T-Tail-Tall-Tail:
ADAK
Dick Reichelt
So what's happening on the way home? We're out of
Kadena heading for
Elmendorf. We started out with a pretty heavy load
for Stateside plus six pax.
It was a while, and finally a struggle to reach
FL370 to settle down for the
ride. Pretty night, stars shining bright, just like
in the song.
KABOOOM! From the left side. That was a new one on
this ace jet pilot! The
tapes might have jiggled, N1 or N2 might have done
something, but it happened too fast.
We were certainly awake, all of us. The
chattering about what it
could have been had just subsided after a minute or
two, when KABOOM! This
time I saw the flash. I had to look at number one
even though I had once vowed
NEVER to look out there again. (Remember I was
always nervous about the area of
the junction of the outer wing and engines 1&4)
The blasts came regularly now, a blast and flame
shooting FORWARD about 10
feet, as well as a longer torch out the tailpipe. We
established a call to
Elmendorf to see if they could rouse anyone with
advice for us. We changed the
fuel flow to see if that would eliminate the
blasting which was becoming
unnerving to all of us. I think it changed the
severity of the blasting going
on, but we all didn't like what might be going on in
the engine or to the
mounts, so we shut it down.
When heavy and on three engines even in the mighty
powerful model A we were
taught to look ahead, to two engine operation just
so you were prepared for
that eventuality.
Uh, Oh,A jettison plan? I KNEW it, I'm gonna be the
first guy to jettison a
load out of the 141! Oh, woe on us!
Elmendorf advised us that Adak, an island in the
Aleutian chain extending a
thousand miles from Anchorage was suitable for us if
we didn't think we could
continue.
We decided yes! Lets get out of here and started a
descent into Adak. Pretty
far down on the descent the radio advised us that
Pratt and Whitney had advised
them that they suspected an engine nose cone deice
failure, check all switches
and circuit breakers. In addition if that all checks
out, the engine would
probably run OK below 18,000 feet. It would be OK to
restart and see.
Sure enough, after the start-up the engine ran fine.
With all the playing around and low altitude fuel
burn, we continued our
letdown to Adak to get the airplane checked, with
Anchorage still 1,200 miles
to the east.
The weather at Adak had broken layers to 8,000 and
600 & five miles visibility
for the approach.
"Air Force, Navy Adak approach, you're cleared for a
VOR approach."
In my mind I'm screaming, "VOR! VOR!? We don't DO VOR's!"
Here we go, out bound, procedure turn descend
inbound, intercept! VOR inbound,
check minimum altitudes! Obstructions, obstructions.
Don't f**k this up
Reichelt! This I don't like!
Whew! We pop out, runway in sight, short final now,.
Wow! There in the
illumination of the landing lights, off to the right
is the crashed skeleton of
a P-3 Orion. I guess they didn't like the VOR,
letdown and approach either!
We had enough for this day, so we had a delightful
crew rest at ADAK, drizzling, cloud- swept, garden spot of the
Aleutians.
Next day we had a chance to see what we had gotten
into. Clouds and fog are
swirling around us in the drizzle and all across the
island. Grey everything.
The place was one big grey volcanic cinder. Looking
north past the take-off end
of the runway was a hill that swept upward from the
level on up into the
clouds. Very ominous, this place was awaiting some
Hollywood 'B'-film director
to come film Creatures of The Lost World of the 20th
Century!
The C-141 was the only airplane I would trust, to
take off in that schmootz
with that hill threatening us with its black cape
and sickle. The engine had
been examined, fuel put on board, so off we went.
The engine ran like a champ
at 18,000 feet en route to Elmendorf where the
engine anti-ice problem was
repaired and the 141 continued in the system.
Our crew had to go to the end of the line, back into
crew rest. Now, after a
very short non-taxing day, we still had a lot of
zoom left. What to do? We
could've gone to downtown Anchorage and 'See Nudes
in an Exquisite Manner'(An
expensive clip joint where naked women dance behind
gauze so thick, and
lighting fixed so you can't SEE anything) .(I
heard).
Or - we could go to the Elmendorf club where it was
always happy hour, and-YES!
Play the now famous juke box, featuring
"YEEEeeeeow,Everyyyytime I Go to town
They Keep Kicking My Dog Around". You just can't
know unless you've been
there…. how many drunk quarters went into
that machine to play that
record. It played in 1967, 1968, 1969, and as far as
I know its still there,
scratched white from the needle and still going .The
poor bartenders heard it
played SO many times, they vowed to smash it, but
they never did.
At last, homeward bound, last leg. East to the east
coast. NOW you know what
its like to party all night when you should be
sleeping, but your body knows
its really daytime…. and you get alerted for
flight. The take off into
the blackest sky in the universe is 'Hang on. Don't
fail me now!' and we make
it! Auto pilot on.
That last leg home to the east. Oh Boy! You've been
struggling to stay alert
and here comes the sunrise. First the pretty glow
then the FIERCE orange ball,
then the soooothing warm radiant heat. This is when
I had my best dreams and
hallucinations.
Wake up! You're almost home! It's a pretty day. Put
her down nicely, park it,
bags on the crew bus. Shake hands, pat em on the
back and a "Let's do it
again."
I would do it again gladly. Thank you Lockheed, God
Bless America!
09/18/2004
Richard (Dick) Reichelt richreichelt@msn.com