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Back seat rides....back then.

Navy Chief

Navy Chief

Senior Member
Back in the 70s, it was fairly easy to get back seat rides in jets. Fuel allotments were not as limited as nowadays, and regulations not so tight.

All one had to do was complete a flight physical, pressure chamber test, Egress training, and a swim qual. All that might take 6 months or so, because "back seaters" were obviously considered low priority. But once all that was done, a card was issued, and it was just a matter of checking the flight schedules for an open seat.

I attached a copy of the logbook I kept. One of the pilots who took me for rides in the T-38 was Lt. Michael Smith. He later was promoted to Captain, and was among the seven astronauts killed in the Challenger disaster.

Lt. Dose was the pilot who flew a Tomcat which was featured in a US Navy recruiting ad. In the ad, the Tomcat was "raced" against a drag racer. The question in the ad, was which was faster....a Tomcat off of a catapult, or a drag race car in a 1/4 mile? The Tomcat didn't actually race with the car. It was a photo op more than anything. I have the article somewhere in my files.

I know how fortunate I was to have experienced all that. Nowadays, I am sure it wouldn't be too easy to do. Of all the jets I rode in, I have to say the Phantom was my favorite. The T-38 was like a sports car with wings, but the F-4 was nothing but raw power. You could literally feel the afterburners kick against your back. I likened the ride in those jets to a roller coaster ride times 100.

My last ride (not in logbook) was in a F/A-18D, while assigned to VFA-106 at NAS Cecil Field, sometime around 1986. We flew to the nearby bombing range at Pinecastle, FL, and back. That was a thrill.

Those were the days.

Navy Chief
 
Wow do I envy you, I have flown in a lot of different WWII warbirds over the years but to fly in the jets you mentioned would be the ultimate thrill in flying. A lot of good memories I an sure.
 
All the flights I ever got was a helo ride onto the Lexington once when I'd missed ships movement (not my fault) and got a flight of the Lex in the COD C-1A with a cat shot when I won a Navy Relief raffle. Never got to ride in a military jet. But I wouldn't have missed that COD flight for the world.
 
Good stuff Chief! :mixedsmi:
And you're right, nowadays it's virtually impossible to get a ride unless you're a celebrity....:cost1:
 
My best ride ever, in a career that included Hornets, T-Birds, Starfighters, Voodoos and such...

A ride in an F-15. It started out normal as we strapped and taxied... but it was as we cleared the hammerhead that I knew it was to be special. There was a whole pile of chatter on the radio that was normal... then "LA22 cleared Take Off, Cleared Viking Departure, Cleared unlimited climb". Quite probably my shortest fast jet ride! It went in as 0.5 hrs in the log...but I'm not sure I got the full 30 minutes. I should have known when my ride turned out to be a clean dual... who flies a dual without jugs? :)

My driver didn't know that my birthday was 3 days later, but the pilots in my Sqdn did. I never did know which of my buddies among the aircrew conspired to make that flight so memorable!

Canadians were luckier than USAF types in my day... techs were second priority after pilots, same priority as Flight Surgeons and other Flight Medical staff. I got my ticket as equiv to an E-2/E-3.
 
I don't think the requirements have changed much. What has changed is that it's not that easy to get into the required classes. However, I think the stack of paperwork to get from point A to back seat is much higher.
 
Good stuff, NC.
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I got two rides. One was in an O-2 observation plane. We were in Fallon, NV, where the air wing gathers to train together before deployment. When our squadron’s A-7Es (VA-94, 1983) were dropping bombs on the practice ranges, somebody had to fly the O-2 so the bomb hits could be recorded and scored. When it was our Division Officer’s turn to fly the O-2, he would take one of us along. No physical, just hop in the right seat and away we went. What was so fun about these flights was the constant maneuvering the pilot had to do to A) keep the target in sight as the bombs dropped, and B) stay out of the way of the A-7s flying in to make their bombing runs. At one point I saw an A-7 zoom past underneath us as we were in a hard turn. It was cool.
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The other ride I got was in a US-3, mail carrier version of the S-3 Viking (a.k.a. “Miss Piggy”). We landed on the USS Midway, in 1989. That was amazing!
 
PRB,

I was in Fallon with VA-15 around 1983, prior to my second cruise with them on the Indy. I bet that ride in the O-2, watching the bombing was cool!

Remember the "Fallon Shuffle"? Those who have been there, will know what I am saying...............

NC
 
Yep, the “Fallon Shuffle”, I remember it well! That guy was tough! I don’t think he ever “passed” a squadron the first time through. We never did anyway! Always back out to the flight line with more speedy dry!
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Being in an A-7 squadron did not afford very many opportunities for back set rides! Never was in a squadron that had planes with more than one seat!
 
The AOs in my squadron VA-15 (true to their rating) were party animals.

The morning we were scheduled to depart for the base terminal at Fallon, our Command Master Chief was making inspection rounds of the barracks, turning it back over to the base. When they reached one of the rooms the AOs had occupied, they found it in a complete mess, with everyone passed out in their racks, on the floor, and puke everywhere. The CMC's face turned crimson. There was considerable yelling which ensued. Those AOs missed the C-9 back to Cecil, as they spent hours (with hangovers, obviously) cleaning that room. Upon return to Cecil, they ALL went to Capt.'s Mast. Don't recall the outcome, but it wasn't good!!!

NC
 
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