One of the worst things a professional pilot goes through is being given the long face and told they cannot fly ever again. Some pilots evolve. For others, its downright difficult. Possibly the worst maneuver ever, but life goes on. I flew F-4S Phantoms in the Corps. On a flight consisting of three aircraft, we moved out to an area for aerial maneuvers. Dog fighting. On a pull up, my rio and I went straight up and started looking for our adversary. That is when it happened. My left ear basically went boom. The pain was so bad, I literally let out a scream. We immediately broke off and headed back. Upon landing, I exited my aircraft and by all present, it was obvious I was in severe pain. I was driven to the hospital on base. There, I was examined and initially the examining physician said it didn't look too bad. He sent me directly to an ENT. Then he ran a series of test. Hours later, I learned my flying career was over with. I was moved to a desk job in our unit. Days, weeks, months went by. I knew it was over with, but I had a very hard time letting go. The F-4 was an amazing aircraft. Big, loud, powerful and very feisty. I loved flying her. That part, for lack of proper rhetoric, sucked. I tried everything, as far as flying, but no one would have me because I officially had an inner ear problem. A permanent problem. I retired out of the Corps a full bird. I ended up in the oil industry and that is where I put my engineering degree to work. Leaving aviation was hard, but sometimes, things are simply not in our control. I learned allot about that. Being a Marine, we're supposed to be tough. Hard as nails type stuff, but reality is a far different thing. My unit later transitioned to the F/A- 18 Legacy Hornet. A real beautiful aircraft. Less maintenance. Less man hours. Less equipment. Once the F-4 was officially retired, many lost their jobs. Their positions. Each F-4 required a significant amount of man power to maintain them. The Hornet was far more advanced and basically started the Navy/ Marine Corps Aviation into the 21st Century a little earlier. Except for the F-14D, in my professional opinion, the F-18 series of aircraft, to include the Super Hornet, are the finest aircraft to ever serve in the fleet. Robust, powerful, agile and adaptable. Even after 30 plus years of service, these aircraft still represent our fleet with dignity, honor and technology. They're truly amazing. I never once flew a Hornet. However, the aircraft, its pilots and maintaners all speak very highly of it. This video demonstrates that perfectly. My compliments to this awesome career Naval Aviator and his transition to the Air Force. May you always have wind under your wings and a compass to guide you Semper Fi🇺🇸 JR Ewing
@@BMK500 I'm no expert, but if I had to assume, when they were doing a vertical climb perhaps his eardrum ruptured. Loss of hearing in 1 ear would be a disqualifying factor. Would be interested in hearing it from OP though.
@@BMK500 like Sunociva said, something as simple as congestion can make your eardrum or even your sinus cavity go boom due to sudden pressure changes. Both can ground you depending on the severity of the injury.
My father's final F15C flight was really really rough on him. First and only time I ever saw him cry. He still talks about it like it was some great love lost.
He was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer. Can't pass a flight medical, can't fly. OLD MAN IS STILL KICKIN! He is on the federal side of the aviation world.
gilles babyle je peu aisément comprendre que prendre sa retraite , apres avoir été pilote de chasse , ca doit etr l'une des pire retraite du monde qui puisse exister , déjà rien que le fait de m'imaginer un jour arreter de voler en virtuel moi perso je ne peu pa ...;car jai poussé mon experience de vol virtuel au maximum ou presque , jai fabriqué pdt 6 ans un home-cockpit et L'avènement des casques de realité virtuel m'ont reconforté ds le fait que mon trackir 5 pro fixé sur mon casque de pilote et le fait de m' harnaché a mon siège à l'interieur de mon home-cockpit pour chacune de mes sessions avc ma plaque de cuissarde comportant la map des operations continuerait de me pousser aux confins du realisme ..;pour faire court qd je vole sans cette configuration , je ne prend rien o sérieux et jai du mal a me sentir immergé donc je ne suis pa concentré car jai l'impression de jouer , qd je vol avc la configuration que je vien de citer et que je me sens serrer contre mon siege parce que harnaché , la alors c'est le graaal , jai vraiment l'impression d'y etre et je prend des décisions bcp + objective m'évitant d'aller o crash ou de me faire abattre en combat air-air ou air-sol...;franchement ca n'a absolument rien a voir que de voler en clavier -souris sur une table de bureau ...mais alors c'est le jour et la nuit . alors sans je comprends ta douleur . l'envie de voler c'est un ADN que l'on a en chacun d'entre ns ...d'autres ne l'ont pa et donc trouveront certainement mes ecrits inutiles ...ce post ne leur ai pas adressé et meme pour ceux qui vole en virtuel o clavier et a la souris sur une table landa ...ils ne comprendront pa non -plus ...moi perso ds la configuration ds laquelle je vole en virtuel , je ne peu pa arreter mon immersion est quasi -totale , je ressens a la fois l'adrenaline du combat mais aussi la gravité qu'une mauvaise decision , prise au mauvais moment et là ou il ne fallait surtt pa etre conduit irréversiblement au drame ..;le mental et les neurones st vraiment sollicités
I'm a eighty year old woman who loves everything that involves flying fighters. I grew up watching movie newsreels of WWII aircraft. Lived in a small town with one movie theater. Newsreels were better than a movie when I could watch Corsairs doing their thing. I felt really sad for you, Mover in this video. God bless you, son.
DCS F-18 and VR, sir! It will get you closer than anyone woulda thought possible only years ago. You are right tho, it's an amazing opportunity to fly something like that.
David i know right I new that this is what I wanted to do before I was 10. The unfortunate thing is that I had 2 eye operations In the same period. Even trying to get a 1st class medical was not going to happen. I know you lost your privileges and that must have been hard. I truly feel for you .. sorry bud. I hope you could have parlayed this time into some commercial flying. Thumbs up to you brother. PS. Maybe it would be good to interview more guys like you that lost their privileges and what they did to get them back or maybe turned it into another career. Anyway thank you much. Takdmcsd
Just stumbled on your site. Kind of ironic that I had my last F/A-18 flight almost exactly 20 years prior to yours. Flew the F-4 (many flavors- 3200 hours) and then the Hornet (1000+), along with the F-5 and A-4 Adversary mission. Definitely a memory trip for me. Keep it up!
You must have had an excellent working relationship with those maintainers if all of them saluted you as you rolled out. I love the respect between both sides.
Watching the video, heard you just mention the show of force. I was in Iraq in 07 and our platoon hit an IED, we didn't have the comms to talk to fixed wing, but our TOC was able to direct two F16s overhead to do a show of force at night. It was impressive and seemingly effective to say the least. I still get chills hearing a fighter pass over at air shows etc. Thanks for the video.
Fellow Veteran Thank You for your Service from an Air Force Veteran . Were you injured when your platoon hit the IED ? Are you still serving or are you retired now ? If retired I hope your retirement is going well for you now . Cheers !
We inherited some Toyota land rovers from the British,one were reinforced,but it didn't help much when one night on the way to the local range to test out new NVGs and Night optic sights bought privately. hit an RC device(daisy chained old ruski arty shells from the 80s ) ..The PJs were the only ones that flew casevac that night..needless to say the lead veichle was the one that was reinforced,didnt help that much. I would also like to say that I hope you all are living the productive retired life:)
Tower: "what is your intention?" Mover: "to pretend i'm landing this thing til it runs out of gas, then eject. Or land just before and stay put til the MP's physically remove me from the cockpit"
Hello.. :) I remember exactly each second of my last flight in the Polish Navy. And i know that feeling. Something have to finish, to get place for something new. Good luck my friend and greetings .... ( Jacek - former MiG 21's pilot)..
I could feel your emotions when you asked for just one more go-around. I'm happy that ATC was more than happy to humor you. I think this would be the hardest thing I'd ever have to let go of... Thank you for all you have done, and for all you currently give for.
Came across this video on accident, and recognized the name and the plane. I was at VFA-204 the same time and lunched you out many times as a PC. Great video!
11 year army infantryman here. Just wanted to say thank you to all our fly boys, y’all are awesome and we sure appreciate when you’re on station. Stay safe gents.
Looking through my late father's belongings, I found an old photo of him drinking from a bottle of champaign and getting sprayed down in front of a F-4E, written on the photo was "Last Combat Mission SEA. 152. Last Military Flight. 1943-1972. Takhli RTAFB F-4E, July 1972." Because I was a selfish little teenager at the time, I didn't understand the emotions he might have been experiencing. Thank you CW Lemoine for conveying those feelings. And thank you for everything you've done and continue to do.
Hey man thank you for your advice on becoming a fighter pilot. I constantly self disqualified foryears. I finally said ya know what, I'm going to do it and make them tell me no. . . Like you said. They arent saying no. Haha so here I am at age 33, and finally about to work my way into a pilot slot. Left meps last week and its official. Cant wait man! Air force here I come. Cutoff age is 35. Barely made it
I had a lump in my throat while seeing you doing your "last flight". This moment I would be retired F-18 pilot (and I am 150% I would have done it to AF, my dedication was limitless and no health condition would have been no problem), but my last flight never happened, the first one never happened.. I drove a car accident 6 months before going in to army and my goal was airforces in Finland. I have been dreaming being a pilot since I was around 3 yr old. My mom was having a job in Sweden and we travelled there by plane (Caravelle at that time) and been loved flying since then. Everything was planes and so on.. When that accident hit me, I had collision with a moose and got paralyzed, I lost a big part of my life.
Stumbled across this super late. Don't know if you'll ever see this, but I can't describe the feels I had when I saw the show of force. Another reason the JTAC might ask for the show of force is that we maybe can't/won't drop big bombs into the area the combatants are in, but we still want them to strongly consider going home. I know CAS isn't what fighter pilots dream of, but a good low and loud show of force can take the fight right out of some hostiles, and there's not a lot of restrictions on getting a show of force (unlike ROE on bombs). Sometimes, ending the fight for that day can make a world of difference for those of us on the ground.
This actually brought me to tears because I understand how hard it is to give up something you love. I know you miss flying the hornet brother. It is truly a privilege to even be able to fly a fighter jet because the selection process and training is extremely hard
Hello CW i was just a young sailor fresh out of AOA school in Millington Tenn. already assigned to VFA-106 training (rag) after PRP in Lemoore , I spent obout 15 months with 106 at NAS Cecil Field before getting orders to VFA-131 Wildcats right down the flight line , We ended up being the first Hornet squadron on the east coast est in 1984 , We were also the first to operate from a cag-13 on board USS Coral Sea and seen some action in Libya in 1986 along with VMfA-323 and VMFA-531 , Airlants first and finest best years of my life . Didnt want the legacy hornets retire they served our country well and the aviators that flew them , Great video sir !
I'm still going through the same thing still. I spent my entire adult life in the military, I started as an MP, did SRT at age 20, had a break in service after the Clinton RIF, came back the second I was allowed and did my duty for 4 deployments after reclassing. My last was Very Kinetic and was blown up 2 times and returned to duty. The final time I had a spinal cord injury during an air assault in Afghanistan and woke up at Bagram AB. Was medevacd to Germany on a C17 and woke up to a guy having surgery in the middle of the plane 20ft from me. They hit me with morphine when they saw I woke up and I was out til the polytrauma ward. Battalion commander standing over me... now im still alive, learning to live in this crazy ass backward civilian world and trying to make my way. Lost 13 friends since I got home, all from guys who couldn't adjust. Im just glad my family is so supportive and I have the outlook I do. I just laugh at the stuff people think is hard in life. And everyone thinks I'm crazy for laughing at them.... if they only knew what a bad day really was.
It’s all about perspective. You have to accept and respect everybody’s own personal problems, because otherwise everyone just feels uncomfortable around you, thinking how cowardish they are for worrying about their problems when you have a much worse fate. Just as you wouldn’t be comfortable if someone told you of their problems being much worse than yours.I recommend just not talking about you’re problems all to much, even if you think it’s difficult sometimes.
@@J.R377 You can and should always talk about your problems if it makes you feel better and if it helps others to understand your perspective. But that doesn't mean at all that you need to assign a value to it to determine whose problems are "worse." Life is relative and there is no objective answer to this. It just means you're judgmental and empathetic.
Ahhh I love how you have this state of the art, multi million $ piece of technology.... and the dash board cover is peeling and broken like a Datsun 180B..... Classic.
i love that for a last flight you are granted the ability to use weapons aswell. In general its amazing because after all each flight costs so much money. I am jealous of everybody who is or was able to fly planes, specially fighter jets and ground attackers like the a10.
I found myself almost brought to tears just watching. I can only imagine how difficult that moment was. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us and for your patriotism and service.
That’s heart breaking... What a life you have. Bravo sir, much respect for everything you’ve accomplished so far. You’re such an inspiration for the new generation. 👊
Man I probably watched you so many times fly there waiting on Algiers lock on the intercoastal waterway. I’m a towboat captain/owner and a huge aviation fan. I never complained waiting on the locks because we got to watch y’all almost every day! We appreciate your service! I wish I could of been a fighter pilot ! Also from Breaux bridge, Louisiana
Awesome Mover, gonna share this with my dad, former marine combat pilot and current airline pilot, and my nephew, newly awarded recipient of a spot at the Air Force Academy. This was a great video, thank you for sharing!
Show of Force works really well in many regions. We were running around the Afghan countryside in 2002 checking out villages when a local "police force" set up a road block stopping us from entering a village. After a little chat trying to explain who we were and what we were doing we had the CTT fly over a couple of F/A-18's. Suddenly they understood who we were and what we were doing. We all became "friends" and sat down for tea. They actually did some good work for us over time. Some places just respect power more than anything else, but specifically having power and not necessarily the use of it. You either have it or you are friends with someone who has it.
I just found this video. It reminded me a lot of the Hurricane Andrew destroying Homestead AFB. I serviced 8 1/2 years there. We still had F-4 Phantoms when I got to the base. They phased out approximately a year later and were replaced by F-16s. I was assigned to the 48th ARRS which was a detachment from 25th SO performing drug interdiction operations and cooperating with other special ops. I would go back right now if I could. Good times. I can't find any of my brothers and sisters from those days. It saddens me greatly.
Your voice sounds like explaining just another monday:) But to those that love aviation and weren't blessed enough with that path, this was really neat to hear the play by play. Thank you!
If you know military folk, generally the more intense/difficult/scary/awful something is, the calmer they tend to sound. He sounded absolutely gutted to me. Thanks CW for sharing this. It must have been a pretty tough day.
22.5 yr retired airframer hornet chief! love it! Used my GI bill to full advantage and I am now an airline pilot... I can feel what your saying! Love it brother!!
Salute, Sir. ~S~ This made me remember the last combat mission I had in Iraq as a Humvee gunner, the knowledge that never would you be in such a position again, vested to be responsible for so much power and cleared to use it, trusted in competence and ability, representing the good guys. I couldn't make a scab on your aft insofar as training and ability, but my heart sank a little for you when you landed. You want to hold the moment forever, and as much as people say you can take it with you, you really can't. Living in a world of people that don't understand the gravity of the rollercoaster and having to get off of it has been hard for me. Thank you, Sir. You are helping so many with your vids more than you know. May God Bless. ~S~
Jesus, hearing a 9 line passed takes me back. Being the party on the ground I always thought you guys were scribbling shit all over the canopy. Thanks for posting man.
Hey Mover I started following you about 2 months ago… just catching up on all your videos ! I’m from Australia and just want to say you’re an inspiration to everyone! God bless you
My dad flew Spitfires and Hurricanes in WWII. He stayed in the RAF until 1949 because he couldn't face the prospect of not flying again, but eventually when my older brother was born, he had to: mum sort of gave him the choice - either the RAF or her. He rejoined civilian life and hated it (and privately I think her to some extent.) I never really had the urge to fly like he did, but I can see how it becomes so much a part of your life that it must be heartbreaking to let it go. I still have a page of his flight log covering VE day, and it's precious to me. Thanks for sharing your last day with us.
My God! I really choked up! I even teared up. I´m so sorry to hear about your liver problem was it? It sucks that you have to stop doing something you love because of something you have no control over! Big love to you man, hope you are doing well!
I had a bitter sweet Fini flight. I didn't know it was my last ride in the Herk, and got short notice orders the next day to go to a different plane. I knew it was coming but didn't know when. My Fini in that next plane was also due to training in a new one, but it was different. It was my Instructor Pilot Upgrade checkride, and also my Evaluator Pilot's Fini Flight, and he got all the glory on that one. I kind of liked not knowing. I had a great flight on the Herk, and no emotional reaction from knowing it was the end.
You are awesome Moover. I'm 61 now, but you've lived the life I'd hoped to live when I was 25. I've dreamed about it everyday from then to now, buy it didn't work out. You are an inspiration to me Thanks for what you do. Congratulations and thank you.
I was f18 ground crew/refueler in the finnish air force, the last time i was hot refueling a flight of f18's the pilots and our maintenance crew all saluted me. I'll never forget it and i think i might have shed a tear too. I was a conscript for only a year and i felt those 5 seconds made my service worth it.
I pray that one day I'll be able to do what you do! My only goal in life is to become a Naval Aviator! I can't even come up with words to describe how much I want it! Thank you for your service! One day I hope to continue your guy's legacy! (No pun intended)
Be thankful for the experiences you had. I was scrubbed from RAAF pilot training around 20 years ago (formation test ironically). Obviously, I didn’t know it was my last flight, and I never got the opportunity to progress to RAAF Hornets. I still look back on those times with awe and a little sadness. It’s certainly hard being told it’s over, but at least you had a career that many others don’t 🙂
What an awesome video Mover!!! Very emotional. I wasn't crying. You were crying!!! Loved this video though. Thank you for all that you do and all that you have done. We all really appreciate it.
Greetings from Russia! Watching your videos is a pleasure, since we love aviation so much. My grandpa was a pilot during WW2, and up to the end of 1950s. The last two type of aircraft he was flying were MiG-15 and MiG-17. In 1959 (when 'missle-era' in USSR was at full swing) he was offered to stay with Air Force, but take helicopter regiment under command instead of fighters'... So he refused, and had to resign.
In 85 Corpsmen did a one year tour at a Nav Hospital essentially to gain experience before hitting the fleet. I got Bethesda and since I was a Civilian Paramedic ( Oakland CA ) before enlisting I was fortunate enough to get the ED. One of my innumerable interesting patients was a middle aged Naval Aviator. Captain , USN ( Ret). I was a boot and gungy , looking forward to hitting the fleet. He smiled in a sad way and related that one day , after piloting his F4 over North Vietnam he returned to the “ Boat “ and trapped....for the last time. He was very emotional saying after he shut down he realized that was his last Combat Flight and Last Trap. ( I’m assuming he was a CAG ). He told me to cherish my Naval Service and realize we only have one shot and to do my duty but enjoy it. I was too boot to really understand it , until after riding a CG , then going Green .....I finished my War ( Gulf War w First Mar Div ) , and the last day of my 8 year Naval career I was happy and sad at the same time. Bittersweet . ( the Gods of You Tube put your channel in my feed so I just discovered you ) Thank you for your awesome videos , SFMF
I'm a current Naval Aviation Structural Mechanic with my platform being the F/A 18 E/F Super Hornet... and I'm doing everything I can possible to be a pilot like you sir. Thank you so much for everything you've done and are doing.
This choked me up! Always wanted to be a fighter pilot, was born in the wrong country with hardly what you'd call an air corp (ireland). Even applied for the hell of it in Florida when I was 17. Surprisingly asthma was not a problem but hayfever was, and the fact I wasn't a citizen! DCS is the closest I'll get! Love your channel. You are an inspiration to us all
I had a similar experience with my last day. One big difference though, I was a Scout/Sniper in the Marines. My last day with my rifle, I took her out to the range, at a grand. Put one round though the X, took her home, cleaned it one final time, and turned her in. It was bitter sweet. I have since participated in long range shooting precision shooting competitions, IPSIC, 3-gun, etc. Nothing compares. Awesome video!
Former Riverrattler here. Thanks for putting up some footage of the old cubicles sir. I miss each and every one of those jets. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
So incredibly cool. Thank you for your service and thank you for this awesome video. Those maneuvers were so badass. The show of force pass has to be easily the coolest thing to watch from the ground.
"just one more".... My God, I felt that! Bloody neighbour's cutting onions again, damn 😣 Beautiful bird, beautiful flying and to all concerned, a great yet somber day. Utmost respect! As a rotory pilot this gives me awesome feels, thanks and great job!
I wanted to be a fighter pilot all of my life but unfortunately I had a problem that prevented me to do so but when I found out that it wasn’t the case then it was too late. I did however became a qualified/certified JTAC. I know the CAS process and from the ground we too love the show of force. Thank you for sharing. It was nice to see from a pilots perspective what goes on during a CAS event.
Oh that's it. We're gonna get you to make DCS F/A-18 videos now. The tease was real, and it's too good to pass up. In all honesty though, it MAY be a good idea for your channel to branch out and do the DCS stuff. You may crossover and pick up a lot of new viewers who are into aviation simulation but maybe aren't going out and looking up Q&A/real life videos from real aviators. Whether or not you care about that I don't know, but it may get A LOT more viewers to your channel because I have a feeling A LOT of people would be interested in seeing DCS content through the eyes of a real aviator with real experience with the actual aircraft. It's a perspective I don't think anyone is doing on youtube right now, or maybe I just haven't looked hard enough.
Interesting! I hadn't heard of DCS World before you mentioned it here, so I checked it out and it looks very cool! I've been out of sims for awhile, but used to compete in IL Sturmovic 5 on 5 team dogfights, one of the guys that really got us killing it was former F14 tomcat pilot and he taught us tactics, it didnt take long for us to dominate. Many moons ago but I think I could get into DCS!
@@donc9751 DCS is extremely cool and a very, very deep dive into combat aviation simulation. Learning the individual aircraft modules and weapons systems can take months. It's as real as it can get at this point in time. The developer, Eagle Dynamics, continues to push the envelope in realism. Weapons systems are all functional as in the real thing. F-14 tomcat is inbound within the next few months. Want to have your eyes pop out of your head? Watch this vid. ua-cam.com/video/fID1sE2xfwU/v-deo.html
There's probably going to be a sale in November, in the meantime, I recommend getting used to the free aircrafts, checking out the controls, the mission editor, setting up a good hotas and most importantly, some kind of head tracking. Feel free to start out with a simple, cheaper one, but I'm serious, headtracking is just as important and cool as a good hotas.
Oh Jesus you got me with this one. Thats just sad. I get depressed when my Vette’s is in the shop for a week but this is even worse. Final flight in your F18 is like saying goodbye to a life long friend plus flying itself. I couldn’t imagine what you felt that day. Thank you for your service and I really hope you get to fly an F18 again someday. Much love!
Coming back from the MOA on my Air Force fini-flight was sad. It didn't really sink in until on the way home I was flying lead and 2 was in route on my left and it hit me: "I am never going to be able to do this again." That sucked. Was able to get an approach end break and an EXTD to end my career. Probably the only time I ever did one pattern to a full stop. I was, however, able to get a couple hours of good camera footage using a GoPro over my last 3 or 4 sorties so that was cool. Thx for sharing this, Mover! Twister
Hey PC from line shack here! Just wanted to say love your videos because working as a line rat can be brutal but these videos are awesome at understanding the pilots better and makes me more motivated to do my job! Ty Sir!
I remember my FINI F/A-18 flight. I was sad after words because you know that it’s going to be your last flight in a fighter, so your get a lot of respect from your wingmen, ground crew, ATC, you name it. I just couldn’t give up flying, so, I now fly for American Airlines, I fly the 777-200ER, and I love it.
NAS JRB! I was stationed at USCG Air Station Nola. Loved my time there. When I took my last flight in the Coast Guard, the crews drug me out, hosed me down, high fives, all that. I walked to the locker room, got in the shower and cried so hard. Miss it bad, but so grateful to have served with so many fine people. Thank you sir
I was stationed in Alexandria at England AFB back in the late 80's with the 23TFW (A-10's) its a nice area. I'll bet our A-10's used that range from time to time. I got an incentive ride in and F-16 on March 10th 2006, I couldn't imagine giving that up. Thank you for your service.
Getting to drop live, do some high aspect BFM and a brief low-level is a pretty sweet EOT flight. My Fini in the Viper was as a USAF Exchange Pilot w the RNoAF. Took off from Bodø Flystasjon and flew up to Nord Cape. Low ceiling so I was basically co-altitude w the top of the cliffs, doing some high G turns, going back and forth around the coast. I wish I had someone there at the visitor center filming my unplanned lowat air show. Then, flew a low level down the Norwegian-Swedish border, toured some fjords, etc.
cool seeing it from the pilots side. I'm a U.S Army Fister/Forward so we get to work, everything from Mortars to CAS. also for the guys listening "the guy on the ground said cleared hot" only a USAF JTAC or someone who is a qualified JTAC will say that. An Army Fister/Forward Observer will never say that.
One of the worst things a professional pilot goes through is being given the long face and told they cannot fly ever again. Some pilots evolve. For others, its downright difficult. Possibly the worst maneuver ever, but life goes on.
I flew F-4S Phantoms in the Corps. On a flight consisting of three aircraft, we moved out to an area for aerial maneuvers. Dog fighting. On a pull up, my rio and I went straight up and started looking for our adversary. That is when it happened. My left ear basically went boom. The pain was so bad, I literally let out a scream. We immediately broke off and headed back. Upon landing, I exited my aircraft and by all present, it was obvious I was in severe pain. I was driven to the hospital on base. There, I was examined and initially the examining physician said it didn't look too bad. He sent me directly to an ENT. Then he ran a series of test. Hours later, I learned my flying career was over with. I was moved to a desk job in our unit. Days, weeks, months went by. I knew it was over with, but I had a very hard time letting go. The F-4 was an amazing aircraft. Big, loud, powerful and very feisty. I loved flying her. That part, for lack of proper rhetoric, sucked. I tried everything, as far as flying, but no one would have me because I officially had an inner ear problem. A permanent problem. I retired out of the Corps a full bird. I ended up in the oil industry and that is where I put my engineering degree to work.
Leaving aviation was hard, but sometimes, things are simply not in our control. I learned allot about that. Being a Marine, we're supposed to be tough. Hard as nails type stuff, but reality is a far different thing. My unit later transitioned to the F/A- 18 Legacy Hornet. A real beautiful aircraft. Less maintenance. Less man hours. Less equipment. Once the F-4 was officially retired, many lost their jobs. Their positions. Each F-4 required a significant amount of man power to maintain them. The Hornet was far more advanced and basically started the Navy/ Marine Corps Aviation into the 21st Century a little earlier.
Except for the F-14D, in my professional opinion, the F-18 series of aircraft, to include the Super Hornet, are the finest aircraft to ever serve in the fleet. Robust, powerful, agile and adaptable. Even after 30 plus years of service, these aircraft still represent our fleet with dignity, honor and technology. They're truly amazing. I never once flew a Hornet. However, the aircraft, its pilots and maintaners all speak very highly of it. This video demonstrates that perfectly.
My compliments to this awesome career Naval Aviator and his transition to the Air Force. May you always have wind under your wings and a compass to guide you
Semper Fi🇺🇸
JR Ewing
Thank you for your service.
If you don't mind me asking why exactly did your ear go boom in the first place?
@@BMK500 I'm no expert, but if I had to assume, when they were doing a vertical climb perhaps his eardrum ruptured. Loss of hearing in 1 ear would be a disqualifying factor. Would be interested in hearing it from OP though.
@@BMK500 like Sunociva said, something as simple as congestion can make your eardrum or even your sinus cavity go boom due to sudden pressure changes. Both can ground you depending on the severity of the injury.
I think its not a fighter pilot only thing. Leaving the military was really difficult for me and I still miss it every day.
My father's final F15C flight was really really rough on him. First and only time I ever saw him cry. He still talks about it like it was some great love lost.
Of course he was knight say bye to his hourse 🌺🌺🌺🌺 greeting to him
It WAS a lost love. Sad.
Why couldn’t he fly anymore?
He was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer. Can't pass a flight medical, can't fly. OLD MAN IS STILL KICKIN! He is on the federal side of the aviation world.
@@SlowrideSteve I’m sorry about that, at least he is still pushing
I'm retired from french air force. 10 years ago, same story for me with M2000N. You made me cry ;o((
Carrière d'instructeur par la suite ?
(Content de voir un pilote français poster ici ! Vous êtes les meilleurs les gars ! :D )
@@DamzFR Et non, pire... la retraite
Fellow French Air Force Veteran Thank You Sir for Serving Your Country Sir . Are you now hard of hearing at all Sir ?
gilles babyle je peu aisément comprendre que prendre sa retraite , apres avoir été pilote de chasse , ca doit etr l'une des pire retraite du monde qui puisse exister , déjà rien que le fait de m'imaginer un jour arreter de voler en virtuel moi perso je ne peu pa ...;car jai poussé mon experience de vol virtuel au maximum ou presque , jai fabriqué pdt 6 ans un home-cockpit et L'avènement des casques de realité virtuel m'ont reconforté ds le fait que mon trackir 5 pro fixé sur mon casque de pilote et le fait de m' harnaché a mon siège à l'interieur de mon home-cockpit pour chacune de mes sessions avc ma plaque de cuissarde comportant la map des operations continuerait de me pousser aux confins du realisme ..;pour faire court qd je vole sans cette configuration , je ne prend rien o sérieux et jai du mal a me sentir immergé donc je ne suis pa concentré car jai l'impression de jouer , qd je vol avc la configuration que je vien de citer et que je me sens serrer contre mon siege parce que harnaché , la alors c'est le graaal , jai vraiment l'impression d'y etre et je prend des décisions bcp + objective m'évitant d'aller o crash ou de me faire abattre en combat air-air ou air-sol...;franchement ca n'a absolument rien a voir que de voler en clavier -souris sur une table de bureau ...mais alors c'est le jour et la nuit . alors sans je comprends ta douleur . l'envie de voler c'est un ADN que l'on a en chacun d'entre ns ...d'autres ne l'ont pa et donc trouveront certainement mes ecrits inutiles ...ce post ne leur ai pas adressé et meme pour ceux qui vole en virtuel o clavier et a la souris sur une table landa ...ils ne comprendront pa non -plus ...moi perso ds la configuration ds laquelle je vole en virtuel , je ne peu pa arreter mon immersion est quasi -totale , je ressens a la fois l'adrenaline du combat mais aussi la gravité qu'une mauvaise decision , prise au mauvais moment et là ou il ne fallait surtt pa etre conduit irréversiblement au drame ..;le mental et les neurones st vraiment sollicités
@@franckhermanm.ouattara9457 la retraite d'un acteur porno doit être pire , y a t'il meilleur que les femmes?
I'm a eighty year old woman who loves everything that involves
flying fighters. I grew up watching movie newsreels of WWII aircraft. Lived in a small town with one movie theater. Newsreels were better than a movie when I could watch Corsairs doing their thing. I felt really sad for you, Mover in this video. God bless you, son.
How are you doing nowadays ma’am?
Sorry you never got to fly yourself
It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
I will never get to fly an F/A18.
DCS F-18 and VR, sir! It will get you closer than anyone woulda thought possible only years ago.
You are right tho, it's an amazing opportunity to fly something like that.
good point but I'm not so sure.
David i know right I new that this is what I wanted to do before I was 10.
The unfortunate thing is that I had 2 eye operations In the same period.
Even trying to get a 1st class medical was not going to happen.
I know you lost your privileges and that must have been hard. I truly feel for you .. sorry bud. I hope you could have parlayed this time into some commercial flying. Thumbs up to you brother.
PS. Maybe it would be good to interview more guys like you that lost their privileges and what they did to get them back or maybe turned it into another career.
Anyway thank you much. Takdmcsd
@@michaeljohn8905 What kind of eye operations, if you don't mind me asking?
@@makkaschatsanddits7899 Be sure.
Just stumbled on your site. Kind of ironic that I had my last F/A-18 flight almost exactly 20 years prior to yours. Flew the F-4 (many flavors- 3200 hours) and then the Hornet (1000+), along with the F-5 and A-4 Adversary mission. Definitely a memory trip for me. Keep it up!
What was your callsign?
You should start a channel sharing stories, etc. You have a wealth of knowledge worthy of sharing with everyone.
@@pontiacGXPfan Pratt & Whitney... or Pratatatat...?
@@zac3392 how would you know
@@pontiacGXPfan I’m just joking and guessing
You must have had an excellent working relationship with those maintainers if all of them saluted you as you rolled out. I love the respect between both sides.
“Mission number 6-9-6-9...”
Nice....
Nice.
Will Smith nice
@@jacobsmith4453 hello brether
Nice
Airborne592 nice
Watching the video, heard you just mention the show of force. I was in Iraq in 07 and our platoon hit an IED, we didn't have the comms to talk to fixed wing, but our TOC was able to direct two F16s overhead to do a show of force at night. It was impressive and seemingly effective to say the least. I still get chills hearing a fighter pass over at air shows etc. Thanks for the video.
Fellow Veteran Thank You for your Service from an Air Force Veteran . Were you injured when your platoon hit the IED ? Are you still serving or are you retired now ? If retired I hope your retirement is going well for you now . Cheers !
We inherited some Toyota land rovers from the British,one were reinforced,but it didn't help much when one night on the way to the local range to test out new NVGs and Night optic sights bought privately. hit an RC device(daisy chained old ruski arty shells from the 80s ) ..The PJs were the only ones that flew casevac that night..needless to say the lead veichle was the one that was reinforced,didnt help that much.
I would also like to say that I hope you all are living the productive retired life:)
Just seeing this 1year later.thank you for everything you sacrificed for me and my family and everyone else.NEVER FORGET
Tower: "what is your intention?" Mover: "to pretend i'm landing this thing til it runs out of gas, then eject. Or land just before and stay put til the MP's physically remove me from the cockpit"
😂
👍
Underrated comment
Hello.. :) I remember exactly each second of my last flight in the Polish Navy. And i know that feeling. Something have to finish, to get place for something new. Good luck my friend and greetings .... ( Jacek - former MiG 21's pilot)..
aaaaaah a commie aircraft aaaaah just kidding all love and good vibes here
I could feel your emotions when you asked for just one more go-around. I'm happy that ATC was more than happy to humor you. I think this would be the hardest thing I'd ever have to let go of... Thank you for all you have done, and for all you currently give for.
Honor*
Ah what the heck...lets make a left at the Metrodome and fly Under the bridge...What are they gonna do, ground me?
@@darrelljacobjr2120 no, charge you
I love that your wingman is named from tropic thunder.
Too funny! I agree. I thought this was great, I am an air traffic controller MIA and this was my nickname too.
Pa pa pa please da da da don't ha ha hurt me 😂😂😂
I gotta ga ga ga good brain.
Flaming Dragon LIKED this comment
I had the same nickname in the Army because my laugh is about the same.
Came across this video on accident, and recognized the name and the plane. I was at VFA-204 the same time and lunched you out many times as a PC. Great video!
11 year army infantryman here. Just wanted to say thank you to all our fly boys, y’all are awesome and we sure appreciate when you’re on station. Stay safe gents.
this made me sad, i could really hear it in your voice bro. its never easy saying goodbye to something you love. key word is lucky.
Looking forward to seeing you put the virtual Hornet through its paces.
Please share the link and help us reach our goal!
Done and done.
You rock! Thank you!
Looking through my late father's belongings, I found an old photo of him drinking from a bottle of champaign and getting sprayed down in front of a F-4E, written on the photo was "Last Combat Mission SEA. 152. Last Military Flight. 1943-1972. Takhli RTAFB F-4E, July 1972." Because I was a selfish little teenager at the time, I didn't understand the emotions he might have been experiencing. Thank you CW Lemoine for conveying those feelings. And thank you for everything you've done and continue to do.
When you mention the ground crew lined up for you could actually see their reflection lined up in your visor.
Hey man thank you for your advice on becoming a fighter pilot. I constantly self disqualified foryears. I finally said ya know what, I'm going to do it and make them tell me no. . . Like you said. They arent saying no. Haha so here I am at age 33, and finally about to work my way into a pilot slot. Left meps last week and its official. Cant wait man! Air force here I come. Cutoff age is 35. Barely made it
Hope you made it
How’s it going?
I had a lump in my throat while seeing you doing your "last flight". This moment I would be retired F-18 pilot (and I am 150% I would have done it to AF, my dedication was limitless and no health condition would have been no problem), but my last flight never happened, the first one never happened.. I drove a car accident 6 months before going in to army and my goal was airforces in Finland. I have been dreaming being a pilot since I was around 3 yr old. My mom was having a job in Sweden and we travelled there by plane (Caravelle at that time) and been loved flying since then. Everything was planes and so on.. When that accident hit me, I had collision with a moose and got paralyzed, I lost a big part of my life.
Otan osaa.
Fuck me. Thanks for giving this young man whose spent too much time in self pity with a reality check.
This reminds me of my fini flights on the T-38, the C-130J and the B767.
You brought tears to my eyes and a knot in my throat.
Stumbled across this super late. Don't know if you'll ever see this, but I can't describe the feels I had when I saw the show of force. Another reason the JTAC might ask for the show of force is that we maybe can't/won't drop big bombs into the area the combatants are in, but we still want them to strongly consider going home. I know CAS isn't what fighter pilots dream of, but a good low and loud show of force can take the fight right out of some hostiles, and there's not a lot of restrictions on getting a show of force (unlike ROE on bombs). Sometimes, ending the fight for that day can make a world of difference for those of us on the ground.
This actually brought me to tears because I understand how hard it is to give up something you love. I know you miss flying the hornet brother. It is truly a privilege to even be able to fly a fighter jet because the selection process and training is extremely hard
Mover vs Gonky on DCS would be EPIC!!!
Hello CW i was just a young sailor fresh out of AOA school in Millington Tenn. already assigned to VFA-106 training (rag) after PRP in Lemoore , I spent obout 15 months with 106 at NAS Cecil Field before getting orders to VFA-131 Wildcats right down the flight line , We ended up being the first Hornet squadron on the east coast est in 1984 , We were also the first to operate from a cag-13 on board USS Coral Sea and seen some action in Libya in 1986 along with VMfA-323 and VMFA-531 , Airlants first and finest best years of my life . Didnt want the legacy hornets retire they served our country well and the aviators that flew them , Great video sir !
I'm still going through the same thing still. I spent my entire adult life in the military, I started as an MP, did SRT at age 20, had a break in service after the Clinton RIF, came back the second I was allowed and did my duty for 4 deployments after reclassing. My last was Very Kinetic and was blown up 2 times and returned to duty. The final time I had a spinal cord injury during an air assault in Afghanistan and woke up at Bagram AB. Was medevacd to Germany on a C17 and woke up to a guy having surgery in the middle of the plane 20ft from me. They hit me with morphine when they saw I woke up and I was out til the polytrauma ward. Battalion commander standing over me... now im still alive, learning to live in this crazy ass backward civilian world and trying to make my way. Lost 13 friends since I got home, all from guys who couldn't adjust. Im just glad my family is so supportive and I have the outlook I do. I just laugh at the stuff people think is hard in life. And everyone thinks I'm crazy for laughing at them.... if they only knew what a bad day really was.
So true , so true....................
It’s all about perspective. You have to accept and respect everybody’s own personal problems, because otherwise everyone just feels uncomfortable around you, thinking how cowardish they are for worrying about their problems when you have a much worse fate. Just as you wouldn’t be comfortable if someone told you of their problems being much worse than yours.I recommend just not talking about you’re problems all to much, even if you think it’s difficult sometimes.
@@J.R377 You can and should always talk about your problems if it makes you feel better and if it helps others to understand your perspective. But that doesn't mean at all that you need to assign a value to it to determine whose problems are "worse." Life is relative and there is no objective answer to this. It just means you're judgmental and empathetic.
Really felt that sir. Your tears are my tears. Thank you for your service.
You lucky Human... you got to Pilot, push and enjoy a fantastic Aircraft that has earned its place in History.. Thank You for your service!
Ahhh I love how you have this state of the art, multi million $ piece of technology.... and the dash board cover is peeling and broken like a Datsun 180B..... Classic.
You should have seen what our A-6E’s looked like when we sunset them in 1993!
i love that for a last flight you are granted the ability to use weapons aswell. In general its amazing because after all each flight costs so much money.
I am jealous of everybody who is or was able to fly planes, specially fighter jets and ground attackers like the a10.
I found myself almost brought to tears just watching. I can only imagine how difficult that moment was. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us and for your patriotism and service.
This is the post I was that I was JUST about to make. Nailed it.
That’s heart breaking... What a life you have. Bravo sir, much respect for everything you’ve accomplished so far. You’re such an inspiration for the new generation. 👊
Man I probably watched you so many times fly there waiting on Algiers lock on the intercoastal waterway. I’m a towboat captain/owner and a huge aviation fan. I never complained waiting on the locks because we got to watch y’all almost every day! We appreciate your service! I wish I could of been a fighter pilot ! Also from Breaux bridge, Louisiana
Mover Thank you for your service! I come from a military family, my grandpa was in the Air Force Flying a C -130 during Vietnam.
Prolly killed mad civilians lol…
Been there, done that. Brought back memories.
The worst part of getting older is seeing the doors of opportunity close around you. When you’re young everything is possible
The good thing about Lemoine's videos is that they are BS free. He doesn't try anything, he just speaks his mind.
Awesome Mover, gonna share this with my dad, former marine combat pilot and current airline pilot, and my nephew, newly awarded recipient of a spot at the Air Force Academy. This was a great video, thank you for sharing!
Beautiful shadow of you coming off the runway and into your climb.
Show of Force works really well in many regions. We were running around the Afghan countryside in 2002 checking out villages when a local "police force" set up a road block stopping us from entering a village. After a little chat trying to explain who we were and what we were doing we had the CTT fly over a couple of F/A-18's. Suddenly they understood who we were and what we were doing. We all became "friends" and sat down for tea. They actually did some good work for us over time. Some places just respect power more than anything else, but specifically having power and not necessarily the use of it. You either have it or you are friends with someone who has it.
I just found this video. It reminded me a lot of the Hurricane Andrew destroying Homestead AFB. I serviced 8 1/2 years there. We still had F-4 Phantoms when I got to the base. They phased out approximately a year later and were replaced by F-16s. I was assigned to the 48th ARRS which was a detachment from 25th SO performing drug interdiction operations and cooperating with other special ops. I would go back right now if I could. Good times. I can't find any of my brothers and sisters from those days. It saddens me greatly.
You had the coolest job on earth! I wish you could have stayed on your job but now you are here on UA-cam showing us what you loved. 👍
From doing 25 yrs still in law enforcement in Australia.......thankyou for your service
Your voice sounds like explaining just another monday:) But to those that love aviation and weren't blessed enough with that path, this was really neat to hear the play by play. Thank you!
If you know military folk, generally the more intense/difficult/scary/awful something is, the calmer they tend to sound. He sounded absolutely gutted to me. Thanks CW for sharing this. It must have been a pretty tough day.
Tough to give up a big part of your life and identity. Thank you for your service and for sharing these personal experiences.
Awesome video. I felt sad when you were on your final. Best wishes
22.5 yr retired airframer hornet chief! love it! Used my GI bill to full advantage and I am now an airline pilot... I can feel what your saying! Love it brother!!
Salute, Sir. ~S~ This made me remember the last combat mission I had in Iraq as a Humvee gunner, the knowledge that never would you be in such a position again, vested to be responsible for so much power and cleared to use it, trusted in competence and ability, representing the good guys. I couldn't make a scab on your aft insofar as training and ability, but my heart sank a little for you when you landed. You want to hold the moment forever, and as much as people say you can take it with you, you really can't. Living in a world of people that don't understand the gravity of the rollercoaster and having to get off of it has been hard for me. Thank you, Sir. You are helping so many with your vids more than you know. May God Bless. ~S~
A-10 crew chief here. We had 4
F/A-18s at my base here for a day and they’re bad ass! Got to see them launch out. Love the sound!
Jesus, hearing a 9 line passed takes me back. Being the party on the ground I always thought you guys were scribbling shit all over the canopy. Thanks for posting man.
That’s the 9-line I love hearing.
Not a fan of the 9-line that includes MIST
Hey Mover I started following you about 2 months ago… just catching up on all your videos ! I’m from Australia and just want to say you’re an inspiration to everyone! God bless you
"Hope that one day i will fly again"- this line breaks my heart...
My dad flew Spitfires and Hurricanes in WWII. He stayed in the RAF until 1949 because he couldn't face the prospect of not flying again, but eventually when my older brother was born, he had to: mum sort of gave him the choice - either the RAF or her. He rejoined civilian life and hated it (and privately I think her to some extent.) I never really had the urge to fly like he did, but I can see how it becomes so much a part of your life that it must be heartbreaking to let it go. I still have a page of his flight log covering VE day, and it's precious to me. Thanks for sharing your last day with us.
That’s so cool.
I’m glad you were able to continue doing what you love over with The USAF after this last flight.
literally the best episode from you.
My God! I really choked up! I even teared up. I´m so sorry to hear about your liver problem was it? It sucks that you have to stop doing something you love because of something you have no control over! Big love to you man, hope you are doing well!
Aa a ground fighter (USMC) I loved every SOF we got! Thank you to all my Naval Aviators!
I had a bitter sweet Fini flight. I didn't know it was my last ride in the Herk, and got short notice orders the next day to go to a different plane. I knew it was coming but didn't know when. My Fini in that next plane was also due to training in a new one, but it was different. It was my Instructor Pilot Upgrade checkride, and also my Evaluator Pilot's Fini Flight, and he got all the glory on that one.
I kind of liked not knowing. I had a great flight on the Herk, and no emotional reaction from knowing it was the end.
You are awesome Moover. I'm 61 now, but you've lived the life I'd hoped to live when I was 25. I've dreamed about it everyday from then to now, buy it didn't work out. You are an inspiration to me Thanks for what you do. Congratulations and thank you.
My last flight was a rescue mission. I wasn't even supposed to fly that day C130
I was f18 ground crew/refueler in the finnish air force, the last time i was hot refueling a flight of f18's the pilots and our maintenance crew all saluted me. I'll never forget it and i think i might have shed a tear too. I was a conscript for only a year and i felt those 5 seconds made my service worth it.
I pray that one day I'll be able to do what you do! My only goal in life is to become a Naval Aviator! I can't even come up with words to describe how much I want it! Thank you for your service! One day I hope to continue your guy's legacy! (No pun intended)
Legacy’s are getting phased out. The marines are getting them 😂
Be thankful for the experiences you had. I was scrubbed from RAAF pilot training around 20 years ago (formation test ironically). Obviously, I didn’t know it was my last flight, and I never got the opportunity to progress to RAAF Hornets. I still look back on those times with awe and a little sadness. It’s certainly hard being told it’s over, but at least you had a career that many others don’t 🙂
What an awesome video Mover!!! Very emotional. I wasn't crying. You were crying!!! Loved this video though. Thank you for all that you do and all that you have done. We all really appreciate it.
Greetings from Russia! Watching your videos is a pleasure, since we love aviation so much. My grandpa was a pilot during WW2, and up to the end of 1950s. The last two type of aircraft he was flying were MiG-15 and MiG-17. In 1959 (when 'missle-era' in USSR was at full swing) he was offered to stay with Air Force, but take helicopter regiment under command instead of fighters'... So he refused, and had to resign.
Cool 👍
In 85 Corpsmen did a one year tour at a Nav Hospital essentially to gain experience before hitting the fleet. I got Bethesda and since I was a Civilian Paramedic ( Oakland CA ) before enlisting I was fortunate enough to get the ED. One of my innumerable interesting patients was a middle aged Naval Aviator. Captain , USN ( Ret). I was a boot and gungy , looking forward to hitting the fleet.
He smiled in a sad way and related that one day , after piloting his F4 over North Vietnam he returned to the “ Boat “ and trapped....for the last time. He was very emotional saying after he shut down he realized that was his last Combat Flight and Last Trap. ( I’m assuming he was a CAG ). He told me to cherish my Naval Service and realize we only have one shot and to do my duty but enjoy it.
I was too boot to really understand it , until after riding a CG , then going Green .....I finished my War ( Gulf War w First Mar Div ) , and the last day of my 8 year Naval career I was happy and sad at the same time. Bittersweet . ( the Gods of You Tube put your channel in my feed so I just discovered you )
Thank you for your awesome videos , SFMF
Mike Pazzree Thank You for your Service Buddy . I was Air Force ' 71 - ' 75
I couldn’t imagine how tough this flight was for you.
CW Lemoine SALUTE SIR! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
I'm a current Naval Aviation Structural Mechanic with my platform being the F/A 18 E/F Super Hornet... and I'm doing everything I can possible to be a pilot like you sir. Thank you so much for everything you've done and are doing.
This choked me up! Always wanted to be a fighter pilot, was born in the wrong country with hardly what you'd call an air corp (ireland). Even applied for the hell of it in Florida when I was 17. Surprisingly asthma was not a problem but hayfever was, and the fact I wasn't a citizen! DCS is the closest I'll get! Love your channel. You are an inspiration to us all
Like allergies? Jeesh so strict, most AFs here are in the desert seems an odd restriction
I had a similar experience with my last day. One big difference though, I was a Scout/Sniper in the Marines.
My last day with my rifle, I took her out to the range, at a grand. Put one round though the X, took her home, cleaned it one final time, and turned her in.
It was bitter sweet.
I have since participated in long range shooting precision shooting competitions, IPSIC, 3-gun, etc. Nothing compares.
Awesome video!
So glad you get to fly T38. I mean for a regular guy the T38 is kick ass...good luck and thank you for your service.
Former Riverrattler here. Thanks for putting up some footage of the old cubicles sir. I miss each and every one of those jets. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Served when VFA-204 was sharing the MAG42 hangar, now I hear moved to the larger older hangar on the other side of the washbay.
So incredibly cool. Thank you for your service and thank you for this awesome video. Those maneuvers were so badass. The show of force pass has to be easily the coolest thing to watch from the ground.
"just one more".... My God, I felt that!
Bloody neighbour's cutting onions again, damn 😣
Beautiful bird, beautiful flying and to all concerned, a great yet somber day.
Utmost respect!
As a rotory pilot this gives me awesome feels, thanks and great job!
I wanted to be a fighter pilot all of my life but unfortunately I had a problem that prevented me to do so but when I found out that it wasn’t the case then it was too late. I did however became a qualified/certified JTAC. I know the CAS process and from the ground we too love the show of force. Thank you for sharing. It was nice to see from a pilots perspective what goes on during a CAS event.
I found myself smiling during the whole video. Thanks for taking us along on this journey! BZ!!!
Your aerial views and commentary are awesome! Thank you for your service, I can watch this all day.✌🏽
When you wanted just one more moment before landing, I felt that.
Oh that's it. We're gonna get you to make DCS F/A-18 videos now. The tease was real, and it's too good to pass up.
In all honesty though, it MAY be a good idea for your channel to branch out and do the DCS stuff. You may crossover and pick up a lot of new viewers who are into aviation simulation but maybe aren't going out and looking up Q&A/real life videos from real aviators. Whether or not you care about that I don't know, but it may get A LOT more viewers to your channel because I have a feeling A LOT of people would be interested in seeing DCS content through the eyes of a real aviator with real experience with the actual aircraft. It's a perspective I don't think anyone is doing on youtube right now, or maybe I just haven't looked hard enough.
Interesting! I hadn't heard of DCS World before you mentioned it here, so I checked it out and it looks very cool!
I've been out of sims for awhile, but used to compete in IL Sturmovic 5 on 5 team dogfights, one of the guys that really got us killing it was former F14 tomcat pilot and he taught us tactics, it didnt take long for us to dominate. Many moons ago but I think I could get into DCS!
@@donc9751 DCS is extremely cool and a very, very deep dive into combat aviation simulation. Learning the individual aircraft modules and weapons systems can take months. It's as real as it can get at this point in time. The developer, Eagle Dynamics, continues to push the envelope in realism. Weapons systems are all functional as in the real thing. F-14 tomcat is inbound within the next few months. Want to have your eyes pop out of your head? Watch this vid. ua-cam.com/video/fID1sE2xfwU/v-deo.html
There's probably going to be a sale in November, in the meantime, I recommend getting used to the free aircrafts, checking out the controls, the mission editor, setting up a good hotas and most importantly, some kind of head tracking. Feel free to start out with a simple, cheaper one, but I'm serious, headtracking is just as important and cool as a good hotas.
@@agostonbazmajer1100 Great to know! Thank you!
@@Bananimal65 Sounds so cool! Thanks for the video link too! I'll check it out now!
Oh Jesus you got me with this one. Thats just sad. I get depressed when my Vette’s is in the shop for a week but this is even worse. Final flight in your F18 is like saying goodbye to a life long friend plus flying itself. I couldn’t imagine what you felt that day. Thank you for your service and I really hope you get to fly an F18 again someday. Much love!
That was emotional tbh. Felt the feelings of leaving something you love.
I'm sorry you were grounded. To have the opportunity to fly like this must be an incredible privilege. Thanks for sharing with us.
I love these videos. I really enjoyed my time as an F/A-18C maintainer. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it sometimes.
I know this is three years old, but I could really get a sense of how you must have been feeling on that last ride. Thanks for sharing!
What? You were actually allowed to join the Air force because they are in so desperate need of tactical aviators? Smart move by the AF.
Thank you for your service, CW. I'm full of joy that you got to fly such beautiful aircraft and serve your country at the same time. God bless, sir.
Coming back from the MOA on my Air Force fini-flight was sad. It didn't really sink in until on the way home I was flying lead and 2 was in route on my left and it hit me: "I am never going to be able to do this again." That sucked. Was able to get an approach end break and an EXTD to end my career. Probably the only time I ever did one pattern to a full stop.
I was, however, able to get a couple hours of good camera footage using a GoPro over my last 3 or 4 sorties so that was cool. Thx for sharing this, Mover!
Twister
Hey PC from line shack here! Just wanted to say love your videos because working as a line rat can be brutal but these videos are awesome at understanding the pilots better and makes me more motivated to do my job! Ty Sir!
Smh I'm still recovering from Hurricane Michael it's amazing how your entire life can change within a 3 hour period
I remember my FINI F/A-18 flight. I was sad after words because you know that it’s going to be your last flight in a fighter, so your get a lot of respect from your wingmen, ground crew, ATC, you name it. I just couldn’t give up flying, so, I now fly for American Airlines, I fly the 777-200ER, and I love it.
Thanks for your service sir! Comparing F/A-18C of DCS World to the real one would be awesome.
I'm guessing the gs in DCS aren't nearly as bad.
Very kool
NAS JRB! I was stationed at USCG Air Station Nola. Loved my time there. When I took my last flight in the Coast Guard, the crews drug me out, hosed me down, high fives, all that. I walked to the locker room, got in the shower and cried so hard. Miss it bad, but so grateful to have served with so many fine people. Thank you sir
Amazing episode. Spent my lunchtime watching and enjoying the episode. Kudos from the uk 👍😎
I was stationed in Alexandria at England AFB back in the late 80's with the 23TFW (A-10's) its a nice area. I'll bet our A-10's used that range from time to time. I got an incentive ride in and F-16 on March 10th 2006, I couldn't imagine giving that up. Thank you for your service.
I worked 10 years on the Hornet as an Avionics Technician, damn I miss my birds!
Getting to drop live, do some high aspect BFM and a brief low-level is a pretty sweet EOT flight. My Fini in the Viper was as a USAF Exchange Pilot w the RNoAF. Took off from Bodø Flystasjon and flew up to Nord Cape. Low ceiling so I was basically co-altitude w the top of the cliffs, doing some high G turns, going back and forth around the coast. I wish I had someone there at the visitor center filming my unplanned lowat air show. Then, flew a low level down the Norwegian-Swedish border, toured some fjords, etc.
cool seeing it from the pilots side. I'm a U.S Army Fister/Forward so we get to work, everything from Mortars to CAS.
also for the guys listening "the guy on the ground said cleared hot" only a USAF JTAC or someone who is a qualified JTAC will say that. An Army Fister/Forward Observer will never say that.
It may have been your last flight, but you are building a legacy for the years here on youtube. Job well done sir!