“Hell yeah I like flyin’ with Fargo. We’re sure not gonna break…”
“Damn it Ben! Don’t put that evil on me.”



Lets ride boss!



“Clear left.”



“Reach 430; traffic 11 o’clock; Turn heading two seven oh.”



Muggy DC Beltway.







An old Dover friend before switched to New Jersey, “I remember when you were mine…”



Well, this trip was labeled a fail, as the Spoiler Control Electronic Flap Computer decided it didn’t want to play anymore. No Control-Alt-Delete was going to bring a fried power supply back from the dead. Had to sit at Andrews waiting for the backup airplane to bring me one, then watch it take the cargo we were going to haul. Thus, continues the legend of 61sick6. Oh well, can’t win them all.



Wait a minute. It was the loadmaster that jinxed this trip saying nothing will break. You get to sit in time out now!



On to the next one,
Adrianspeeder

 

Easy day moving stuff around the DelMarVa peninsula. Comin’ in low around Quantico saw a big ole nice house on a private spot. “Hey Cap’m, put that shadow right over the swimming pool.”



Marine executive transport.



Well hello little new friend. Expensive F-35C



There you guys are. One of a few things that fly slower than we do.



“Gas it up chief, we gotta go!”



Nasa’s Wallops Island rocket test facility.





M surf fishin’ spot 3R’s @ Dewey Beach. Can’t wait for next summer to head on down.







On to the next one,
Adrianspeeder

 

Next up is a longer than normal photoset, but crossed three countries off the list with a two week trip to Singapore, Vietnam (North and South), and the Philippines. Also hit up Hawaii on the way back home. Great time had by all, so roll those photos!

Taking a few airplanes, so good to have a partner I've worked with before to have all the help I can get.



Biggest part of a great trip is having a great crew.



Had so many people onboard, an extra loadmaster had to crowd my spot where I normally can stretch out. “Shouldn’t you be downstairs saying, “Check completed.” Or something?”



North to Alaska for a front end crew change. No time limits for crew chiefs or security though, so it’s gonna be a 32 hour 4 stop trip in total by the time I get in a bed.



35 hours later after waking up and starting a half a world away, arrived to a kickass nice room at a hotel in Singapore.



Dinner time!



Rooftop pool.



Fancy room.



Fancy bathroom.



This one is actually out of order from later on in Vietnam, but still looked cool.

 

Going up.



Asked the taxi lady to take us hammer down big time to somewhere cool. She had quite the gadget setup.



We were dropped off at the Marina Bay Sands casino. One of my security guys got a little too excited about it.



“Where does this elevator go?” “It goes up.”



Rooftop views of Bayfront Subzone, Downtown Core, Singapore.













Adrianspeeder

 

Lunch time.





I forgot my swimmin’ shorts, but wanted to use the rooftop pool. While we were exploring the Marina Bay Sands casino, I sent my partner FCC that was afraid of heights to get me a pair from the mall. Great color choice. Thanks. A lot.



Oh well, the pool is nice.



Well Singapore, it has been nice, but we are loaded up and ready to ride. The loadmaster has CCR cued up to play on the PA system, because next stop VIETNAM!!!

 

Comin’ in hot to Vietnam like a wild weasel.













Fire services.



Look at that sexy new piece of Boeing. The flag at the top of the tail made me double take.



“Quick, lock the door, and then maybe he’ll go away.”



“This is the real deal boys, we ain’t in Kansas anymore.”

 

Hippies everywhere.



Looked important.



Hotdog holding on.



Building looked different than all the others.



Taxi driver was very helpful and friendly.



Fancy hotel. Prolly in the top ten I’ve ever stayed at.

 

Venturing into the wilds.





Cheers.



Not what I was expecting when reading the menu, but I’m pretty hungry, and there is beer, so we’ll take it.



Car is worth more than the whole block.



Time to hit the bars, and see how this corner of the world drinks.





“Sir, would you switch to drinking Tiger beer?”
“With a photo for the blog? Sure why not.”



Nope, didn’t like the Tiger beer, so back to the “333”.



“Hey, ice cream floats sound great to go with all this booze!”

I’m sure it would have tasted ok if some pilot didn’t knock it over on me before I could try it. Back to the hotel for some overnight laundry service.

 

Full tourist mode in Ho Chi Minh City.



















War Remnants Museum

 

War Remnants Museum

 

Ready to leave South Vietnam, but traffic is a bitch at the airport. They were also worried we’d get lost and required an escort to the runway.



Crossin’ into North Vietnam with the official headgear. I guess I'll have to get one at the next stop to fit in.



B-52's ran this same route.



Easy there Cap’n, we ain’t no wild weasel.



Landing in Hanoi @ Noi Bai International Airport. Loadmaster was blasting CCR on the PA for our passengers.



Checked into Hanoi Hilton. No **** either. Right next door to the famous one that is now a museum. We visit that later.



I don’t know how to caption this.



Oh ****, what are we getting into?



Get on your bikes and ride! This was literally 3 dollars to rent for the day. The girl running the stand asked if we knew where to go. No idea really, the last person I ever knew to come here was my uncle in the 70’s. “I’ve got 20 bucks if you can lead us around for a bit.” She pulled the garage door closed, locked it, flipped the closed sign out, and we had a guide for the whole day. Apparently, I should have started my bid lower. Oh well.



I got a good feeling about this.

 

Hardcore biker gang in full tourist mode.









Which wire does what?



B-52 museum piece. This has an interesting somberness to us as an aircrew.

 

A backup generator used by the Hanoi Radio Station to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the Vietnam War.





How they keep this all straight, I couldn’t tell you.



New official headgear.





Our ever helpful scooter tourguide.



Next stop to visit the Hanoi Hilton museum.



HA! Well that’s one way to spin it.

 

Oddly, my history books show a different experience for downed American pilots.



Well this is accurate.



Three wheels of fury.



Laundry service was quick. I normally only fly with a 7day bag good for one extra pair in case of emergency beyond that. This was a trip that never seemed to end, “Bingo underwear! Danger danger!”



Well Vietnam, it’s been real. Time to get on to the next one. Next stop, The Philippines.



Public transit and crazy traffic in the Philippines.







Next stop was the last stop of the trip in Hawaii. Met up with ole Dover friends, and had a great time.



Just a few steps from where we had parked the airplane, we were shown this cool plaque. “On this spot Apollo 8 Astronauts Colonel Frank Borman, Captain James Lovell, & Lt Colonel William Anders first touched Earth at 14:37:35 after their historic manned flight around the moon 28 December 1968.”

 

Great pictures Adrian....probably not as nice 50 yrs ago!