Thread: Hurricane Irma
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Old 09-07-2017, 11:20 AM   #216
sbu22
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City: New Orleans
Vessel Name: Panache
Vessel Model: Viking 43 Double Cabin '76
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,253
Cardude - they're old enough (around 40 years) that they still carry a Flight Engineer to "run" the mechanicals. That center seat is a dedicated crew position. I imagine it's a struggle to maintain the required flight profile with wild wind variance thay must encounter.

There is virtually nothing "automatic" on those birds. I never saw a Navy P3 that wasn't hand flown throughout - the autopilot (so the crews told me) almost never worked and if it was "up" nobody trusted it.

Not a Navy aviator - just a frequent hitchhiker with VP-94.
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