Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 11 · column 1 of 4 · from the scan, no model involved
The morning of the flight, Capt. Gerrish and I arrived at the 192nd TFG facility at Byrd Field, outside of Richmond, at about 0730. After a brief introduction to the other three pilots who would be flying the mission with us, I was escorted to the equipment area to be fitted with flight gear.
Regulations dictate what one wears while flying. Having no equipment of my own, I was fitted out in Capt. Gerrish’s flight suit and jump boots; a flight jacket, helmet and Nomex gloves were borrowed from someone else. Other gear issued to me included an oxygen mask and a pair of inflatable trousers, the G-suit, which I was told would help me retain ''consciousness during steep dives.
A parachute harness completed my flight gear. At that point, I was confident that I would not be using most of the specialized equipment, especially the oxygen and G-suit. We were going on a low-level flight, weren’t we?
Following my equipment fitting, I received an hour’s briefing on the operation of the rear cockpit controls, ejection procedures, and parachute landing.
The Mission Planned
Our mission was to be fiurly routine: low-level flight from Richmond to the Palmetto bombing range west of Nags Head, N. C. There, each of the four A-7s in our group would attack a small barge floating in the sound, dropping six practice bombs each. The training would approximate a low-level attack on a »m»ii enemy ship. v
77.5%