NAS Whidbey was home to several A-3D squadrons when they were heavy bomber squadrons (and the Navy's first dedicated nuke bomber) then later when they migrated to the electronic warfare community and became VAQ squadrons that then migrated to the EA-6B's I flew (which are now migrating to F/A-18G's so I'm officially a dinosaur).
They been trying for several years to get an A-3 on a stick and one of the last flyable ones arrived last week to much fanfare.
Here's some really great footage in the cockpit on the way up. Note the familiar snow shrouded Mt St Helens and that beautiful EA-6B in the hold-short on landing.
The Whale took a lot of flack for it's lack of ejection seats (I had one of my flight school classmates die in one in a midair) and for being old but it served the Navy for a lot of years. With it's big gas load and two J-57's it could cruise at mach .9 a long ways.
If something on the internet makes you angry the odds are you're being manipulated
Nice videos, Pugs. So many cool old planes. Love to see them.
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." Robert E. Howard
I went through Navy SERE training at Whidbey in 1969. Tough stuff it was!
Didn't know they even ran it up there back then. They've gotten it down to just Maine and Warner Springs now and with the closing of NAS Brunswick in Maine I wonder if they still do it up there. I went through SERE at Warner in 89
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That first video is cool with Mt Erie in the background.
My Grandmother had a farm on Cresent Harbor Road right on the flight path to the South. Her windows would rattle every 15 minutes. I watched A-6 fly over everyday and would get to watch the Blue Angels practice before the air show.
One of my cousins was a BN in the 80's and he would take me into the A-6 simulator on the base. Lots of good memories.
ddj
Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau
The best part of hunting and fishing was the thinking about going and the talking about it after you got back. - Robert Ruark
Wow! Reading this thread gave me some flashback memories of me as a kid back in 1987 to 1990. My father was stationed at NAS Whidbey. We lived in Crescent Harbor and I went to Crescent Harbor elementary, Oak Harbor middle and junior high. I loved watching the planes fly over head. The A-6's and EA-6b's would fly overhead with their distinct tones unlike the other jets I could not disinguish. I miss living up there. Great memories.
WinModel70 - Did you live in Enlisted men housing by the Crescent Harbor School? If so just before you went up the the hill to town, my Grandmother house was the ranch on the right with the big White Barn behind it. It was a great place to visit and spend my summers.
ddj
Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau
The best part of hunting and fishing was the thinking about going and the talking about it after you got back. - Robert Ruark
WinModel70 - Did you live in Enlisted men housing by the Crescent Harbor School? If so just before you went up the the hill to town, my Grandmother house was the ranch on the right with the big White Barn behind it. It was a great place to visit and spend my summers.
ddj
If I recall my geography right I used to pheasant and duck hunt across from there in the field and the marsh between Crescent Harbor Road and Torpedo road that ran in the back gate of the seaplane base. I think I remember that house and barn too! Green roof maybe?
I miss Whidbey all the time.
If something on the internet makes you angry the odds are you're being manipulated
WinModel70 - Did you live in Enlisted men housing by the Crescent Harbor School? If so just before you went up the the hill to town, my Grandmother house was the ranch on the right with the big White Barn behind it. It was a great place to visit and spend my summers.
ddj
If I recall my geography right I used to pheasant and duck hunt across from there in the field and the marsh between Crescent Harbor Road and Torpedo road that ran in the back gate of the seaplane base. I think I remember that house and barn too! Green roof maybe?
I miss Whidbey all the time.
Thats the farm. Her house was right across the road from the parking lot for the public hunting. She passed away last year at 100 years old. Lived in that house into her 90's. Sorry to sidetrack the post.
I also miss Grandma and Whidbey but am planning a trip back to visit.
ddj
Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau
The best part of hunting and fishing was the thinking about going and the talking about it after you got back. - Robert Ruark
WinModel70 - Did you live in Enlisted men housing by the Crescent Harbor School? If so just before you went up the the hill to town, my Grandmother house was the ranch on the right with the big White Barn behind it. It was a great place to visit and spend my summers.
ddj
If I recall my geography right I used to pheasant and duck hunt across from there in the field and the marsh between Crescent Harbor Road and Torpedo road that ran in the back gate of the seaplane base. I think I remember that house and barn too! Green roof maybe?
I miss Whidbey all the time.
Yes, I remember. There was a water treatment plant close to the beach off of Pioneer Way where I went duck hunting and there were all kinds of pheasants across the street on Crescent Harbor Rd from where your grandmother lived. I remember the area vividly. We lived on Beech Ln. We used to hunt deer on some old logging roads off of Taylor Rd back in the day. I miss fishing on the long pier close to the BX. We would catch sand sharks, kings, and coho's. Ahh, the memories. I wish I could relive them again.
I caught a bunch of Blackmouths of the Seaplane pier before they closed it to the public and put the gate on Torpedo Road. I wish I could go back also.
It's nice to know a couple of us walked the same places. Gives a bit of a connection.
ddj
Last edited by trouthunterdj; 05/04/11.
Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau
The best part of hunting and fishing was the thinking about going and the talking about it after you got back. - Robert Ruark
I caught a bunch of Blackmouths of the Seaplane pier before they closed it to the public and put the gate on Torpedo Road. I wish I could go back also.
It's nice to know a couple of us walked the same places. Gives a bit of a connection.
ddj
In 90 they took the guards off the back seaplane base gate and it was an open base again but the pier was fenced off. I owned a SanJuan 24' sailboat with another NFO and we kept it over ther and you could still crab off the small piers and we never failed to acquire a cooler of Dungeness.
The other good fishing on the seaplane base was over by the icehouse on the beach and a rising tide and casting small streamer or Mepps for SeaRun Cuthroats. Almost always caught some good fish cruising that pebble beach if the tide was right.
If something on the internet makes you angry the odds are you're being manipulated
