reasoned, the procedures should be identical
of some sort, perfectly capable of stopping you for both.
safely . You could very well be far beyond refusal Going through eleven flight manuals, the study
speed and still have the capability to abort. With group found the 29 bold face steps listed (right) in
a burning a ircraft, this may be your best course the procedures for aborted takeoff. When you apply
of action. these steps to the individual aircraft, you notice
They found it one of their most difficult choices several interesting facts:
of terminology, but the people conducting the study • All have throttle movement as Step 1.
decided to divide takeoff emergencies into two major • Only four aircraft call for wheel brakes.
categories: • The F-101A and F-101B, which are sometimes
1. IF DECISION IS MADE TO STOP (Based on flown interchangeably by the same pilots, require
available runway, arresting gear, barrier , overrun, different procedures for this emergency.
terrain .) Note the lack of standardization in terminology ...
2. IF TAKEOFF IS CONTINUED. steps 16 thru 19 (speed brakes), steps 1 thru 7
They decided it is impractical to deny the pilot (throttle), steps 8, 9, 10, and 12 (external load
the use of his judgment in this extremely critical jettison). Here they selected the phrase "EXTERNAL
situation. Phrases such as After Airborne, After LOAD - JETTISON" as the best option for all air-
Refusal Speed, or After Lift-Off leave no room for craft. The word "Load" covers all possibilities ,
judgment. They can lead to an arbitrary ... and where "Tanks" implies tanks only. "Stores" is
perhaps incorrect . . . decision to press ahead with usually taken to mean all items other than fuel
the takeoff, even when a successful abort may be tanks, such as bombs, special pods, and so forth.

14 FEBRUARY 1968
 The Eglin study recommended this abort proce- Study the chart below and you'll get an idea of
dure for all jet fighter aircraft: the changes that will take place in each flight
manual when this program is fully adopted. The study
1. THROTTLE(S)- IDLE (OFF FOR FIRE) group slightly increased the number of CRITICAL
2. SPEED BRAKES - CLOSED (For aircraft procedures required on three aircraft . But they
where extended brakes interfere with engagement) greatly decreased the number on the other eight.
3. DRAG CHUTE - DEPLOY You'll also see that the maximum number of
4. EXTERNAL LOAD - JETTISON (AS NECES- CRITICAL procedures for any one aircraft will
SARY) decrease from 27 to 13. And the maximum number
5. ARRESTING HOOK - EXTEND of steps in any CRITICAL procedure will come down
from ten to five!
Only the steps which apply will appear in any The most important factor ... and it's not shown '
particular flight m anual. The F-100 is the only by these figures .. . is that the procedures which
aircraft that will show all five steps. By comparison, £!2. remain bold face will all be alike throughout the
the T-33 will have only two steps ... numbers 1 entire USAF jet fighter and trainer inventory!
and 2. However, the sequence will remain standard When this program has been fully adopted, it
in all aircraft, as will the terminology used . will benefit more than just the pilots who fly the
aircraft. Some of the benefits may be rather subtle
ABORT and intangible, but others you can readily identify:
1. THROTTLE - OFF 16. SPEED BRAKES - IN
2. THROTTLE - IDLE 17. SPEED BRAKES - UP Accident Prevention
3. THROTTLES- IDLE (FOR FIRE - 18. SPEED BRAKES - OPEN
AFFECTED ENGINE - CLOSED) 19. SPEED BRAKES - CLOSED This program places added emphasis on CRIT(-
4. THROTTLES - IDLE (OFF-FIRE) 20. TAILHOOK- DOWN CAL EMERGENCY PROCEDURES. Those selected
5. THROTTLE - IDLE OR OFF 21. HOOK - EXTEND as meeting the criteria for CRITICAL are clear,
6. THROTTLES - IDLE 22. HOOK - DOWN concise, and positive. They are short enough to be
7. THROTTLE - IDLE (OFF FOR FIRE 23. BRAKES - AS REQUIRED memorized and comprehensive enough to cope with
AND EMERGENCY BRAKE HANDLE - 24. WHEEL BRAKES - APPLY the emergency.
PULL FULL AFT) 25. BRAKING - STEER FOR CENTER,
8. EXTERNAL STORES - JETTISON STOP BRAKING PRIOR TO Operations
AS REQUIRED ENGAGEMENT
9. STORES- JETTISON (IF NECESSARY) 26. BRAKING ACTION -AERO- Initial qualification, requalification, and multiple
10. TANKS - JETTISON DYNAMIC, NORMAL, EMERGENCY currency will present fewer problems to aircrews
11. CANOPY- JETTISON (IF NECESSARY) ll . ARRESTING HOOK - RELEASE and flight managers.
12. EXTERNAL LOAD -JETTISON (IF 28. BARRIER - ENGAGE SQUARELY
NECESSARY) 29. CONTROL STICK -AFT TO RAISE Training
13. CHUTE - DEPLOY NOSE. AVOID NOSEWHEEL
14. DRAG CHUTE - DEPLOY LIFTOFF Cross-training will be expedited. A minimum of
15. DRAG CHUTE - EMERGENCY DEPLOY unlearning and relearning will be necessary while
you check out in a new aircraft.
This list doesn't show the procedure for any specific aircraft. Each manual used the steps in this manner:

T-33 T-38 F-4 F-5 F-100 F-101A F-101B F-102 F-104 F-105 F-106 Standardization
1 6 6 6 2 3 4 5 5 7 2
17 19 13 14 16 18 18 14 9 8 15
28 25 24 24 14 14 14 ll 14 14 20 The increase in standardization will have positive
29 22 16 l2 26 12 10 21 27 23
8 ll 12 20 23 effects in Safety, Operations, and cost reduction.
20 11
...-:::::....
TAC ATTACK 15
 by William L. DeGinder, M.D.
reprinted from FLYING MAGAZINE

RED LIGHT
BLINDNESS
Could you read the rest of this page by the red (Figure 1). In both, a lens system collects light and
illumination of your cockpit lights? Are you sure? forms a picture image. The amount of light entering
You may be reading this without glasses, but you the eye or camera is regulated by a circular iris
could still be subject to "red-light blindness"! behind the first lens component. The correct amount
This visual handicap develops gradually, and it of light then passes through a second lens component
eventually affects most pilots, including many who for final focusing into a sharp image on the light
still seem to have "perfect vision" under daylight sensitive surface of the retina in the eye or film in
flying conditions . Pilots who fly after dark only on the camera.
rare occasions sometimes discover this peculiar The camera's lens must be moved forward or
disability suddenly. If you are approaching or passing backward from the film to focus the light rays pre-
40 years of age, it might be a good idea to try reading cisely upon the surface. Insteadofmovingforwardor
some fine print by red light before your next night backward, the lens system of the human eye focuses
flight. You could find out the hard way. automatically and almost instantly by a remarkable
Let's suppose thatyouhavedonenocross-country mechanism that causes slight changes in contour and
night flying for several months . You take off in perfect thickness of the second lens.
weather just a little before sunset. Everything is going
To see something close, we focus the picture by
fine , but you need to find the frequency of the next
contracting a circular (ciliary) muscle about the rim
VOR and make some cross-checks on your exact
of this lens just exactly the right amount to increase
position.
It's now dark in the cockpit, so you turn on the its thickness and curvature enough to produce a sharp
red map lights and spread a chart on your knees. picture image at the retina. Moving the object closer
You can't read it there so you pick it up for a closer requires stronger contraction of the ciliary muscle,
look .. . still blurred. You move the chart right up greater change in contour and thickness of the lens.
under the red light, then your eyes widen and your For each individual there is alimitof close focus .
forehead wrinkles with strain as you try to focus the Some individuals can barely focus at arm's length,
fuzzy figures. That's red-light blindness. in bright illumination (moderate far-sightedness).
After the eyes have been used for 40 years or so, this
HOW DOES RED LIGHT BLUR VISION? extra effort becomes less and less effective , even with
The eye and the camera are surprisingly similar good illumination (presbyopia). Looking at small

16 FEBRUARY 1968
type under red light illumination forces the eyes to At the same time, the lens increases its curvature
work at the greatest possible disadvantage. and thickness, attempting to focus a sharp image of
the print at short distance. Both of these factors
SOME OVER·SIMPLIFIED OPTICAL FUNDAMEN- decrease the optical efficiency of the simple lens
TALS system, and the image formed by the red light has a
When white light passes through a prism, the tendency to focus behind the retina.
constituent wave lengths or colors are bent to differ- The print appears blurred. Some extra effort to
ent degrees and emerge in a rainbow spectrum . contract the ciliary muscle and increase the curva-
(Figure 2). Lightpassingthrougha simple converging ture and thickness of the lens abitmore might make
lens is also dispersed to some extent as it converges it possible for the young person to go ahead and read
behind the lens. the print, even though he might feel some sensation
This dispersal of colors is most pronounced when of eye-strain.
light penetrates the peripheral part of a ratherthick If the lens system is no longer able to make this
lens (chromatic aberration). Therefore, the precise extra effort to bring red light into sharp focus upon
focal points of the various colors of light are found the retina, the image remains blurred.
at slightly different distances behind the lens. A pilot who passes all of the standard eye exami-
The human eye and the more expensive cameras nations under standard conditions of illumination may
have built-in features to compensate for this. But the still find himself unable to read the vital figures and
compensating factors are inadequate under the condi- facts on his flight charts under red-light illumination.
tions we have described. Manufacturers are now beginning to equip planes
Color dispersal is most severe when light pene- with white light (all new Cessnas have ''blue-white"
trates the peripheral part of the lens, and it is almost lighting), but if you still have red lighting, you can
insignificant when a small iris confines light to the get prescription glasses for night flying, or carry a
central part. The pupil dilates to its maximum under hand lens or flashlight for better vision.
dim red light, attempting to admit more light to the ~
retina.

FIG# 1 FIG#2

R
0
y
G
B
v

s=o
-- --
~
'~ >.~ 4

Focusing mechanics of camera and eye. Light dispersal by prism and lens, with
red falling most distant from the lens.

TAC ATTACK 17
 TO SAVE

Classroom instruction, Florida style, is des igned

to acquaint F-4 crewmembers with the proper pro-
cedures to fit, adjust, and use survival equip-
ment. This includes everything from the pilot's
helmet and mask to the LPU-2, G-suit, parachute
harness , and Martin - Baker seat.
Open air classroom was built through th e extra
Special emphasis is given to the Bendi x sur-
efforts of the Wing welding and fabrication shops .
vival kit and its contents. The kit shown here is
a functional tra in ing mockup made of scrap metal
and fabric . Use of th is kit prevents wea r and tear
of the more expens ive Bendix.

Parachute land ing fa ll tra ining beg ins on the 2-

foot platform . Here the importance of keep ing feet
and knees t ogether is stressed . Improper land ing
Student hits the sawdust and rolls through the fall accounts for ane-th ird of the parachut ing
f ive po ints of body-ground contact. injuries.

Every aircrewmember in TAC is aware that fa- rected by Captain Ken Ekberg (OIC) and MSgt Mach-
miliarity with his life support equipment may mean ment Thompson (NCOIC). Their Life Support te am
the difference between life or death. TAC regulations constructed an outstanding series of training plat-
have been written to insure that each crew member forms and mock- ups from waste lumber, sheet metal,
has a basic knowledge of how to use his survival and fabric. Total cost of materials ... under $1200.
equipment . But the 4531st TFW at Homestead has Their parachute training warrants special men-
taken positive steps to see that each man not only tion. It is perhaps the best in the entire command.
becomes familiar, but STAYS familiar with all his Under the tutorship of Captain Louis Mari, USArmy
life support equipment . This includes emphasis on Ground Liaison officer, crewmembers begin learning
parachute control and landing fall . . . s ource of a the fine points of the parachute landing fall (PLF).
large percentage of our injuries and deaths. This one area accounts for more than one third of our
The Life Support program at Homestead is di- ejection injuries .

18 FE BRUARY 1968
A LDFE

F-4 student and instructor pi lots get intimately

familiar with their water survival equipment.
Trainees also practice parachute disentanglement
procedures while in the water.

Suspended from the swing lending troiner, the air-

crewman practices deploying the mockup Bendix
survival kit, getting the feel of the ha rdware.
Parachute control steer ing and maneuver ing, is
also rehearsed during this phase.

Final phase of the PLF training is a trip on the He is then dropped into the sawdust at some time
swing landing trainer. The student swings back during the simulated oscillations. He must then
and forth, simulating an asci Hating chute. hit the ground in position for a PLF.

The first stage of PLF training begins with the can insure proper responses in an emergency. Even
students jumping from the two foot platform into soft airborne school graduates acknowledge benefits from
sawdust. When he masters the rudiments the crew- the PLF training.
member then progresses to the higherfourfootplat- The life support apparatus adds nine hours tothe
form. Here he continues to perfect his PLFtechnique. 453lst RTU syllabus. Instructors also get their fair
Finally, comes the big test on the swing landing share of training. In an effort to aid other Blue
trainer. Here the student swings back and forth in Suiters the 453lst allows the 19th Bomb Wing (SAC)
full parachute harness until the instructor decides to and 319th FIS (ADC) to use the training apparatus for
release him. Since he can't forecast his touchdown their survival training.
the student assumes the landing position and, by re- The life support mission is to save lives. Captain
flex, performs the PLF on touchdown. Ekberg's team is doing just that.
This training has proven that only actual practice ~

TAC ATTACK 19
 CHOCK TAlK
.. .incidents and iacidentals with a maintenance slant.

last chance lost confidence?

Number Three in a flight of three F-105s had just An overseas Phantom crew aborted takeoff after
landed from a GCA behind Lead and Two. On the about 1500 feet of roll because they had no airspeed
rollout, he noticed a trail of empty 20mm cartridge indication. They followed the book and stopped their
cases on the runway in front of him. He found it wind- heavy bird on the runway without any difficulty.
ing through the de-arm area, down the taxiway, and After the bird taxied in, inspectors quickly deter-
into Lead's parking place. mined what had caused the trouble ... water in the
When they all got out and looked at Lead's air- pitot-static system. The crew chief should have
plane, it became very obvious. The forward ammo drained the water from the system during his pre-
compartment door was open! It apparently had not flight. After they purgedthesystemitworkedthe way
been secured before takeoff, buthadremainedclosed it's advertised.
until the nose gear touched down on landing. The maintenance folks had a long talk with their
You can slam this particular door shut and it will flight line troops. Then they decided to ask the air-
stay there without the camlocks secured. And although crews to drain the system on theirpreflights ... just
the camlocks protrude 1/4-inch when they're not to be sure.
locked, they're easy to miss unless youlookdirectly Doesn't say much for their confidence in the qual-
at them. ity of maintenance, does it?
The big mystery is how the bird got past the end
of the runway, last-chance, inspection. That's what phantom pins
it's supposed to be for .•. to catch the items that
everyone else missed! The aircraft commander had just started the left
engine of the F-4 when the crew chief reported sparks
last chance ... again coming from the rear of the bird. They quickly shut
down both engines and stepped out.
It all came upwhenanoverseas F-100outfit found In short order they found the remains of a ground
that one of their birds lost an access panel during safety pin that had gone through the engine. It had done
takeoff. When they picked up the panel on the runway, the normal amount of damage . .. they had to remove
they found only one of the dzus fasteners was bent. the engine and ship it to the depot.
Apparently it was the only one that had been fastened. Nobody could identify the fragments that had come
After a little checking, they learned that the crew out of the tail pipe. Both air and ground crews were
chief who launched the airplane also made the last- sure the intakes were clear of foreign objects during
chance inspection at the end of the runway. And that preflight. And they accounted for all the pins that were
kinda takes all the s t e am out of the last-chance supposed to be around the airplane.
check •.. They're still scratching their heads •.. but every-
Isn't that supposed to be where y ou catch the things one concerned is being a lot more careful about for-
all the other folks have missed ... ?? eign objects, and ramp cleanliness ...

20 FEBRUARY 1968
warnings
The F-105 pilot had been airborne about 15
minutes on a conventional gunnery mission when he SO LONG
noticed a moderate low-frequency vibration in the
airplane. Then he noticed that the exhaust gas tem-
perature had climbed up to 675 or 680 degrees.
Without hesitation, he diverted to a civilian airfield
Shack
close to the gunnery range. He landed before any
more serious trouble developed.
The engine specialists suspected a bearing
failure. And when they took an oil sample they had
their suspicions confirmed. Spectrometric analysis
of the oil showed it contained an abnormally high iron
content ... 39 parts per million.
They removed the engine for teardown and in-
stalled a new one in its place. That could have been
the end of the incident, but some curious folks at
the base checked back over the records. They found
this engine hadgivenamplewarningthatitwas having
trouble.
The engine had been flushed three times in its
last 80 hours of operation because an iron content of
over 15 parts per million showed up in routine oil
samples. Each time the iron content would drop to
about three parts afterflushing.Anditrosegradually
. . . one or two parts at a time ..• never at an alarm-
ing rate.
The unit involved has decided that in the future
they will tear down and inspect any engine after it
has been flushed twice and still shows an increase in
iron content.
fowl play
The C-119 pilot watched the right engine tor-
quemeter unwind to 60 psi during takeoff climb. No
Our Editor, Major Jahn Shacklock, departs for
surging, no backfiring, just a slow decaying of power. SEA and Skyraiders after this month's issue.
With the thrust loss his Number Two fuel flowmeter We'll miss him and his objective commentary. Of
fell to 500 ppm. Fully convinced his bird was ailing course, T AC ATTACK's loss becomes PACAF' s
he cut the fuel mixture and completed his shutdown gain; this is part of the Air Force way of life.
checklist. His engine-out return and landing was John guided TAC ATTACK's personality and
edited its content for over two years. His ac-
routine. e ident analysis was based on carefu I research;
Surprised maintenance in s p e c to r s found three editorial comment reflected his judgment and
dead rats in the carburetor air intake. Ram air on operational experience. We hope he'll find time
takeoff roll pushed them against the carb air intake to keep his byline ac.tive in TAC ATTACK.
screen cutting air flow. Fuel flow dropped cor- Happy Landings, John.
respondingly with reduced air intake, resulting in low TAC ATTACK STAFF
power output. They're discouraging Owls Club ban-
quets in their Boxcars by more frequent engine in-
take inspections.
Can you imagine the screeching complaints when
the owl discovered his in-flight lunch was stolen by
that twin-tailed silver bird? -----=::::....
TAC ATTACK 21
REVERSING'S
THE M any multi-engine pilots are
unaware that crosswinds, wet,
slick runways and reverse thrust
runway. Now, if you go into re-
verse thrust while weathercocked,
the reverse thrust pushes you with
can combine to spell disaster. the wind. In other words, it essen-
With a crosswind on a slick run- tially adds velocity to the cross-

PROBLEM! way you expect some push toward

the downwind side . However, when
you apply reverse thrust you actu-
wind which accelerates your drift
(see diagram).
The only way you can effec-
ally accelerate your drift and tively counteract this sideways
almost guarantee going off the drift while using reverse thrust
side. Here's why. is to yaw the aircraft DOWNWIND.
Let's say you've just touched This makes your thrust vector
down in the center of the runway act against the wind. However,
on the runway heading. You used this technique is not the answer
not the wing down or crab method for
crosswind correction . Your
since it is contrary to all our
training and habit patterns.
touchdown speed is well above Now, you can apply enough
the solution the speed at which your tires will
hydroplane. So on touchdown you
forward thrust to counteract your
drift and stay on the runway. How-
get absolutely no traction from ever, you then have a problem
WIND your tires. In fact, many times of runway length. Fortunately, in
the wheels never even begin to most cases the aircraft gets below
rotate. Instead they simply plane hydroplaning speed before leaving
on the surface water film. the runway.
The crosswind then begins The best procedure to follow,
pushing the aircraft downwind . when you have a crosswind and
(There's no tire-ground friction all the right conditions for hydro-
to counteract the drift.) If you planing, is go to your alternate.
try to maintain the runway heading Many of our airlines have identi-
you'll continue to skid or drift fied problem airfields which they
toward the downwind edge of the avoid altogether when it's raining
runway ... and off the side. or the runway is wet. And remem-
This sideways push can be sur- ber, these airline pilots are
prisingly forceful. NASA says, required to divert at a large finan-
"These (side) forces are propor·- cial loss to their company. Natu-
tional to the square of the cross- rally all this applies to snow and
wind velocity; thus, a 10 kt ice covered runways as well.
crosswind would quadruple the With the right conditions for
side force developed by a 5 kt trouble . • . you must decide: ''Is
crosswind on an aircraft.'' landing at your filed destination
If you release your crosswind worth the risk to your aircraft,
controls on rollout, for example, passengers, and crew?" ~
to get a- hold of the nosewheel
steering control, the aircraft will R e ferences: Cobb, ]. B., Hom e, W. B .:
by Major John M. Lowery weathercock into the wind, drift "Performance on Slippery Runways In A
Hq TAC (OSP) toward the downwind edge of the Cros s wind." AIRLINE PILOT, jun e 1964

22 FEBRUARY 1968
 CREW CHIEF OF THE MONTH

Sergeant Melvin H. Keylon of the 6lst Tactical

Airlift Squadron, Sewart Air Force Base, Tennes-
see , has been selected to receive the TAC Crew
Chief Safety Award. Sergeant Keylon will receive a
letter of appreciation from the Commander of Tac-
tical Air Command and an engraved award.

Sgt Melvin H. Keylon

Sgt Thomas P. Dobbins

MAINTENANCE MAN OF THE MONTH

Technical Sergeant Thomas P. Dobbins of the

481st Tactical Fighter Squadron , Cannon Air Force
Base, New Mexico, has been selected to receive the
TAC Maintenance Man Safety Award. Sergeant
Dobbins will receive a letter of appreciation from
the Commander of Tactical Air Command and an
engraved award.

TAC ATTACK 23
 Tac tips

McDonnell Douglas has issued a warning to all

F-4 pilots flying aircraft with the new H-7 ejection
seat. This seat will be showing up in TAC in/around
February or March.
Seems that pilots are storing personal baggage
and packages underneath the seat. Down locks and
safety pins have also been stuck back underneath
the seat.
These items, they caution, can cause damage to
the ejection seat rocket nozzles. This would, of
course, endanger crew members forced to eject.

chute to deploy. He cycled the handle three times, but

the chute wouldn't come out.
Approaching the far end of the runway, he felt he
could turn off without trouble. He thought about the
barrier briefly, then dismissed it. He left his speed
brakes down, his hook up.
But when he reached the lasttaxiway,hewas still
too fast to turn. He crossed the BAK-9 and rolled into
the overrun. And his extended speed brakes deflected
the MA-lA cable.
When he finally stopped, he was 500 feet into the
overrun. And his right brake was on fire. It took the
maintenance folks 30 manhours to replace the nose
tires and the main gear tires and brakes.
Like many others before him, this troop didn't
TOO PROUD? want to look silly ..• calling for someone to come and
raise his hook after he turned into a taxiway . But that
Landing at a strange base on a flight away from would have lookedalotbetterthansittingin the over-
home, the F-100 pilot found he couldn't get his drag run and calling for fire trucks.

24 FEBRUARY 1968
. . .interest items , mishaps with morals , for the lAC aircrewman

TIPSY
It was a fairly tight 'squeeze behind the Herky, but
the C-123 driver decided he could getthrough.And
besides, the C-130 had its engines at idle ... they
never performed their runup pointing 90 degrees to
the runway the way this guy was.
But when the C-123 was passing the C-130's tail,
the Herky crew advanced power. It looked like full
power!
Although the C-123 pilot used full left aileron as
his left wing came up, he couldn't stop it. The bird
tipped over. Its right wingtip, jet pod, and prop blades
came in contact with the PSP. It costthem 108 man-
hours to repair the damage. that really wasn't much of an excuse. And the crews
It was on one of those very crowded airfields, but of both airplanes had to share in the blame.

When the instructor, in the rear seat, tried to pull

off some power, he found the throttles wouldn'tbudge.
The student had tightened his throttle friction too far.
And he was still trying to advance the throttles!
The IP didn't get the power off in time.
Despite all this, the boomer managed to insert his
boom in the Phantom's receptacle. But the bird con-
tinued forward and up until it came in contact with the
lower portion of tanker's boom collar. By this time
the boomer was calling ''Breakaway!'', and the IP was
THE LITTLE THINGS pushing forward on the stick.
As the F-4 broke down andawayittook a piece of
The F-4 student aircraft commander was on his the ice shield with it, trapped in the receptacle ... a
first air refueling mission. He had stabilized nicely mute reminder that a little thing like throttle friction
in the pre-contact position, but when he started for- too tight can cause all kinds of trouble.
ward to contact, he was moving too fast. ~

TAC ATTAC K 25
LETTERS NASA conducted tests for the Air
Force to determine the effect of the ice
grip features on aircraft tires. T h e i r
results showed " ... the ice grip feature
has little e fleet on tire traction for wet
ice conditions investigated." Wet ice is
.. . to the editor the most severe surface condition a pilot
can encounter. The author' s reference
was a NASA publication, "Recent Re-
search On Ways to Improve Tire Traction
on Water, Slush or Ice," by Mr. Walter B.
Horne, Nov. 1965.
The referenced statement concerning,
" ... RCR means very little" was a con-
I hove just finished reading your clusion by the author based on several
November issue of T AC ATTACK and, published tests.
as always, consider it outstanding. The The ability of a tire to produce trac-
article, "When Your Tires Become Skis," tion is dependent on many factors, tire
written by Major John M. Lowery, states tread design, tire wear, rubber composi-
that NASA found even the wire-impreg· tion, tire pressure, runway surface texture
noted snow tires offered very I ittle in· ... For example, a smooth tread design,
crease in friction, due primori ly to the or a tire with more than 80 percent tread
rubber flexing. In addition, he stated, wear, very rapidly loses traction on damp
"We know now, os a result of NASA and or wet runways. A synthetic rubber tire
Air Force Tests, that RCR means very produces more coefficient of friction than
little." a natural rubber tire. Auto tires are
This is a problem that is critical to synthetic rubber and aircraft tires are
the C-130 when you consider the en- natural rubber. Tire pressure has a direct
vironment in which we must operate. We bearing on the speed at which a tire will
would like additional details which led begin skidding. In other words, your
to the above conclusions. ability to stop depends on many factors
Thank you for your kind assistance in not measured by RCR.
this matter. NASA's Wallops Island test due to
start this spring will test various meas-
uring devices to ascertain the best
method for forecasting available runway
Major William R. Dybvod surface traction.
Hq 315th Air Division
APO Son Francisco 96323 -Ed.

PEANUTS Courtesy of Deily Press, Newport News, Va.

@ United Feature Syndicate, Inc. 1966

1
'DEAR SWEETIE IT HAS
I 'GENERAL PER51-!IN6 HA5 A~KED
BEEN RAINING HERE LATEL'f, ~ M'l ADVICE SEVERAL 11Mf5...
BUT ALL GOES WELL II I AJ.JiJA.I/S TR'( TO J.IElP HIM ()(JT II

26 FEBRUARY 1968
 Tac Tally

TACTALLY MAJOR AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT RATES as of 31 DECEMBER 1961

estimated per 100,000 hrs flying time

1967
AIRCRAFT 1966

TYPE TAC ANG

22.9 0
A-1
26.3
0
RB-66
0 0
0 14.2
F/RF-84
0 12.1
0 7.9
F-86
10
80.5 14.2
13.2 18.0
F-100
17.5 17.0
27.3 17.0
mwm1967
Ewa 1%6 RF-101
27.1 33.6
16.2 0
F-105
UNITS 25.6
12.4
1967 1966 1967 1966 F/RF-4
6.1
9 AF 6.7 5.6 12 AF 9.8 12.3 3.8
C-47
4 TFW 4.6 15.4 23 TFW 14.3 29.6

15 TFW 23.8 3.2 27 TFW 9.1 11.2 KC-97

33 TFW 7.4 12.6 479 TFW 7.6 7.5
354 TFW 27.8 28.9 9.4 10.3 C-119
67 TRW
0 0
4531 TFW 0 0 75 TRW 20.9 0 4.2
C-123
363 TRW 7.5 9.8 313 TAW 0 9.1 0 0
0.5
64 TAW 0 0 516 TAW 0 8.0 C-130
1.8
316 TAW 0 0 4453 CCTW 5.6 6.4 0
317 TAW 4.2 0 T-29
4510 CCTW 8.3 13.2
0 0
464 TAW 2.2 0 4520 CCTW 9.0 15.6 4.3 0
T-33
4442 CCTW 5.7 0 4525 FWW 22.6 22.3 0 6.3

SPECIAL UNITS T-39

0 0
1 ACW 4.6 11.3 4500 ABW 0 0 9.9
0-1
4410 CCTW 9.8 12.4 4440 ADG 0 0 12.1 0

TAC ATTACK
27
 Tac Salutes

12 MONTHS ACCIDENT FREE FLYING

906 Tac Alft Gp 928 Tac Alft Gp 930 Tac Alft Gp 925 Tac Alft Gp
Clinton Cy AFB, Chicago O'Hare lAP, Bakalar AFB, Ellington AFB,
Ohio Illinois Indiana Texas
907 Tac Alft Gp 903 Tac Alft Gp 931 Tac Alft Gp 926 Tac Alft Gp
Clinton Cy AFB, McGuire AFB, Bakalar AFB, USNAS New Orleans,
Ohio New Jersey Indiana Louisiana
910 Tac Alft Gp 912 Tac Alft Gp 943 Tac Alft Gp 908 Tac Alft Gp
Youngstown MAP, Willow Grove ARF, March AFB, Brookley AFB,
Ohio Pennsylvania California Alabama
914 Tac Alft Gp 913 Tac Alft Gp 944 Tac Alft Gp 933 Tac Alft Gp
Niagara Falls lAP, Wi II ow Grove ARF, March AFB, Mitchell Fld,
New York Pennsylvania California Wisconsin
927 Tac Alft Gp 922 Tac Alft Gp 939 Tac Alft Gp 934 Tac Alft Gp
Selfridge AFB, Kelly AFB, Portland lAP, Mnpls-St Paul lAP,
Michigan Texas Oregon Minnesota

924 Tac Alft Gp

Ellington AFB,
Texas

its Air Reserve Fleet