July 74

 

1. Major Worthington Deroses after a superb year long effort to turn out the best maintenance product in Rescue. 2Lt Faulois is the temporary chief of maintenance while 1Lt Smith in the states on emer leave. Good luck!

4. Capt "Captain America" Jordson derosed, missing the rainy picnic from special services. He's going to F.E. Warren (GASP!) and huey stan/eval.

  1. Bye Bye to Keefer HH-53 chief of stan/eval and recognized as the sharpest, most knowledgeable, and most fearsome check pilot ever. Because, he said, "If you've ever lost a friend who bought it, you'll never be the same. I don't ever want to lose another." Makes damn good sense. E.'s headed for Hill AFB to bless them will a few of "E's Pearls", info about the H-53 otherwise unknown.

Also going is "Never been to the Venus" Cerney, one of the last jocks to fly orbit in Cambodia, a real combat veteran. Bound for Eglin.

  1. #2 whiz kid of stan/eval, the 2nd 1lt in H-53 history to display enough savey to become flight examiner, and a sharp pilot, Morse, leaves us off to Hill AFB with E.

15. Major White, the new maintenance chief, arrives from CONUS leave to take charge of 40th wrench bending. He was chief of 56 ARRS at Korat for 6 months previously. For 3 weeks between his arrival and the departure of Maj Worthington 2Lt Foulois did a commendable job running the show.

  1. "Magoo" Merenda bai laos to Eglin.
  1. Col Kamhoot leaves TDY to Scott AFB for commanders conference honoring the return of Brig Gen Sullivans, Commander ARRS.
  2. 1Lt Gilbert has a particularly hard time trying to get to Ubon to assume alert. The originally scheduled aircraft has a leaking main strut, so he takes 780. 20 miles out the #2 gen supervisory panel malfunctions, setting up strange and alarming indications on the caution panel, instruments and causing the AFCS to do unsettling things to the flight controls. Declaring an emergency, the pilot returned to the field. A couple of hours later saw another attempt, ame airplane. 40 miles out, a damper failed, and it was later discovered that it had separated from the blade. Another IFE and safe landing. The second such damper failure in a week caused understandable concern. All squadron (and later MAC) 53's grounded for detailed inspection of damper spanner nut, pin and bearing. Several were discovered to have seriously warn bearings.
  1. As a result of the damper bearing problem, maintenance has instuted a program of inspections to closely monitor bearing wear and detect impending failure. After each flight the spanner nut pins are checked to ensure no tightening has ooccurredto indicate spanner nut backing off. At 25 hours the bearing itself is inspected to detect accreated wear.
  1. Det 10 at Takhli is inactivated with closure of the base and relocation of the FB-111 347th TFW to Korat.

27. Goodbye to "Shadow" Ballard - 3 months early!! A rollback like we haven't seen in awhile. He's going to H-3 buffalo hunters at DM so chances are he'll be back.

Return to 40th ARRS 1974 Log