[ScanIndiana] LaPorte Flyover

[Duane Mantick]

I suppose it was inevitable that someone, somewhere
would use this excuse in a reply.

Believe me, I FULLY understand and appreciate that
"the mission" takes priority over flyovers and
airshows, and I AGREE with that.  In general, I
am as much or more of a supporter of our men and
women in uniform as anyone is.

But - it is NOT an excuse for shoddy performance.

If I am going to trust MY security and that of my
nation to the aviation side(s) of our services, I
would like to be shown that they can hit a cow in
the tit with a tin cup - or perhaps, the broad side
of an Indiana barn.  If these guys can't navigate
their way from Fort Wayne to La Porte and locate the
main street in decent visibility, GOD HELP ALL OF US
IF THEY EVER GET PUT INTO COMBAT.

Be happy with what I get?  No sir.  Not with what I
saw Sunday.  It is NOT indicative, barring information
that I don't have as yet, of quality piloting and is
a poor representation to the taxpayers of the military
that we are footing the bill for.

I think if you knew more of the history of this parade
and the long relationship between it and the military
flyovers which reaches back for decades and through
several wars/conflicts, you would understand that at the
very least, it isn't too much to expect to have our
pilots fly along a straight line which they have failed
at miserably for the second year in a row.

I don't know what orders they had from their C.O., but
if I was in charge of the Indiana ANG and saw this,
I'd probably be chewing someone's butt, big time.

Duane
WB9OMC
born and raised there and seen too many better ones....


> -----Original Message-----
> From: scanindiana-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:scanindiana-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Jeff Howell
> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 11:41 AM
> To: scanindiana at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [ScanIndiana] LaPorte Flyover
>
>
> I wasn't there, so I can't attest to the "quality" of the flyover.
> Regarding the "quantity" of the flyover, I can say that, remember
> that many
> of our normal National Guard forces have been diverted overseas
> or for other
> domestic preparedness/protection details, so perhaps they didn't have the
> "quantity" that you would have preferred.
>
> I know that Fort Knox and Fort Campbell used to come into Louisville quite
> frequently with medevacs using Blackhawks.  It is quite an awesome site to
> watch a Blackhawk land on a hospital (civilian) helipad, especially on the
> camera that is mounted on the 9th floor of the hospital.  A
> Blackhawk takes
> up the entire pad....  two or three civilian helos will normally
> fit on the
> pad; and maybe a Huey and a civilian (depending on the civilian
> model).  But
> since the crisis in Afghanistan and Irag, most, if not all, of the
> Blackhawks from Knox and Campbell have been diverted to that conflict, so
> both bases are back to using mostly Hueys for medevac flights.  Many air
> shows across the country have seen a decrease in the number of military
> aircraft due to the overseas conflict or diversion due to domestic
> preparedness.  Domestic preparedness has priority over airshows,
> so I'm more
> than happy to accomodate any "shortcomings" that may arise as a
> result.  Be
> happy you get what you get....and be happy knowing that what you don't get
> is probably elsewhere keeping your country or your country's forces safe.
>
> Just to keep this on-topic, StatCare out of Louisville uses 155.4 FM for
> dispatch/operations, and 130.075 AM for unicom ops.
>
> Cheers,
> Jeff E. Howell, EMT-B (K3DHS)
> Telecommunications Specialist
> U.S. Department of Homeland Security
> National Disaster Medical System
> Disaster Medical Assistance Team KY-1
> TCO - Clark County (Ind.) Sheriff's Office
>
>
>
>    ____              ____        ___
>   / __/______ ____  /  _/__  ___/ (_)__ ____  ___ _
>  _\ \/ __/ _ `/ _ \_/ // _ \/ _  / / _ `/ _ \/ _ `/
> /___/\__/\_,_/_//_/___/_//_/\_,_/_/\_,_/_//_/\_,_/
>
> ______________________________________________
> ScanIndiana mailing list
> ScanIndiana at mailman.qth.net
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/scanindiana
>
> Visit Indiana's source for Scanner Information!  http://www.indyscan.com
>