Sometime late 1968 or early 1969 a C-141 Starlifter landed at Da Nang with some battle damage on the landing gear door. The pilot was a Major and he definitely did not want to spend the night at Da Nang. He said we were called "Rocket Alley,"" and he had no intention of spending the night.
So I inspected the damage and Red X the report. Now he would have to spend the night while we made a permanent repair. He was terrified of the idea and informed me he could over ride my Red X and I could place a temporary repair on the landing gear door.
I relented and placed a 6 foot long temporary scab patch on the door and accomplished a very good job. I'm sure the permanent repair never occurred.
I had to spend the night at Da Nang and I figured he could accompany us just one night. But he hightailed it back, to Cambodia within minutes after I completed the repair and he inspected it. He was quite pleased with the quick repair job I did. Never saw him again.
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C-141 Starlifter Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
Model Lockheed C-141B Starlifter Length 168.27 ft | 51.29 m Width 159.91 ft | 48.74 m Height 39.24 ft | 11.96 m Engine(s) 4 x Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-7 turbofan engines generating 21,000lbs of thrust each. Empty Weight 148,118 lbs | 67,185 kg MTOW 342,995 lbs | 155,580 kg Max Speed 565 mph | 910 km/h | 491 kts Max Range 6,388 miles | 10,280 km Ceiling 41,598 ft | 12,679 m | 7.9 miles Climb Rate 2,920 ft/min Hardpoints 0 Armament None. Accommodations 5 or 6 Operators the United States of America
