John HOLBROOK
05-10-2010, 07:19
During the Korean War, I was stationed at the Naval Air Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in Utility Squadron 10 (VU-10). I was a Plane Captain on a JD-1 (A26-A) Douglas Invader, which we called Jig Dog.....
One bright sunny morning, we were scheduled to perform a check ride for a new pilot who had little twin engine time. So he climbed into the left seat. The A-26 only had one set of flight controls. Usually I rode in the right jump seat to monitor the engine controls, however today the check pilot occupied the right seat and I rode in a jump seat just behind the two pilots.
Now let me digress, and describe McCalla Field. It consisted of one runway which ran North and South, and was about 5,000 long. This was years before the Navy built Leeward Point which had room for a longer runway to accommodate jets. McCalla Field could not be extended as there was a shear drop off at both ends. The north end dropped about 80' down to the seaplane base. The south end ended with about a 100' drop into the Caribbean.
After a normal pre-flight, startup and taxi out to the runway, we received permission to take off using runway 180, south. We took the runway and after we ran the engines up and checked all engine instruments, we started down the runway. Up to this time everything was normal.
About halfway down the runway, right at the rotation point for liftoff, the check pilot reached up and punched the red feather button for the starboard engine which was located at the top of the windscreen and yelled "that we had just lost an engine". MISTAKE!!!!!! The starboard engine began to unwind and the new pilot panicked , and reach up and punched the FEATHER BUTTON FOR PORT ENGINE. Arrrrrrrrgh!!!!!
It started to get real quiet as both engine began to unwind!! All you could see in the cockpit was a--h-les and elbows as the three of us were trying to un-feather both engines. By this time we had reached the end of the runway. The new pilot kept his head and as we rolled over the overrun at the end of the runway, and then the cliff, he pushed the yoke forward, and we were flying , sort of and headed for the ocean!!!!!!!
At about this time the check pilot and I, managed to get both engines back on line and we managed to keep it in the air!!! We leveled off at about 20' over the ocean and after about 30 minute to settle down and brought the good old Jig Dog back to the field!!
Thank God for those two P&W R2800-27s, the best reciprocating engines of all time. Actually the A26 was a great single engine A/C, however, it WILL NOT FLY ON NO ENGINES!!!!!!
I took this photo of the VU-10 flight line standing in the cockpit of Mallard 25, my plane!!!
http://www.fototime.com/%7B8BBDBFE2-0158-4509-B03D-A8D3E3D5C1FC%7D/origpict/JD%20Line.jpg
The Jid Dog was a great plane to fly in. The USAF flew them until they were literally worn out!!!!!
http://www.fototime.com/%7BACACF017-8504-45CF-A560-70370C70B5B8%7D/origpict/a26-04.jpg
McCalla Field looking North...
http://www.fototime.com/%7BB1CE9E0F-BD57-498B-AA50-AFD96D3CB1AF%7D/origpict/McCalla%20FieldSnyder.jpg
One bright sunny morning, we were scheduled to perform a check ride for a new pilot who had little twin engine time. So he climbed into the left seat. The A-26 only had one set of flight controls. Usually I rode in the right jump seat to monitor the engine controls, however today the check pilot occupied the right seat and I rode in a jump seat just behind the two pilots.
Now let me digress, and describe McCalla Field. It consisted of one runway which ran North and South, and was about 5,000 long. This was years before the Navy built Leeward Point which had room for a longer runway to accommodate jets. McCalla Field could not be extended as there was a shear drop off at both ends. The north end dropped about 80' down to the seaplane base. The south end ended with about a 100' drop into the Caribbean.
After a normal pre-flight, startup and taxi out to the runway, we received permission to take off using runway 180, south. We took the runway and after we ran the engines up and checked all engine instruments, we started down the runway. Up to this time everything was normal.
About halfway down the runway, right at the rotation point for liftoff, the check pilot reached up and punched the red feather button for the starboard engine which was located at the top of the windscreen and yelled "that we had just lost an engine". MISTAKE!!!!!! The starboard engine began to unwind and the new pilot panicked , and reach up and punched the FEATHER BUTTON FOR PORT ENGINE. Arrrrrrrrgh!!!!!
It started to get real quiet as both engine began to unwind!! All you could see in the cockpit was a--h-les and elbows as the three of us were trying to un-feather both engines. By this time we had reached the end of the runway. The new pilot kept his head and as we rolled over the overrun at the end of the runway, and then the cliff, he pushed the yoke forward, and we were flying , sort of and headed for the ocean!!!!!!!
At about this time the check pilot and I, managed to get both engines back on line and we managed to keep it in the air!!! We leveled off at about 20' over the ocean and after about 30 minute to settle down and brought the good old Jig Dog back to the field!!
Thank God for those two P&W R2800-27s, the best reciprocating engines of all time. Actually the A26 was a great single engine A/C, however, it WILL NOT FLY ON NO ENGINES!!!!!!
I took this photo of the VU-10 flight line standing in the cockpit of Mallard 25, my plane!!!
http://www.fototime.com/%7B8BBDBFE2-0158-4509-B03D-A8D3E3D5C1FC%7D/origpict/JD%20Line.jpg
The Jid Dog was a great plane to fly in. The USAF flew them until they were literally worn out!!!!!
http://www.fototime.com/%7BACACF017-8504-45CF-A560-70370C70B5B8%7D/origpict/a26-04.jpg
McCalla Field looking North...
http://www.fototime.com/%7BB1CE9E0F-BD57-498B-AA50-AFD96D3CB1AF%7D/origpict/McCalla%20FieldSnyder.jpg