One of my favorite flying memories was in flight school at Ft. Rucker in 1987. My 1st Instructor Pilot was a crusty Vietnam vet who would illegally chain smoke while we flew around in circles. The old TH-55 was a simple workhorse for basic flight skills with a single VHF radio. 
One day we’re making an approach to enter the t
pattern at a training field. As I make my call to tower the radio crackles and dies. I immediately call for the no comms emergency procedure. He says “don’t do that, LT..Jesus.” He flicks his cig out the door and loosens his belt.
pattern at a training field. As I make my call to tower the radio crackles and dies. I immediately call for the no comms emergency procedure. He says “don’t do that, LT..Jesus.” He flicks his cig out the door and loosens his belt.
He then hunches up in his seat and proceeds to kick the absolute shit out of the center console radio. It crackles and comes back to life and I make my ATC call as we fly along in silence. He lights another cigarette and looks at me over his bushy mustache and tells me…
“There’s your first lesson in Army technology. Just kick the shit out of it.” That was a really valuable lesson I used a few times over two decades. I wonder if the folks at Facebook should just trying to kick the shit out of their servers. Might work. (Fin)
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