Developing story, but 2 Marines were rescued by the Coast Guard after ditching their jet off our coast. It only happened a few hours ago, so details are sketchy still. Aircraft not listed, but it’d have to be an F/A-18:
www2.counton2.com/cbd/news/local … an/119810/
Lucky guys (and two more members of the M/B club)
Glad to hear they are safe! To bad they lost their aircraft… 
You mean “too bad they lost OUR aircraft”…
No kidding…with as much as I have paid in taxes in over the years…I’m sure I could say I own a rivet on that bird.
That’s kind of a major gripe of mine. As much as I love the Thunderbirds/Blue Angels, how come it’s only celebrities/local newscasters that they give the demo rides to? We’re about to have our semi-annual airshow and the Angels are scheduled to perform and I was reading the criteria for getting a demo flight and it says that “only members of the local media are considered”. Why is that? Are the tax dollars that Joe Meteorologist contributes worth more than mine? I’ve seen countless airshows and the news on the day of the show always features a 10-15 sec clip of some anchor passed out in the back of a jet - is that really the best publicity - how many people sign up for service based solely on watching something like that? I think I’ve read somewhere that they usually do 3 demo flights at each location they put on a show at. I’d love to go up, but if I can’t, at the very least, 1 of those flights should be given away in some kind of local lottery. By now, almost all of the semi-known newscasters here in Charleston have gotten their flight(s) with either the BA’s and/or the T’birds. I know it’ll never happen, but considering that I’ve at least paid for a few gals of JP-5 in my working life, I’d like to at least get to sit in a seat or something. As someone that LOVES military aviation, I’d cherish that opportunity way more than some douchebag sports guy on the 11 o’clock news that doesn’t even know the difference between an F-16 and F/A-18. 
Unfortunately, it’s because the military is always thinking about publicity.
I think it would be good publicity if the demo teams held a lottery for us common folks to get a ride in one of their aircraft. The military would still be able to get good publicity. They might even be able to get even better publicity with the media reporting on real people winning a flight in a demo aircraft.
Exactly dami - If I got a ride with either of those teams, I wouldn’t shut up about it for the rest of my life. I know me; I’d be so pumped up, my head would explode and once I got on the ground, I’d be talking about it to anyone that would listen (and those that wouldn’t too). You guys would have to expel me from FA because that’s all the rest of my posts would ever be about. I’d have a whole 100 page thread “Josh’s Flight with the Blue Angels” where I’d be the only one contributing. I don’t know what that’d be called, but it sure wouldn’t be bad publicity. Instead, they’ll have Barry Dingle, late night meteorologist, puking in a bag on the 11 o’clock news and he’ll forget all about it the next day. (“I got to do a ride in uhh, one of them crazy FC-21’s I think is what it’s called and we went a million miles an hour and went out over the ocean and did some loops and stuff and I passed out and puked on myself. And that’s it for your late local news, you guys have a good night.”) If the powers at be actually watched how little of the demo flights are shown on the news, they might would give them to people a little more appreciative.
And in semi-related news, they literally **just **posted an article saying they’re cancelling our semi-annual airshow that I’ve been waiting and waiting for, citing: “the heightened commitment and personnel assigned in support of Operation Enduring Freedom means the 437th Airlift Wing is setting the show aside”.
postandcourier.com/news/2010 … -canceled/
B.S. - I’ve been looking forward to this since they cancelled last years air show. I know our AFB has more important things to do, but I think this is ultimately the result of poor planning. I’m honestly really pissed off. I guess they just read my rant about not getting a ride along with the Blue Angels. And I guess I won’t be seeing the 787 that was supposed to be making an appearance. Honest to God, I got a new 15 mp camera for Christmas, just for that date.
← that’s right, 5 angry faces. I want my tax dollars back.
They just announced yesterday that the Ft Lauderdale air/sea show is canceled for this year AGAIN, lack of sponsorshipa nd Blue Angels or Thuderbirds did not commit to performing
I see a common thread developing here with military cutbacks - discussions.flightaware.com/view … hp?t=10787
Well, I’m still angry - but back to the original subject:
Fire on fighter jet forced pilots to eject
BEAUFORT - A fire aboard a dual-seat F/A-18 Hornet is thought to be what caused two Beaufort fighter pilots to eject Wednesday over the Atlantic Ocean during a training mission.
Maj. Duane Liptak and Capt. Jonathan Hutchison were about 80 miles offshore when the fire started, said Lt. Col. Joseph Maybach. The cause of the fire and where it began have not been determined.
Maybach said the pilots initially thought they could make it back to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, but the fire spread and caused dual engine failure, leaving Hutchison and Liptak no choice but to eject at 5,000 feet and ditch the $29 million fighter jet.
Liptak, the pilot, and Hutchison, the weapons system officer, were spotted in the water by another F-18 crew training nearby within five minutes of ejecting, Maybach said.
A crew from Coast Guard Station Charleston plucked the pilots from an inflatable raft and had them back to the air station less than two hours after the crash, Maybach said.
The Coast Guard recovered the jet’s flight recorder Thursday morning, which will play a part in the Corps’ investigation into what caused the fire and subsequent engine failures.
They’re defending our country so you and me can be free… Get your panties out of a twist. It’s their aircraft.
I don’t have my panties in a twist - I think everyone from the president and the pilot down to the American public would all agree that it is/was our plane. You’re too young to pay taxes, but once you start contributing to the system, you’ll understand. Go ask your parents who’s plane it is and let me know what they say.
They did the right thing. Fly the airplane as long as practical, and when your opportunity to bail is closing, get the hell out! So many military pilots lose their lives because they have an innate fear of losing that aircraft so, “I’ll just stick with it a little longer and see if she pulls out” even when there is no chance for recovery. Just bail. We’ve spent more tax dollars training that pilot than the plane costs. At least when the pilot bails, we only lose the plane.
Yeah, it is “our aircraft” but I would not hesitate to say the statement about “at least owning a rivet” is hugely exaggerated. And you should remember, military personnel pay their taxes, too.
+1
No, it’s the crew chief’s aircraft. And I guarantee he isn’t a real happy guy at this point.
I don’t have my panties in a twist - I think everyone from the president and the pilot down to the American public would all agree that it is/was our plane. You’re too young to pay taxes, but once you start contributing to the system, you’ll understand. Go ask your parents who’s plane it is and let me know what they say.
I knew that was coming…
Let me ask ya this: How many people in America pay taxes, or at least are supposed to pay taxes?
A lesson in taxes Will: Everyone pays some part of taxes - there’s a sales tax in every state I believe, so even if you buy a pack of gum, you contribute. As far as “supposed to pay taxes” - I can’t speak for everyone, but I pay about 25% of my gross income in taxes, plus a sales tax on anything I buy, taxes included on fuel I purchase, taxes on the vehicles I own, property taxes on our house, as well as taxes associated with every utility bill I pay. That’s all I can come up with at the moment, but I’m sure there’s several more I pay that I can’t recall, as well as several that I’m excluded from (estate taxes, etc). Granted, not all of that is federal tax, but a substantial portion of all of my taxes paid goes toward the federal government. That’s why I’m a flat tax man, or ideally, do away with the IRS and everyone just pays a higher sales tax on everything. I’d be willing to pay 10-15% sales tax on everything and get rid of being nickeled and dimed throughout the year, but then again, the people that skirt the system don’t really care for those kinds of ideas.
Okay, rant off…
And lineman, while you can’t place a value on human life and I am extremely happy that both pilots were able to walk away from that crash, I find it hard to believe that the pilot of that aircraft has had flight training in excess of $30-40 million dollars (my estimated value of an F/A-18D). Regardless of that though, I was very relieved to find that both in the aircraft successfully ejected, were able to walk again and probably fly again - you can’t put a price on that.
I already know that, but thanks.
So all of us pay taxes… Including Marine fighter pilots. Right?
Apparently Will, you are wise beyond your years. Well done.