At Ubon, AFB in ’72 I was an AGE Driver/ mechanic supplying the ground crews with equipment for the AC-130 Gunships. I received a “Red Ball” call from AGE dispatch. It seems the MA-1A at the aircraft wouldn’t start. The air crew was already on board. The dispatcher said they needed a replacement ASAP. I informed him, I had no other MA-1As on my ready line and I would have to go to the F-4 Phantom end of the flight line to get one. The dispatcher came back, “See if you can get that one started, Yellow seven” (Yellow seven was my call sign).
I pulled into the revetment, exited the tractor and approached an exasperated Crew Chief. “You don’t have another unit?”, he barked. I told him no and said I’d try to get it started. I went through the start-up procedure, nothing. I shut it down.
Trying again, Holding the “Primer Button, the tach began to spin up, 30 percent and ignition. It was the Mother of All hot starts. With a roar, fire rose out of the exhaust higher than the cockpit. The Crew Chief yelled an expletive. When the JP-4 that had pooled burned off, all was normal. Me being me, I turned to the CC and yelled, “You didn’t know these things had an afterburner did you”? He did manage a grin, and I went on my way.
No comments:
Post a Comment