Flight engineer tales and stories.
Every once in a while, a trip comes down the pipe that you must get on. It is a moral imperative. Missions are picked up by Current Ops from out in the system. These missions could be any DOD, Department of Defense, “client.” As a C-130 unit, we’re either hauling stuff or drop it out…
Welcome to Hey Eng. I’m interested in the history of flight engineers and enlisted flyers in the USAAF and the USAF. Why do pilots say “Hey Eng!”, where and how did the phrase originate? I’ve wondered why there weren’t FEs on bombers after World War II but they remained on cargo aircraft. In addition to…
I went to southern California, Orange County, for family vacations twice when I was in my early teens. That was my first time in the ocean. I loved it. Prior to those trips we would spend several weeks in northern Minnesota fishing. I really enjoyed being on the water. I’ve always liked swimming. Being in…
I didn’t start out depressed. I didn’t wake up one day and was depressed. It’s a journey, like many I’ve been on. Except that I don’t know when or where the journey really began. I don’t know where depression is going to take me or when the journey will end. There were road markers along…
The first time I went to St. John’s, it was an experience not to be forgotten. I think of St. John’s as an adult Disneyland. From 2003 until about 2014 I was there at least twice a year, many years it was more. When flying the C-130 to Europe, or on to the Middle East,…