#tailhook

[kukuandkookie]

*bounces up and down in hopeful excitement*

Hey hey HEY DANMEI FANS—specifically of modern/contemporary-based danmei!!!

The gift exchange event called Neon Tangyuan (set to end Feb 12, 2025 during the Lantern Festival so don’t panic because it’s not for Christmas!) just released their treats list!!!

You don’t have to be a participant to create treats, so if you have a modern danmei you wish had more art or fics, you can try checking the prompts and see if there’s anything from your favourite underrated modern/contemporary danmei that sparks your creative fancy!! There’s Saye, e-sports novels, Kiss the Abyss, Priest novels, 188男团 novels, and more (I’ve tried to tag some of them for more exposure but I didn’t get to tag all of them)!! 👀

I’m personally not affiliated with the mod team at all, but last time I checked, they don’t have a Tumblr, so I figure I’d share about it here. :D

(And yes, for me personally, I did absolutely take the chance to ask for 188男团 content hahaha. My obsession absolutely came at the right time SLFNKSSH. I’ve also got my fingers crossed this helps me ease into being eager to create again!!)

[thatsrightice]

Iceman may have made the climb in ranks, eventually earning the title of Admiral and Commander of the Pacific Fleet, but that didn’t mean he had to give up flying entirely right away.

Retired Rear Admiral Jay “Spook” Yakeley continued to fly as he raised through the ranks, as did a few select other Rear Admirals. In fact, Spook said that he was able to fly just about whenever he wanted given his rank on base.

“I flew all of the teen fighters in one day. I went up in a Tomcat and a Hornet in the morning. After lunch I flew an F-15E and a TOPGUN F-16. Kind of a stunt, but hey. When you’re an admiral you can do stuff like that.” - Jay “Spook” Yakeley, Rear Admiral USN (Ret.)

Ice would have definitely done that just to rub it into Mav’s face, maybe to spite the other pilots. He would have someone hold the video camera and record him, and he’ll start in front of each jet talking to the camera. Nothing much, just his name and callsign, date, time, location, the aircraft type, aircraft bureau number, etc. for record keeping and proof.

Then he’d be filmed climbing into the cockpit and going for a fun flight performing some semi-difficult maneuvers, nothing super dangerous but still impressive. Then he would move on to the next one and repeating the process. Ice would have kept it on the down-low, spending time carefully organizing his schedule to allow for his stunt to be pulled off flawlessly without drawing attention to himself.

Then he’ll bring the video to the next Tailhook reunion early and have the organizers set it up on a projector or video device (or however old video tech works 🫣) just waiting for when one of his friends make a jab at him for probably not being able to fly much anymore given his new rank. And he’ll just turn and give a subtle nod to the man. Maybe it would have been edited by a movie editor he has connections with or something to make him look like the BAMF he is.

[agent-troi]

MY EYES HAVE BEEN OPENED THANK YOU @tofuttim

[dragonsandphoenix]

The Approach audio drama is almost over (if I put off listening to it can I pretend that it's not ending? 🥲) and man, what an amazing BL about two adults dealing with adult struggles from their careers to family and loss to learning to love and accept love.

Their conversations are so mature. And not just the ones with each other but with their friends too. Mature adults doing their best and engaging in introspective conversations about navigating life is like instant healing for me when done well. Fang Hao telling Chen Jiayu that the pain of his mother's passing will never really go away (just like the pain with his own dad) because regret and happiness go hand in hand, and the happier we are, the more regrets pile up. And that's fine.

Chen Jiayu's conversation with his ex was also nice. Looking back at their younger selves and how much they've grown since then.

On a lighter note commenters saying that Chen Jiayu and Fang Hao should go to Vegas and get married (since they're in the US and all 🤣). Yeah it does feel like they're the ones getting married instead of Chen Jiayu's ex. I wonder what their vows would be.

Which kind of makes me want to reread Zhou Qichen's vows in Tailhook. Which reminds me Tailhook is getting translated and I am once again on cloud nine.

[adobe-outdesign]

Normal Neopets players: so what are your Food Club bets for today? I'm thinking Tailhook but IDK

Neopets players that are invested in the lore: King Skarl should be assassinated

[mvlderfox]

"Who cut the cheese? ... Partaaayyy!" // "However, I must remind you this goes against the Bureau's policy of male and female agents consorting in the same motel room while on assignment" // "Try any of that Tailhook crap on me, Scully, I'll kick your ass." // "Where are you going? ... You know, Mulder, sometimes I think some work on your communication skills wouldn't be such a bad idea." // "I'll be back soon, and we can build a tower of furniture. Okay?"

[usafphantom2]

Legendary Pilot Bob Pardo, Who Pushed A Damaged F-4 With His F-4 Over Vietnam, Has Died

December 20, 2023 Military Aviation

Bob Pardo

Bob Pardo in a 2017 photo by Senior Airman Ridge Shan. In the background, Pardo's Push in an artwork by S.W. Ferguson.

Bob Pardo passed away earlier this month at the age of 89. With his Phantom, he pushed a crippled F-4 outside the enemy airspace in one of the most heroic missions in the history of military aviation, known as “Pardo’s Push”.

“Pardo’s Push” is the name of an incredible maneuver carried out during the Air War over North Vietnam that, over the years, has become the symbol of heroism and a demonstration of courage and contempt for danger.

March 10, 1967.

Captain Bob Pardo is flying in an F-4C with Weapon Systems Officer 1st Lt Steve Wayne. Their wingman is the F-4C flown by Captain Earl Aman with Weapon Systems Officer 1st Lt Robert Houghton. The two Phantoms of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, are assigned the task to attack a steel mill in North Vietnam north of the capital Hanoi.

During the approach to the target, both F-4 is hit multiple times by enemy’s anti-aircraft fire. The North Vietnamese flak causes significant damage to Capt. Aman’s aircraft whose fuel tank begins to leak fuel forcing the crew to abort the mission. While hit too, Pardo’s F-4 is able to continue its mission.

On their egress route, at 20,000 feet, Aman and Houghton determine that they do not have enough fuel to reach a tanker or Laos, where they could eject and avoid capture. Although his F-4 is still efficient and has enough fuel to reach a tanker, Pardo decides to remain with his wingman.

At a certain point, while still inside North Vietnamese airspace, Aman’s Phantom flames out. To save Aman and Houghton, Pardo decides to do something he believes no one has ever done before: he attempts to push the other F-4 to Laos.

Initially, Pardo tries to push the other F-4 by gently making contact with the drag chute compartment. However, turbulence interferes with the maneuver and after several failed attempts, Pardo opts for an extreme solution: he instructs Aman to lower his tailhook, then he positions his F-4 behind the other Phantom leaning his windscreen against the tailhook. The contact is made but the “solution” is quite unstable and, as a consequence of turbulence, Pardo needs to reposition his F-4 every 15 to 30 seconds. Nevertheless, the push works and rate of descent of Aman’s Phantom is considerably reduced.

As if the situation was not complicate enough, Pardo’s F-4 suffers an engine fire, forcing him to shut it down.

Try for a second to visualize the situation: a flame-out F-4 is somehow pushed by means of its tailhook by another F-4 powered by a single engine. In enemy airspace. Incredible.

Ezoic

Pardo pushes Aman’s F-4 for another 10 minutes until his Phantom runs out of fuel too. With both planes safely inside Laotian airspace, at an altitude of about 6,000 feet, the aircrews of both F-4s ejects (they will be rescued by SAR helicopters and evade capture).

Although he saved another aircrew, Pardo was initially reprimanded for not saving his own F-4. Until 1989, when the episode was re-examinated and both Pardo and Wayne were awarded the Silver Star.

Retired Air Force pilot Lt. Col. Bob Pardo poses in front of a static display model of an F-4 Phantom II, one of the many fighter aircraft he has flown, at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Dec. 12, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Ridge Shan)

Pardo and Aman both continued serving and retired from the U.S. Air Force in the rank of lieutenant colonel. Years later, after learning that Aman had lost his voice and mobility because of Lou Gehrig’s disease, created the Earl Aman Foundation that raised enough money to buy Aman a voice synthesizer, a motorized wheelchair, and a computer. The foundation later contributed to raise funds to pay for a van, which Aman used for transportation until his death. In other words, Pardo never left his wingman behind, not even after retiring.

Ezoic

Noteworthy, as told by John L. Frisbee in his 1996 article for Air Force Magazine, Pardo’s push was not the first time a U.S. pilot pushed another jet out of enemy airspace: in 1952, during the Korean War, fighter ace Robbie Risner pushed his wingman out of North Korea in an F-86. However, pilots were ordered to refrain from attempting the hazardous maneuver again, and the episode had faded from memory and was almost completely unknown within the Air Force by the time Pardo and Wayne pushed Aman and Houghton outside of North Vietnam’s airspace.

Bob Pardo passed away aged 89, on Dec. 5, 2023. His courage and ingenuity, along with the legendary “Pardo’s Push“, will be remembered forever.

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

@Aviationist via X

[usaac-official]

A TBM of VC-66 crashes into the island of USS Altamaha (CVE-18) after a tailhook failure, likely 1944

[alex99achapterthree]

Phantom Friday...

Pardo's push.

An epic story of guts and ingenuity. Captain Bob Pardo used his own damaged Phantom to push his wingman's crippled aircraft to an area safe for ejection. From Wikipedia: (they write it better than I could...)

Captain Bob Pardo (with Weapon Systems Officer 1st Lt Steve Wayne) and wingman Captain Earl Aman (with Weapon Systems Officer 1st Lt Robert Houghton) were assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. In March 1967, they were trying to attack a steel mill in North Vietnam just north of Hanoi. On March 10, 1967, the sky was clear for a bombing run, but both F-4 Phantom IIs were hit by anti-aircraft fire. Aman's plane took the worst damage; his fuel tank had been hit, and he quickly lost most of his fuel. Aman and Houghton then determined that they did not have enough fuel to make it to a KC-135 tanker aircraft over Laos. To avoid having Aman and Houghton bail out over hostile territory, Pardo decided to try pushing the airplane. Pardo first tried pushing the plane using Aman's drag chute compartment but turbulence interfered. Pardo then tried to use Aman's tailhook to push the plane. The Phantom, having been originally designed as a naval aircraft for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, was equipped with a heavy duty tailhook for landings aboard aircraft carriers and for emergency arrestments ashore. Aman lowered his tailhook and Pardo moved behind Aman until the tailhook was against Pardo's windscreen. Aman then shut down both of his J79 jet engines. The push worked, reducing the rate of descent considerably, but the tailhook slipped off the windscreen every 15 to 30 seconds, and each time Pardo had to reposition his plane to do it again. Pardo also struggled with a fire in one of his own engines and eventually had to shut it down. In the remaining 10 minutes of flight time, Pardo used the one last engine to slow the descent of both planes. With Pardo's plane running out of fuel after pushing Aman's plane almost 88 miles (142 km), the planes reached Laotian airspace at an altitude of 6,000 feet (1,800 m). This left them about two minutes of flying time. Both crews ejected, evaded capture, and were picked up by rescue helicopters.

Initially Pardo was reprimanded for not saving his own aircraft but the case was re-evaluated in 1989 and all four crewmembers were awarded the Silver Star.

Epic!

[nimbushobby]

Bavarian Tailhook

[jomindraws]

Now we begin to approach the last few groups of our classes of animals on Jom'Gol !! We gettin into the weird ones now !!!

Superphylum Walledcytoa

A taxa of animals possessing cell walls and a nacreous filament.

(AN2 C3) Clade: Introplastidae

A clade of walledcyota that vary in symmetry and possess an external tissue of keratin.

(AN2 C3-a) Clade: Segogastra

A clade of introplastids that possess longitudinal symmetry and an orifice-based method of nutrient absorption.

PHYLUM SEGOGASTRA

Phylum of entirely parasitic or mutualistic introplastids and the only extant phylum of Clade Segogastra.

(AN2 C3-ai) Clade: Apolyptuo Pseudoserpendae

A clade of animals that have no navigational limbs after development and attach to a host via a sickle-shaped tailhook.

(AN2 C3-ai-§1) Clade: Byropolypa

A clade of apolyptuo pseudoserpendae that contain one long proboscis to absorb nutrients and detritus matter.

Class Byropolyps

Only extant class of byropolypa; attaches to floral or faunal hosts via the tailhook and extends the proboscis end to filter-feed on passing matter. Nacreous filament deposited onto the host organism during death, containing small clone-lined spicules.

(AN2 C3-aii) Clade: Brachoserpendae

A clade of animals that contain branching filaments for latching, navigation, and feeding after development.

Class Canworms

Class of segogastrans that typically attach to faunal and mobile hosts and use a crown of teeth in a can-shaped head to feed on detritus, algae, invasive organisms, and the host’s indigestible consumed matter. Class is also capable of minimal ciliary locomotion to move to different areas along its host.

Class Fellowflowers

Class of segogastrans that typically attach to floral, fungal, or sessile faunal organisms and catch passing plankton with specialized net-like fringes. Organisms in this class often accompany other organisms that cannot obtain enough nutrients from their own niche, exchanging nutrients through the nacreous filament in mutualistic symbiosis.

(AN2 C3-aiii) Clade: Macronemare

A clade of organisms that contain only two tentacled ends for navigation and sensing.

(AN2 C3-aiii-§1) Clade: Nemare

A clade of macronemare that consumes fungi, flora detritus, and bacterial mats.

Class Nemare

Class of animals that are extremely microscopic and typically consume waste matter from a host (typically inside a host that is already a parasite of a greater host) or use predatory hunting to kill and consume bacterial and fungal mats within hosts.

(AN2 C3-b) Clade: Asymmetrical Cytoplastidae

A clade of introplastids that possess no symmetry and a semi-porous method of nutrient absorption.

PHYLUM FILOMANTARII

Phylum of quasi-multicellular terrestrial cytoplastids that have no internal organization and a non-newtonian external structure. All filomantarii solidify their outer membrane when exposed to stress, force, or low humidity.

Class Surdow

Class of filomantarii that navigate terrestrial rock surfaces to scavenge for bacterial, algal, chemotrophic, or sessile animals; class species range from microscopic to fairly large and can lie dormant for long periods of time.

Class Cytocaustica

Class of filomantarri that navigate active organisms in forests, intertidal zones, reefs, and organism-rich caves; class members usually contain a neutralizing and sterilizing agent in loosely assembled cells that dissolve the cell membranes of weak or deceased microorganisms.

[thatsrightice]

“Sh!t,” Ice sighed, staring at the phone screen. “I’ve got to take this.”

“Come on, Ice,” Slider complained. “You promised no phone calls tonight.”

“Yeah well that was before Admiral Mirth decided to take an unexpected business trip,” Ice scoffed, bringing the phone up to his ear. The irritation radiating off of him as he headed for the exit of the banquet hall was obvious as people moved quickly to get out of his way.

“What? To where?”

“He🏒🏒,” Ice barked over his shoulder.

“What? Tom!” Slider shouted, but the man was already gone.

[dangerousthingobservation]

166619 AG-204 F/A-18F VFA-103 "Jolly Rogers" - NAS Oceana, VA

Photo de 

Matthew Clements - Tailhook Productions sur 

flickr｜

Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (VF-103) "Jolly Rogers" Fear the Bones.... USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) - Mediterranean Sea July 2012 © Matthew Clements - All Rights Reserved unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

[i-am-trans-gwender]

"Problematic media doesn't reflect the morality of the author" "Problematic media does not have real world consequences"

I disagree

I'm NOT talking about stuff that is depicted as bad in-universe. Also you're not a bad person if you like problematic media unless it's Fu Manchu levels of bad.

Authors' biases are reflected in their work. Mel Gibson's antisemitic remark "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. Are you a Jew?" during his 2006 DUI arrest wasn't surprising given the critiques of antisemitism in his film Passion of the Christ, the movie depicts the Jewish people as being bloodthirsty and ugly people who are to blame for the Crucifixion

As for the real word consequences, The Tailhook Scandal where Military officers committed assault and harassment in the U.S Navy's Tailhook Symposium. Investigators found that they were influenced by Top Gun which made them see the military as being like a party. It's worth noting there's a scene in the movie where Maverick follows Blackwood into the bathroom even after she's rejected him.

It's important to consider the impact that media can have on people as well as how they reflect the author's viewpoint.

[lonestarflight]

Northrop/McDonnell-Douglas NATF-23, the Navalized Advanced Tactical Fighter version of the YF-23

"A proposed naval variant of the YF-23 known as the NATF-23 was considered as an F-14 Tomcat replacement. The original YF-23 design was first considered but would have had issues with flight deck space handling, storage, landing, and catapult launching reasons requiring a different design."

"The naval NATF-23 variant was different in many ways to the USAF version; the diamond wings were located as far back as possible, and the aircraft has conventional canted vertical tails instead of the ruddervator with serrations for low RCS and increased maneuverability at low speeds for aircraft carrier operations, folding wing capability for flight deck storage, reinforced landing gear, tailhook and canards for landing on aircraft carriers and thrust vectoring nozzles. The intakes were also different as they were a quarter circle with serrations, with a bumped compression surface. The NATF-23 had an increased 48 ft wingspan while the length was reduced to 62 ft."

"The NATF program called for the procurement of 546 aircraft along with the USAF's planned procurement of 750 aircraft."

"The NATF's internal payload was 4AAAM/AMRAAM, 2 AIM-9, AND 500 RDS 20MM. No external load was mandated, but provision for external carriage of weapons was desired."

May 7, 1991 Testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"The Major Aircraft Review, launched in early 1990 under Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney, reduced the peak production rates of both the ATF and NATF, from 72 to 48 and from 48 to 36, respectively. This had the effect of substantially increasing the program cost. In August 1990, Admiral Richard Dunleavy, who was in charge of Navy aircraft requirements, stated that 'he did not see how the NATF could fit into any affordable plan for Navy aviation.' The ATF Dem/Val flight-testing was accomplished from August 1990 through January 1991, but this had little impact on the prospects for an NATF. In early 1991, consideration of the NATF was finally dropped after it was determined that the F-14 could meet the Navy's air superiority needs through 2015. There was, at least initially, an option to restart the NATF program in fiscal year 1997, although that has since been abandoned."

source, source, source, source

[foxgirlchorix]

went to the airplane butt museum today

highlights include

2.333333 f-14 tomcats

a Big Ass Fan

the tattered remnants of the original adorable decor of the museum, torn down to make an ugly banquet hall- but they can't move the giant moon rover, so some remains intact!

giant moon rover

beautiful model of an early woman aviator, next to a real Bleriot XI

a penguin

hand-spinnable rotary engine

peanut engine

model of Scam Likely's last aircraft design

they happened to be operating the spinning propeller, retracting gear, and tailhook on the model of an early Grumman carrier aircraft

two gliders

picture of an airplane with its pants off

two separate Lunar Modules!!!!

nonfunctional lunar landing simulation game