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CIT presentation in Arlington VA

Arlington County Fire Department
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department
District of Columbia Fire Department
Fort Myer Fire Department
Good!
Maybe some of those depts have forums.
I will work on this.
 
Bobert,

Okay, apparently TWF have a POBox in Arlington, so maybe, due to its proximity to D.C., that's just where they happen to be located. So that's likely how they got use of the venue.

From their announcement.....

Presenters

Shelton F. Lankford: Lt. Col. USMC (ret.), fighter pilot with 300+ combat missions and 10,000+ hours flight time. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and 32 Air Medals.
Aldo Marquis: Co-founder, Citizen Investigation Team, independent researcher, concerned citizen and father.
Enver Masud: Engineer, Director, Operations Review Division (State of Iowa), Acting Chief, Strategic and Emergency Planning (U.S. Dept. of Energy), consultant to USAID and World Bank.
Craig Ranke: Co-founder, Citizen Investigation Team, independent researcher, concerned citizen and activist.


Anyone ever heard of Shelton Lankford? Is that Captain Rob under a pseudonym, or is this their pet analyst? I'm sure you military types can find out if he really has any expertise in the area, or if he's claiming that because he's a pilot he knows FDRs.

Enver Masud? He's apparently becoming known, but I've never encountered him. Is TWF his group? I'm at work and can't track him to the credits the give for him in the brief bio above, but it would seem difficult to hold jobs in the State of Iowa and the U.S. Dept of Energy at the same time, plus writing the kind of crap on the below link, that would likely not make you real popular in either Iowa or the DoE.
http://www.twf.org/News/News911.html
 
Klimax, I think you're taking this too seriously. I don't believe one could predict the precise answer to those questions I asked without the manufacturer's testing data. That's why I asked the questions, just to illustrate that point.

Even during accident investigations I don't believe Boeing (for example) turns over their testing data to the NTSB, they provide assistance in the way of their employees to help the NTSB, but not their test data. If I'm wrong about this, perhaps someone will correct me, but I think that's the way it works.

Even with the testing data there are still too many variables to be able to predict accurately. Numbers of TO/Landing cycles play a role, as does previous stresses such as an over G in turbulence, etc. Whether the G's are asymmetrical (rolling G) or symmetrical would also be a factor. Chances are likely it would involve a catastrophic failure, but precisely how, when, and where would just be an educated guess. That's the reason nobody with any sense plays around with G limits in transport category aircraft.

Since you're interested this perhaps we can persuade R. Mackey to comment as he likely knows more about this area than I do.

Thanks. More variables then I realised are at play.

Wing breaks at 2:29 into video; maybe 7.2 gs.

150 percent load of 777 wing design max load.

And it looks like definite breaking was at 154%. Thank you as well.

I guess majority was settled,unless RMackey will want to post here.
 
The only issue I have with any of this "let's make their talk uncomfortable" line, is that it is reinforcing their notion of (A) self-importance, and (B) paranoia that they are really on to something.

Better to just let them have their talk, have their 4 people show up, and let them wallow in their overwhelming insignificance.

TAM:)
 
Bobert,Anyone ever heard of Shelton Lankford? Is that Captain Rob under a pseudonym, or is this their pet analyst? I'm sure you military types can find out if he really has any expertise in the area, or if he's claiming that because he's a pilot he knows FDRs.

I've never heard of Lankford, but no doubt is another one of the moonbats with a butt load of flight hours who has bought into the Woo, probably for some attention. He'll get ego strokes from Cap't Bob and that'll cement the cult-of-personality environment there.

Plus, he is a die-hard Democrat from Maryland, so anything associated with George Bush or the ability to pin 9/11 on Bush is obviously too tasty to pass up. Tailor-made for a 9/11 Woo worshiper. One of Lankford's Facebook friends is a rabid-demo-automaton idiot named Mike Hersh, truly one of the most obnoxious internet personas I have ever encountered.

Their John "Moon Bases" Lear has about a quadrillion flight hours, but that means nothing when you look at his underlying beliefs on issues. I lost track of how many pilots the PfT has who said THEY couldn't have hit the Pentagon in a 757, which once again concerns me about the quality of airline pilot out there. Thank God they remain a minuscule minority. The line isn't very crooked leading between being a crappy pilot and joining P4T.

I could care less if Lankford has 10,000 or 50,000 or 10 flight hours or 300 or 3,000 combat missions. If he supports an organization a hexagonal-dice tree-fort club like PfT (and indeed is going to speak for them) that doesn't understand a standard published departure from a military airfield in the Wash DC area, or how NOTAMS are published throughout the ATC system, or if he really believes the April Gallop story about the "air defenses at the Pentagon" not engaging the aircraft or the absolutely hilarious accounts of DRG, his credibility is zero. Pure and simple.

Respect is rendered where respect is due...and earned. None rendered here. Mr. Lankford is a proud member of the in the John Murtha Ex-Marine club, as far as I'm concerned.

ex-marine.jpg
 
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I've lived in Iowa 43 years and I've never heard of Enver Masud. :confused:
http://www.twf.org/Library/woi3aL.pdf

He wrote this piece and in it he denies flight 77 and flight 93 existed and includes his version of history for other events.

Enver's lies on 911 match Balsamo's (Rob is the p4t terrorist loyalist selling DVDs filled with dirt dumb rant), and the moronic lies of CIT.
 
The only issue I have with any of this "let's make their talk uncomfortable" line, is that it is reinforcing their notion of (A) self-importance, and (B) paranoia that they are really on to something.

Better to just let them have their talk, have their 4 people show up, and let them wallow in their overwhelming insignificance.

TAM:)

I think it would be spectacular if they got a dose of what WAC dishes out.
CIT CULT deserves to taste what they are dishing out IMHO.
 
LOL spoofed my IP and Aldo Bit!!!!!
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
Oh man he is sooooo easy!
:dl:
 
I've never heard of Lankford, but no doubt is another one of the moonbats with a butt load of flight hours who has bought into the Woo, probably for some attention. He'll get ego strokes from Cap't Bob and that'll cement the cult-of-personality environment there.

I'm a little suspect of the "32 Air Medals" claim. Ok more than a little. Reheat or Beachnut - How plausible is this?

ETA: Ok, now I'm REALLY suspect. Apparently Col. Bud Day, a Korea/Vietnam combat pilot who is cited as the most decorated US servicemember since Gen. Douglas McArthur only has ten Air Medals. Do they really think this Lankford character was more decorated than him? I smell a rat - a big one.
 
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I'm a little suspect of the "32 Air Medals" claim. Ok more than a little. Reheat or Beachnut - How plausible is this?

ETA: Ok, now I'm REALLY suspect. Apparently Col. Bud Day, a Korea/Vietnam combat pilot who is cited as the most decorated US servicemember since Gen. Douglas McArthur only has ten Air Medals. Do they really think this Lankford character was more decorated than him? I smell a rat - a big one.
Plausible! In Vietnam you could rack up the medals as fast as you could type them up for legitimate missions. Lankford could earn 32 Air Medals and deserver more; very possible. There are other examples of 32 Air Medals being earned.

His 32 Air Medals did not save him from pushing lies and delusions on 911.
 
I'm a little suspect of the "32 Air Medals" claim. Ok more than a little. Reheat or Beachnut - How plausible is this?

ETA: Ok, now I'm REALLY suspect. Apparently Col. Bud Day, a Korea/Vietnam combat pilot who is cited as the most decorated US servicemember since Gen. Douglas McArthur only has ten Air Medals. Do they really think this Lankford character was more decorated than him? I smell a rat - a big one.

As Reheat said, plausible. You received an air medal for every 10 combat missions. My dad received 25 for 250 missions over 2 tours. Here's his jet after 1 tour back in 66.

Don't know how Lankford ended up with more air medals than his "302" combat missions would have earned, though.

The Marines flew the A-4 a pantload in Vietnam, so he could have earned them with that platform. His "10,000" hours, though, seemed to be tied to the C-130, and unless it was a Spectre gunship, I don't know how he would have gotten any combat time in the Herc. Spectre was a AF asset, though, so unless he was on an exchange mission, don't know how that works out.

Plausible, but weird.
 
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As Reheat beachnut said, plausible. You received an air medal for every 10 combat missions.

You confused beachnut with me. It is plausible if he served more than 1 tour and if he was a helicopter pilot. IIRC, the Air Force rules were 1 per 10 missions in areas of NV proper. Otherwise, it was 1 per 20 missions in all other areas. Air Medals could also be awarded for other notable achievements, but that was not common.

It is not plausible for a fixed wing pilot to earn that many unless he was there for numerous tours.

ETA: Marine pilots in Marine Units either helicopter or fixed wing did not fly in NV very much (if at all). They mostly supported Marine ground units. My flying was in NV and Laos and I can not recall ever encountering a Marine aircraft or hearing one on frequency. It was virtually all AF and Navy with a very few Army fixed wing on occasion. The other possibility is that he could have been assigned to a Navy Carrier. In that case and with multiple tours it is plausible.
 
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You confused beachnut with me. It is plausible if he served more than 1 tour and if he was a helicopter pilot. IIRC, the Air Force rules were 1 per 10 missions in areas of NV proper. Otherwise, it was 1 per 20 missions in all other areas. Air Medals could also be awarded for other notable achievements, but that was not common.

Apologies. Edit capability time is passed else I'd change it.

It is not plausible for a fixed wing pilot to earn that many unless he was there for numerous tours.

Concur. AF mission limit, IIRC, was usually 100 missions. Navy had no restrictions, as far as I know, as evidenced by my dad's 250 missions over two carrier deployments. USMC? No idea, but I suspect they would be similar to Navy, however shore-based mission limitations might have been in place.

The other possibility is that he could have been assigned to a Navy Carrier. In that case and with multiple tours it is plausible.

Nope. VMA(AW)-224 "Bengals" out of MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina was only USMC squadron flying carrier strikes, which it did from USS Coral Sea between November 1971 and July 1972 in the A-6A Intruder, which is not on Lankford's resume.

Wonder if we have somewhat of another Tom Harkin here? Harkin, of course, claimed he flew combat missions in Vietnam until Barry Goldwater called him on that and it turned out all Harkin did, Navy pilot that he was, was ferry aircraft from Japan to the Philippines.
 
We'll get it right eventually.....

Concur. AF mission limit, IIRC, was usually 100 missions. Navy had no restrictions, as far as I know, as evidenced by my dad's 250 missions over two carrier deployments. USMC? No idea, but I suspect they would be similar to Navy, however shore-based mission limitations might have been in place.

No, the AF had no actual limit, but when one flew 100 Missions into ROUTE PACK 6 IN North Vietnam that individual could then move to a staff job or not be assigned to fly into Route Pack 6. For that reason, some flew more than 100 TO ROUTE PACK 6. Most everyone had more than 100 mission if they were there for a full tour.

In all other areas to include the Southern area of North Vietnam and Laos, Vietnam, etc. there was no magic number or no opt out with a specified number of missions.

I agree that the Navy had no magic number of missions that I know about.

During some stages the Navy flew more than one mission per day in fighters. The AF rarely did that in fighters. Usually, it was one and finished. Don't know about Marines.

Nope. VMA(AW)-224 "Bengals" out of MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina was only USMC squadron flying carrier strikes, which it did from USS Coral Sea between November 1971 and July 1972 in the A-6A Intruder, which is not on Lankford's resume.

I haven't seen his resume. Could you post a link? What I was referring to was an exchange type assignment to a ship, not necessarily an assignment as a unit.

I'll have a better feel for the plausibility of those medals if I can see what he did.....
 
I haven't seen his resume. Could you post a link? What I was referring to was an exchange type assignment to a ship, not necessarily an assignment as a unit.

I'll have a better feel for the plausibility of those medals if I can see what he did.....

Not so much a resume as a list of a/c he flew. You've probably seen it - the blurb on Cap'n Bob's "I Love Us" page:

Lt. Colonel Shelton F. Lankford
United States Marine Corps (ret)A-4 Skyhawk, KC-130 (10,000+ hours)
S-2, T-1, F9F, F-11, OV-10, T–2J
303 Combat Missions


For the most part it is a list of museum a/c - the S-2, F9F, F-11, T-2J - all a/c from the late 50's and 60's.

A lot of those hours probably came from tanking missions. The Gas Station Herc can stay up a looooong time.

The other info came from the event blurb: "...fighter pilot with 300+ combat missions and 10,000+ hours flight time. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and 32 Air Medals."

I might have an issue with "fighter pilot", but some of those a/c from the late 50's are fighter aircraft, so I suppose if a high-time C-130 and A-4 light attack jet pilot wants to call himself a "fighter" guy, whatever.

Interesting, though, how that "300+ combat missions" comes right after "fighter pilot", giving the impression he was raging around the skies of North Vietnam in an F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft, firing off sparrows and sidewinders all day. Again, if it is what turns them on, so be it.
 
Lt. Colonel Shelton F. Lankford
United States Marine Corps (ret)A-4 Skyhawk, KC-130 (10,000+ hours)
S-2, T-1, F9F, F-11, OV-10, T–2J
303 Combat Missions

Well, that helps a lot. The only aircraft he could have flown in combat during Vietnam would have been the A-4 and/or the *OV-10 (after about 1969).

Navy A-4's flew into North Vietnam very early on. I doubt any flew there any later than about '67 or so. I do not know if any Marine A-4's flew those missions or not, but I doubt it. The reason I doubt it is that Marine aircraft were not included in the Big Air Tasking Order as were AF and Navy aircraft. Marine aircraft supported Marine units. It has been a "bone of contention" among the Services for years.

OV-10's flew predominantly in South Vietnam, perhaps briefly and very, very rarely in either the border areas of Laos and the extreme Southern portion of North Vietnam.

303 Combat Missions tells the story. In order to have 32 Air Medals ALL of those mission would have to have been in North Vietnam, PLUS a few more for extraordinary achievement which would have met the criteria for an Air Medal. I think we now have the answer to the original question.

* The AF received the first OV-10's in 1968/1969. None were operational prior to 1969. There was a small contingent of AF OV-10's in Thailand on an initial operational/combat evaluation test program which began in the Spring of 1969. They were not used in any numbers until sometime in 1970 and afterward.
 
Not so much a resume as a list of a/c he flew. You've probably seen it - the blurb on Cap'n Bob's "I Love Us" page:

Lt. Colonel Shelton F. Lankford
United States Marine Corps (ret)A-4 Skyhawk, KC-130 (10,000+ hours)
S-2, T-1, F9F, F-11, OV-10, T–2J
303 Combat Missions


For the most part it is a list of museum a/c - the S-2, F9F, F-11, T-2J - all a/c from the late 50's and 60's.


The other info came from the event blurb: "...fighter pilot with 300+ combat missions and 10,000+ hours flight time. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and 32 Air Medals."

.


I looked for him in the roster of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society - couldn't find him.
http://www.dfcsociety.org/citations.asp?offset=0&nav_letter=L

"Our Society was not founded until 1994 and is composed or DFC recipients who either joined the Society or whose loved ones made them members posthumously and their names are listed on our Honor Roll in perpetuity. "
http://www.dfcsociety.org/home_high.htm

There's an Honor Roll listing more recipients - not there either.

... " A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Bruce H LaChance, Francis L Lacy, Joseph C. Laden, James V. LaGrossa, Raymond Lahmeyer, John G. Lahue, Frank W. Laird Jr., Charles Lajeskie, Richard H. Lake, Neal C Lakenan, Clarence A Lakin, Robert K. Lakin, Martin T Lally, Herbert J Laman, Allen T. Lamb, Jr., Darrell Lambert, Francis M. Lambert, William P Lamkin, Kenneth W LaMone, John A. LaMontia, Richard E. Lamp, John R Lampkins, Kasper O. Lamvik, Otis Lancaster, Henry W. Land II, Seymour Landau, Carl Lane, Charles E. Lane, D. Roger Lane, Phillip J. Lane, William F. Laney, William P. Laney, Neal E. Lang, James A. Lange, Paul D. Lange, Donald W. Langston, Michael D. Langston, Jessey W. Lankford, Morris William Larkin, Erwin A LaRose, Darrel E Larsen, Glen Larsen, Gordon O. Larsen, Frank A. Larsen Jr., Robert L. Larsh Jr., Gordon A Larson, Melvin F. Larson, Richard L Larson, Irving Lash, Peter I. Lasho, Thomas E. Lasser, Raymond F Latall, Gilbert C. Lattimer, James E Laubaugh, Marvin Laufer, Edwin ... "

http://www.dfcsociety.org/honorroll.asp?offset=0&nav_letter=L
 
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