Authors Farva Price
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Farva JO story!
As a new JO we had returned from deployment with some hours to burn, which meant JO cross-country machine was turned on.
I convinced the senior JO in the squadron to go to Tampa with me.
He agreed, leadership signed off, and away we go! /1
We 3-legged it to Macdill by the way of New Mexico and Pensacola.
From Pensacola to Tampa is a short jaunt over the Gulf of Mexico which means we also plenty of room with our left hand (I.e. gas).
The senior JO coordinated with Center ahead of time airspace FL400-FL500. /2
We blasted out of Pensacola as the sun was setting and never took the throttles out of afterburner. That takeoff is Still one of my fondest aviation memories.
Pretty quickly we were approved for the block of airspace and up we went. Halfway across the Gulf we pushed over. /3
It’s completely dark out now, so all I can see is the glow of the afterburner of my wingman a mile away from me.
We started from FL500 (ceiling of the Super Hornet) and dumped the nose 30 degrees nose low.
I saw Mach 1.6 and over a 1000kts ground speed (200 knot tailwind!) /4
There was a Standard Arrival Procedure into MacDill, so we slowed down to 250KIAS to fly the arrival.
On the approach to MacDill, the runway lights were off, so we had to depart and reenter for the overhead (which means we flew over downtown Tampa). Landing was uneventful. /5
As a new JO we had returned from deployment with some hours to burn, which meant JO cross-country machine was turned on.
I convinced the senior JO in the squadron to go to Tampa with me.
He agreed, leadership signed off, and away we go! /1
Supersonic aircraft tracked off San Diego coincided with mysterious "skyquake":https://t.co/VQejR2OiKa
— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) June 9, 2021
We 3-legged it to Macdill by the way of New Mexico and Pensacola.
From Pensacola to Tampa is a short jaunt over the Gulf of Mexico which means we also plenty of room with our left hand (I.e. gas).
The senior JO coordinated with Center ahead of time airspace FL400-FL500. /2
We blasted out of Pensacola as the sun was setting and never took the throttles out of afterburner. That takeoff is Still one of my fondest aviation memories.
Pretty quickly we were approved for the block of airspace and up we went. Halfway across the Gulf we pushed over. /3
It’s completely dark out now, so all I can see is the glow of the afterburner of my wingman a mile away from me.
We started from FL500 (ceiling of the Super Hornet) and dumped the nose 30 degrees nose low.
I saw Mach 1.6 and over a 1000kts ground speed (200 knot tailwind!) /4
There was a Standard Arrival Procedure into MacDill, so we slowed down to 250KIAS to fly the arrival.
On the approach to MacDill, the runway lights were off, so we had to depart and reenter for the overhead (which means we flew over downtown Tampa). Landing was uneventful. /5