My other silver machine, Request from Brad Roberts Options

[Nemo914]

Hey all,

Brad asked that I post a little on my other hobby (i.e. "job").

When I am not pulling my hair out and enjoying my 914, I work as an F-15 Eagle pilot for the Massachusetts Air National Guard. I spent 14 years on active duty and flew the Eagle in Alaska and Florida before joining the guard and moving to the NE. My squadron does most of the patrols over Boston and New York as part of Operation Noble Eagle. We are also worldwide deployable, but spend most of our time "guarding" the East Coast. It is certainly a fun job and I have no complaints!

Over the years, I have known several F-15 pilots who where 914 drivers. One guy with over 3,000 hrs in the jet drove a 75 yellow 2.0. He had replaced the stick shift knob with a fighter stick grip! He sold the car last year and I cursed him for it!

I absolutely love this site and have learned more about 914's in the last few months than I had learned in the previous 21 years since I took my drivers test in my 914 in 1982! This site will certainly help keep the 914 alive and well into the future.

Nemo

[Qarl]

Interesting that conversation came up about Pratt & Whitney engines. I worked as an engineer at the Government (military)and Space Systems plant in West Palm Beach, FL while in college (co-operative student). I saw some pretty cool crap.

I worked on the SR-71 engine before they canned it, engines for the F14, F15, F16, F22, and the space shuttle main engine fuel pump. Even the next generation engines beyond the F-22 Raptor.

The shuttle fuel pump was about the size of a commode and could pump 20,000 gallons of fuel in 60 seconds. When I worked in test engineering, we would light the pump off during night tests. Once they pumped the fuel, the had to burn it off (horizontally and vertically) and the heat pressure wave off the burnoff stacks was freaky scary. It would get so hot that trees would catch on fire that were about 100 feet away from the side of the flames.

I worked in customer support when Desert Storm occurred. I was almost sent inspect engine at the bases in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

I once held a secret clearance with the government. It's amazing the crap they asked me about in my clearance interviews (Grandma visiting Russia in 1984, blah, blah... huh?)

I miss those days.