Enjoying retired life in Oregon. I work in my garden. I have twenty fruit trees,blueberrys,raspberry,marionberrys and a large vegetable garden, all fenced in to keep deer out. Our home is on the beautiful Mckenzie River. I enjoy fishing;Trout,Steelhead Trout, and Salmon all on this river. Also, a few miles up river there are lots of rapids for whitewater rafting, (class three) All the water comes from the three Sister mountains in the Cascades. Seventy miles east from here If you like to ski only hour away. Bend OR, is only 110 mile east . I also like Oregon ( DUCK s) football and track, Eugene is Track town USA. Lots of stars came from University of Oregon.The Olympic trials have been held here many times.
We like to travel. You would think I would be tired of traveling after 26 years of AF life. and 17 years of being overseas. We own a RV so in the summer months we go camping with Good Sam friends. Lots of nice places out here in the western US to camp.
.The VA takes care of all my medical needs. I'm 100% service connected disabled. Uncle Surgar is great. What a wonderful country we live in. We have so much to be thankful for. No other country in the world takes care of its Vets like ours. God Bless USA
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Other Comments:
I spent my entire career in Air Transportation. Lots of fond memories and events over the years. Have many stories and pictures of some of these places.(check it out)
I really loved serving in the Air Force. I sure do miss it at times. What a great life of 26 yrs active.The majority of those years were overseas ( 17 ).Many of the people I served with I can hardly remember. We seem to enjoy serving all together. Send me a message if you would like to reminisce the old times we shared together, I would love to hear from you...Aim Hi..Bob
Remembrance Profiles -
1 Airman Remembered
Smallidge, Michael, TSgt, (1962-1982)
1961-1962, C-46 Commando
From Year 1961
To Year 1962
Personal Memories
1961 Lincoln AFB,Nebraska 818th Transportation Sqn. This plane was my first one I loaded. ( LOGAIR) flown by Civilian DOD contractor, was the movement of hi-pority AC parts to all SAC bases in Conus. It was a back killer pushing canned AC engines up the incline into proper compartments and tying it down with ropes. ( no strapes )
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C-46 Commando Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was an American transport aircraft originally designed for commercial use although it was primarily used during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces; the Navy/Marine Corps version was known as the R5C. Also known to the men who flew them as "The Whale," or even more irreverently as the "Curtiss Calamity," [2] the C-46 served a similar role as its counterpart, the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, but was not quite as famous or as extensively produced.
Postwar, C-46s were briefly used in their original role as passenger airliners, but the glut of surplus C-47s dominated the marketplace with the C-46 soon relegated to a secondary status. However, the C-46 was adopted as a rugged cargo aircraft for northern and remote locations with its service life extended into the 21st Century.
Model Curtiss-Wright C-46A Commando Length 76.44 ft | 23.30 m Width 78.54 ft | 23.94 m Height 21.75 ft | 6.63 m Engine(s) 2 x Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engines generating 2,000hp of thrust each. Empty Weight 30,001 lbs | 13,608 kg MTOW 55,997 lbs | 25,400 kg Max Speed 269 mph | 433 km/h | 234 kts Max Range 1,199 miles | 1,930 km Ceiling 27,559 ft | 8,400 m | 5.2 miles Climb Rate Not Available Hardpoints 0 Armament None. Accommodations 4 Operators the United States of America