Thud
Pilot Trumps Crew Chief
Major Aquilla Britt was not a particularly big man, average height and weight in proportion. Unlike me, I was 6' 3" but I weighed 140. The major would kid with me by saying that on sunny days, he didn't think that I would cast a shadow.
I had to show him how to install the drag chute,
which required standing on the door located behind and below the rudder and
using one's weight to overcome a big spring to close and latch the door.
Each airplane was different, some you had to slam, some you had to finesse and
this task was a learned technique that no book could explain. Major Britt
came out one day and I was on someone else's jet and I'd slammed the door so
many times that I'd lost count and when he arrived, I was still trying.
Well , he starts laughing and kidding me, "Stay up there, Higgins, I'll get
somebody else to launch it and you can ride along back there for flight
pay." "I'll hand you your toolbox, maybe the additional weight
will help." "Hey, Higgins, suppose we don't put the chute in.
When I land, you just jump down and drag your feet to stop us." With
no engines running, his comments were heard by my counterparts and his chiding
ratcheted up because he had an audience. He had me, he knew it and he
wasn't going to let me up, either! At last I slammed down with my legs
just right and heard the almost inaudible click of the latch.
Quite
awhile later, he had to come out for the one-time drag chute installation
session required before cross country flights and I'm thinking that he had
completely forgotten the previous incident. I, on the other hand, had not
and I had my victim in my sights.
Now, a lot of one's success at closing the door depended on the chute itself. A very tightly packed chute would make it easier, a loose one would give you fits. The day before, I went to the parachute shop and got one of the riggers to pack me a chute so loose that Godzilla and his two buddies together, wouldn't be able to slam the door. Of course, the six pack of stolen Budweiser (only the officers club had American beer. Ours was local (Thai beer) and a carton of cigarettes helped seal the deal. The chutes were delivered well before flight time and we had a container that the expediter guys would put our chutes in.
Major Britt arrives and I go to the container to get the chute and I can tell immediately that 'something has gone seriously awry'. Both of these chutes are the tightest packed chutes that I've ever seen. So, the session goes without a hitch, the major installs the chute properly, climbs up and steps onto the door and with one movement, it closes and latches. Your uncle thanks me, then gets this "cat-that-ate-the-canary" grin.
The
major says; "Mike, you play cards, don't you? And you know
that a full house beats three-of-a-kind, right?"
"Uh-huh"
"Well, I want you to remember from now on that a box of
sirloin steaks and a bottle of Jim Beam beats Budweiser and a carton of smokes
every single time."
about Aquilla Friend Britt
Snacko's note: One of the very planes that Aquilla Britt flew, and that Mike Higgins 'crew chiefed', was on display at the Air Force Academy when I was a "Zoomie" Cadet. The day of the Dedication of that "Iron Butterfly" F-105 jet will never be forgotten by anyone there. The whole Wing of Cadets was in formation by squadrons at attention as the first of the 4 F-105's approached from the South in trail formation. Now, I came from a flying family and had been a civilian pilot for about 3 years already and I loved jets - especially fighters. I whispered to my friend, "he's too fast, he's Supersonic!" Sure enough, BOOM! and windows all around the Academy shattered. We all cheered and threw our hats into the air! At least one other of the -105's was also Supersonic (probably trying to keep up with "Lead") and Dormitory, Dining Hall, and Gym windows came crashing down. It was one of the most 'motivational' moments during our time at the Academy.
Many years later I took my wife and kids on a tour of the "Zoo", and as we walked around Vandenberg Hall I told them about the famous "Thud" fly-by. I kneeled down, and in the grass next to the walkway there were still some small shards of glass that I pointed out to them. Just this year, I was having lunch with "Augie" Augsburger, a friend of mine who had flown "Thuds". I mentioned that F-105 Dedication flight, and he told me that he had been tasked for the investigation of the "Incident". We both laughed & sighed as we recalled the awesome air power of those Thunderchief jets! Ike Sweesy, Snacko
There's a very good description by scrolling
all the way to the end of the document at http://www.wingweb.co.uk/aircraft/Republic_F-105_Thunderchief.html